But it is this damn bilateral dialogue, much applauded by the international community, particularly Bill Clinton, which is their principal headache.Even if South Block agrees to set up a Joint Working
Group to discuss Kashmir, intelligent Pakistanis realise that the exchanges will be long and tortuous. And at the end of the day, while there will be progress on all other issues, the best the Pakistanis can hope for as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned is the formalisation of the present Line of Control as the official border. The only satisfaction for Islamabad from this unhappy denouement is the precedence of 'talks'.
Therefore, it is in Pakistan's interest to disrupt the bilateral dialogue at an early stage and argue that India is not seriously interested in resolving the Kashmir dispute. They will further argue that the dispute is a potential flashpoint which will lead to periodic border flare-ups (like now) and possibly full-scale war with the nuclear threat. Solution? International mediation, preferably America-led.
Alas, even here there is a catch. How does Nawaz Sharif sabotage the dialogue and simultaneously make the charge that India is the wrecker? The Pakistani premier is fully aware that the international community, particularly the Americans, is monitoring the dialogue minutely and desperately wants it to continue even if the resolution to the Kashmir problem remains elusive.
