Put more pressure on India: U.S. paper

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 20. The new course of American foreign policy in South Asia of embracing India and distancing itself from Pakistan's military Government, set in motion by the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, must be accompanied by ``more pressure on India'' to exercise nuclear restraint and defuse tensions with Pakistan, says The New York Times in its lead editorial.

Titled A `Tilt' Toward India, Wednesday's editorial makes a number of other points as well: against the backdrop of ties that have been repaired, India can still be a ``nettlesome friend''; in improving relations with India, Washington must be careful in not inciting the feelings of Pakistan and China; India should show more willingness to let the U.S. or other outsiders to try and mediate a political solution to the Kashmir problem; and of the difficulties and uncertainties on the road to cementing the new relationship.

``President Clinton has shaped a new foreign policy course in South Asia by embracing India and distancing the U.S. from Pakistan's military Government. These steps have far- reaching ramifications for all of Asia, including China, as well as for the issue of nuclear proliferation. This shift is justified by India's growing importance. But it should be accompanied by more pressure on India to exercise nuclear restraint and defuse tensions with Pakistan,'' it says.

Prior to the end of the Cold War, Washington's foreign policy in South Asia was characterised by Richard Nixon's ``famous decision'' that the U.S. should ``tilt'' towards Pakistan in its war with India in 1971, the newspaper notes. ``With the withdrawal of Russian troops from Afghanistan and the collapse of the Soviet empire, the United States and India have repaired ties,'' the editorial says going on to stress that a vibrant Indian-American community has contributed to this era of good feeling as also in India's participation in United Nations' peace-keeping operations.

``India can still be a nettlesome friend. It has fiercely criticised American positions on global warming and nuclear weapons. But as the world's most populous democracy, it is a natural American ally on many issues.''

Calling on the U.S. to be particularly careful ``not to incite feelings of distrust in India's two wary neighbours, Pakistan and China,'' The Times mentions the passage of the Permanent Normal Trade Relations legislation in the Senate on Tuesday leading to the stabilisation of Sino-U.S. ties. ``India should now move quickly to sign the nuclear test ban treaty, which Mr. Vajpayee has promised, and to exercise more restraint on the deployment of missiles and production of fissile materials since failure to do so will not only provoke Pakistan but raise anxiety in Beijing,'' it says.

On the Kashmir issue, the paper says that over the last two years Islamabad had engaged in a ``more provocative behaviour'' by supporting guerrilla insurgents and sending its own forces across the border into the Kargil area.

``India was restrained in its response to Kargil, but its leaders need to do more to recognise that there can be no military solution to the Kashmir problem. In the end, greater autonomy must be granted to the region and there should be more willingness to let the United States or other outsiders try to mediate a political solution,'' it notes.

The idea of India having to be willing to let the U.S. or ``others'' try to mediate a political solution to the Kashmir problem will have few takers in India which has always been saying that it was an issue between India and Pakistan. But one of the things stressed here is that despite all the talk about the changes or the changing context of Indo-U.S. relations, New Delhi would have to listen seriously, at some point, to what Washington is saying on such issues as Kashmir.

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