UN DRUG AGENCY FIASCO EXPOSED

ISLAMABAD. Pakistan will urge the United States to play an even hand in
South Asia during Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca's visit this
week, officials and analysts said.

Rocca, in charge of the South Asia desk of the State Department, is
expected to arrive in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday in her first
visit to the region since assuming her post with the Bush administration.

Her discussions with top officials will provide the raw material for a
State Department review of policy toward South Asia, with US-Pakistan
relations the most problematic.

Bilateral ties have been dogged by US sanctions over Islamabad's nuclear
programme, the military coup here in October 1999 and Pakistan's support
for the Taliban militia in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The military-led government under President Pervez Musharraf is concerned
that Washington is moving toward closer ties with India, the world's
largest democracy with a massive developing market, at the expense of its
old Cold War alliance with Pakistan.

"Pakistan would like the US to continue to maintain a balance in relations
with Pakistan and India," foreign policy analyst Mushahid Hussain said.

During her stay in India last week, Rocca indicated that Washington was
prepared to ease sanctions imposed against India and Pakistan over their
nuclear programs, which culminated in 1998 tests.

But Pakistan has been subject to additional US curbs since the bloodless
military coup here almost two years ago, and there is no sign that
Washington is prepared to relax these as well.

"The Americans are reviewing sanctions and Pakistan will be keen to press
the point that whatever the US does it should be even-handed," said Riffat
Hussain, head of the defense and strategic studies unit at Islamabad's
Quaid-i-Azam University.

"Her visit is very significant. It is occurring against the immediate
backdrop of the Agra summit and a keen US interest in seeing a continuation
of the dialogue process between India and Pakistan.

"She is a point person in terms of getting the Bush administration to focus
on South Asia."

Rocca will meet Musharraf and Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on Tuesday.

Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee met in the Taj
Mahal town of Agra earlier this month in the first summit between the
nuclear rivals for more than two years.

US officials have hailed the talks as a good start to a new dialogue
process, even though the two leaders could not agree on a final joint
declaration.

In Islamabad Rocca is expected to raise strong US concerns about Islamic
extremism and alleged terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, which is ruled
by the Pakistan-backed Taliban fundamentalist militia.

The Taliban featured in discussions between Sattar and US national security
advisor Condoleezza Rice when the foreign minister visited Washington last
month.

Pakistan is accused of ignoring a United Nations arms embargo against the
Taliban regime, which has refused to extradite one of the United States'
most wanted men, indicted terrorist Osama Ben Laden.

Some US officials also believe Pakistan is not doing enough to fight
"terrorist" groups based on its soil and has failed to use its influence
with the Taliban to secure bin Laden's extradition.