The Pakistan foreign minister, Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, left India after accomplishing his mission. His mission was to keep talks going and tempers cool till President Musharraf could summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Pakistan foreign minister, Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, left India after accomplishing his mission. His mission was to keep talks going and tempers ...
The Pakistan foreign minister, Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, left India after accomplishing his mission. His mission was to keep talks going and tempers cool till President Musharraf could summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Musharraf desperately needs to keep Kashmir hopes alive. He is under siege from the hawks in Pakistan. The recent assassination attempt against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was the latest indication. Aziz told Dawn that "timelines" on the Kashmir dispute was the real issue. The settlement should reflect the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. This is a reasonable stand. The Indian government is being shortsighted and unwise in opposing it. India's prime objective should be to get Pakistan on board, transform South Asia into a EU-style union with a common market, common currency, visa-free travel, joint defence and free movement of labour and capital. This pipe dream can be transformed into a gas pipeline reality. In exchange, self-determination for all segments of Kashmir should be welcomed.
This columnist has repeatedly advocated this proposal and the government has consistently ignored it. Now the government might face US pressure for a solution less advantageous. Was that why Tariq Aziz rushed last week to Delhi for hush-hush talks with J.N. Dixit? The pressure might surface in the next few days when the PM goes to New York and meets with President Bush and Musharraf. Last week, former US deputy secretary Strobe Talbott gave an indication by recommending the conversion of the LoC into an international border. He conceded that Pakistan was strongly opposed to it. India might welcome this in the short term. Its consequences would be indigestible in the long term. An Indo-Pakistan get-together would not be guaranteed, and sullen resentment in the Valley would continue to simmer. Musharraf is banking on US pressure to make India wilt. He thinks he has the leverage to force America's hand.
President Bush is on the home stretch of a life-and-death race in the November US poll. The euphoria after the Republican convention put him in the lead. But it won't last. He desperately needs a clincher. Catching Osama bin Laden would be that. Can that be accomplished without Pakistan's cooperation? US state department coordinator for counter-terrorism Cofer Black hinted to the press that Osama's capture was imminent. Pakistan information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed quickly rebutted him. He dismissed Cofer's claim as "political". This dialogue through the press seems crystal clear. If Bush wants Osama, he must deliver on Kashmir. The PM should go prepared for surprises in the US.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)