Pakistani PM Visits US During Tension in Counter-Terror Alliance
巴基斯坦总理启程前来美国访问
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is expected to meet with top U.S. officials in Washington this week, including President George Bush. His visit comes during new tensions among Afghan, Pakistani and U.S. officials over how to counter a growing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
预计,巴基斯坦总理吉拉尼这个星期将在华盛顿会见美国总统布什等美国最高官员。目前,阿富汗、巴基斯坦和美国官员在如何反击塔利班在阿富汗日益加剧的暴乱行动的问题上关系紧张。
Taliban fighters in Afghanistan launch new offensives each summer when warm weather eases travel and clears passes in the country's rugged mountains. But the summer of 2008 has been particularly violent, with a 40 percent increase in attacks in eastern Afghanistan over the previous year.
每年夏季当气候变暖方便出行,进出山区崎岖不平的道路通畅时,阿富汗的塔利班武装就发动新攻势。不过,2008年夏天的暴力袭击尤为激烈,在过去一年里,阿富汗东部的暴力袭击增加了40%。
Just across the border in Pakistan, Taliban militants have expanded their territory and now control large parts of the country's remote tribal areas. Officials in northwestern Pakistan say Taliban influence is spreading out from the tribal regions into larger towns.
就在巴基斯坦边界一侧,塔利班激进分子扩大了地盘,控制了大片偏远的部落地区。巴基斯坦西北部官员说,塔利班的影响正在从部落地区向较大的城镇扩散。
U.S. and Afghan officials say countering the Taliban in Afghanistan will require depriving insurgents of their strongholds in Pakistan's tribal areas. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says militants who use those bases to launch attacks across the border are his country's most serious threat.
美国和阿富汗官员表示,打击阿富汗塔利班力量需要铲除暴乱分子在巴基斯坦部落地区的大本营。阿富汗总统卡尔扎伊说,利用那些基地发动越境袭击的激进分子是阿富汗面临的最大威胁。
"The fight against terrorism is not in Afghanistan and we will not be secure and safe unless Afghanistan and the international community address the question of sanctuaries in Pakistan and the terrorist training camps there," he said."
卡尔扎伊说:“反恐战斗不在阿富汗,如果阿富汗和国际社会不解决在巴基斯坦的恐怖分子庇护所和在那里的恐怖训练营地等问题,我们就不会安定和安全。”
But Afghan and Pakistani officials not only argue over what to do about the Taliban sanctuaries, but also who is to blame for the militants' growth. In the past month, officials from both countries have accused their counterparts of supporting Taliban factions. Afghan officials even directly accused Pakistan's military and intelligence services of participating in the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul. Pakistan rejected the allegations.
不过,阿富汗官员跟巴基斯坦官员不光在如何铲除塔利班庇护所问题上有争论,而且在谁应当为塔利班激进分子的壮大承担责任方面意见不一。在过去这个月,两国官员相互指责对方支持塔利班派别。阿富汗官员甚至直接指责巴基斯坦军方和情报机构参与了对印度驻喀布尔大使馆的爆炸袭击。巴基斯坦对此予以否认。
During a visit to Kabul last week, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer took time to urge both countries to cooperate.
北约秘书长夏侯雅伯上星期访问喀布尔期间不失时机地敦促两国进行合作。
"More than ever we now need a regional approach in trying to stem this situation," he said. "Because I cannot imagine anyone who would consider it acceptable that many terrorists from all over the world gather in a certain area and create mischief and havoc there."
夏侯雅伯说:“我们现在比以往任何时候都需要地区性合作,才能尽力遏制袭击事件增加的局面。因为我不相信有任何会接受世界各地的恐怖分子集中在一个地区,在那里闹得人仰马翻。”
But in recent months, Pakistani officials have made it clear that they are forging their own strategy in countering the militant groups and it is a strategy that favors holding peace talks instead of military operations.
不过在近几个月,巴基斯坦官员明确表示,他们正在制定自己的打击激进组织的战略,这项战略赞成跟激进组织和谈,而不是向他们发动军事行动。
The talks have drawn concern from NATO, Afghan and U.S. officials, who have urged Pakistan to do more to stop the Taliban from launching attacks in Afghanistan.
巴基斯坦跟激进组织的谈判引起北约、阿富汗和美国官员的担忧,他们敦促巴基斯坦采取更多的措施制止塔利班向阿富汗发动袭击。
Rehman Malik is the head of Pakistan's interior ministry. Last week he rejected suggestions that the United States is pressuring the government to move more aggressively against the militant groups.
有消息说,美国正在向巴基斯坦政府施加压力,要他们加大打击激进组织的力度。巴基斯坦内政部负责人莱赫曼.马立克上个星期驳斥了这种说法。
"We are taking our own actions; we are designing our own policies," said Malik. "There is no interference whatsoever from outside and we will not accept any interference from anywhere."
马立克说:“我们在自己采取行动;我们在制定自己的策略。没有任何外界的介入,我们也不会接受外界的任何干预。”
President Pervez Musharraf is viewed by many Pakistanis as having long followed a military-focused counter-terrorism policy advocated by the United States, which security analyst Talat Masood says damaged his popularity within Pakistan. Masood says the new government is being careful not to follow the same path.
许多巴基斯坦人认为,巴基斯坦总统穆沙拉夫长期以来一直奉行美国倡导的以军事打击为主的反恐政策。安全问题分析人士塔拉特.马苏德认为,这种政策损害了穆沙拉夫在巴基斯坦的声望。马苏德说,新政府现在非常小心,不想重蹈穆沙拉夫的覆辙。
"They don't want to give an impression that they are fighting this war on behalf of America," he said. "So they don't want any American involvement. At the same time I think the present government has not really settled down to an extent to formulate and implement an integrated policy against militancy and the rising insurgency. And meanwhile, the militants are taking full advantage."
马苏德说:“新政府不愿让巴基斯坦人认为他们是在为美国打这场反恐战争。因此他们不希望美国有任何的介入。同时我认为,新政府还没有切实做好准备制定和执行一套全面的打击激进主义和不断增加的暴乱活动的政策。而与此同时,激进分子正在钻空子。”
In the United States, some officials have responded to the rising Taliban insurgency with proposals for more foreign aid to the Pakistani government, including a five-year, $7.5 billion civilian development package.
在美国,一些官员对塔利班不断加剧的暴乱活动做出反应,提议向巴基斯坦政府提供更多援助,包括一项为期5年、价值75亿美元的国内发展一揽子计划。
Pakistani officials have welcomed proposals for more aid. However, lawmakers in the otherwise fractious coalition government also say there is broad agreement that no outside countries should be involved in how Pakistan chooses to deal with the Taliban militants.
巴基斯坦官员欢迎向巴基斯坦提供更多的援助。但是巴基斯坦不那么牢固的联合政府中的一些议员也表示,他们普遍的共识是,在决定如何对付塔利班激进分子的问题上,不允许外国介入。
Before leaving Islamabad on Saturday, Prime Minister Gilani told reporters that security issues will be high on the agenda during his U.S. visit. But he said his coalition government will continue to pursue its own strategy in countering the Taliban insurgency.
巴基斯坦总理吉拉尼星期六启程之前对记者说,安全问题将是他此次美国之行的重点。不过,他说巴基斯坦联合政府在打击塔利班暴乱活动中将继续执行自己的战略。
"This is our own fight, this is our own cause,"said the Pakistani prime minister. "I have lost my own leader because of terrorism. So my priority number one is to maintain law and order in the country."
吉拉尼说:“这是我们自己的战争,是我们自己的事业。为了反恐,我已经失去了自己的领袖。因此我的头等大事是维持国家的法律和秩序。”
Besides meeting with President Bush on Monday, Pakistani officials say Mr. Gilani will meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates as well as the country's two leading presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.
巴基斯坦官员说,吉拉尼星期一除了会晤布什总统之外,还将会见美国国务卿赖斯、国防部长盖茨以及美国两位领先的总统候选人、联邦参议员麦凯恩和奥巴马。