Policy on Kashmir has not changed: U.S.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 13. The Bush administration is saying that there is no change in Washington's Kashmir policy and is objecting to the argument that India would take advantage of Pakistan's diversion of attention to attack terrorist and militant groups.

``I don't accept the premise in the question. We have been working with both sides independently but positively on the coalition. We have relationships with both Pakistan and India that have been developing positively... we've always worked with them, encouraged them to take steps to reduce tension and we would continue to want to see them do that now,'' the State Department spokesman, Mr. Richard Boucher, said on Friday. Asked if the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, will caution India not to strike Pakistan `right now', he said, ``... we've always encouraged them to take positive steps to reduce tensions and we'll continue to do that now''.

Gen. Powell is expected in India on Tuesday after going to Pakistan and his visit is seen as basically reassuring New Delhi that longer term bilateral relations are on course in spite of the developments after the September 11 attacks in Washington and New York.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, Gen. Powell is there to reassure the Musharraf Government that the U.S. is in for the long haul as well and that Islamabad has no reasons to be worried about being pushed to the sidelines once the Afghan campaign is over. However, no major announcement is expected during his South Asia trip.

It is being stressed in some quarters that neither New Delhi nor Islamabad should look at the evolving U.S. role in South Asia in terms of a zero sum game; rather it must be seen in terms of an opportunity for the region that could have positive fallouts for both India and Pakistan.

In terms of Pakistan, the sanctions are out of the way; no one is seriously talking about the democracy road map even if some lip- service has been paid to this on Capitol Hill; a liberal economic package, including debt relief and immediate assistance of about $600 millions, is on the works. Ironically, perhaps in all this is the realisation in some quarters that given the circumstances it is only the brass hats who can deliver the goods.

Meanwhile, the State Department, in taking note of the Treasury Department's freezing of the assets of the Jaish-e- Mohammad, says that this did not automatically mean the designation of the outfit as a foreign terrorist organisation.

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