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Address the root of Kashmir dispute: Bush

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

NEW YORK Sept. 13. The United States President, George W. Bush, has told both the Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, that he looks forward to some resolution of the "underlying problems'' in Kashmir.

"He (meaning Mr. Bush) does look forward to some resolution of the underlying problems in Kashmir. He was telling both sides'', according to a senior administration official.

Mr. Bush is also said to have told the two leaders in separate meetings that both would have to address the root of the dispute in order to prevent frequent tensions and flare-ups.

The U.S. President also told Gen. Musharraf to keep a check on militants infiltrating from Pakistan across the Line of Control as an essential step for the resumption of talks. Prior to his meeting with Mr.Bush, Gen. Musharraf at a press conference at the United Nations had repeated his theme of "nothing happening'' across the LoC. Another important message has been conveyed to Gen. Musharraf — that the U.S. considered democracy as the "key'' to the future of Pakistan. But, Mr. Bush did not discuss the specifics of the coming elections in Pakistan or engage in a conversation with Gen. Musharraf on the subject of rewards or punishments for democratic reform and progress.

In a 30-minute meeting with Gen. Musharraf, Mr. Bush made the point that if Pakistan were going to be a successful State, "adherence to democracy is key.'' He is said to have to have been pretty direct on this and point saying that a democratic and moderate Islamic Pakistan could serve as a model for other Islamic States. Briefing reporters on the meetings that Mr. Bush had on Thursday morning, a senior U.S. administration official said that Mr. Bush and Mr. Vajpayee met for about 30 minutes "building on the meeting'' they had last November.

"...the two leaders reviewed the progress in bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to continue the process of qualitatively transforming the U.S.-India relationship'',the official remarked on background.

"They noted, in particular, the positive developments in the area of counter-terrorism and defence cooperation and emphasised the deepening of the high-level economic dialogue and the strengthening of the new strategic framework of relations and agreed to explore the possibility of expanding cooperation in space, in diverse form of energy, high technology, commerce and in science.''

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