International
Blair's ``peace'' mission to subcontinent
By Hasan Suroor
LONDON, JAN. 2. The British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, is to visit India and Pakistan this week in what is being projected here as a high- profile personal intervention to defuse the tension in the region.
It is believed that he may not carry any concrete proposals, but will urge both sides to resume talks while pressing Pakistan to act more firmly against terrorist groups operating out of its territory. According to The Times, Mr. Blair is expected to deliver ``an uncompromising message (to Pakistan) over terrorists in Kashmir'', but Downing Street declined to discuss the visit for security reasons.
Diplomatic sources said a bilateral visit to India had been planned long before the latest turn in India-Pakistan relations, and dismissed the media hype that it was specifically designed to address the current crisis in the region. However, they acknowledged that it had assumed significance in the present context. A substantive statement on bilateral relations, including a reference to mutual cooperation in fighting international terrorism, is likely to be issued after Mr. Blair's talks with Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Commentators insisted on linking the visit to the new tension between India and Pakistan and described it as part of the U.S.-U.K. joint diplomatic ``initiative'' to bring the two nuclear neighbours back on to the negotiating table. They said though Mr. Blair was not travelling with a ``blueprint'' he would urge them to pick up where they left at Agra last July.
One report said the U.S. believed that Britain, with its historic colonial links with India and Pakistan, could play a ``significant role in jumpstarting an intensive round of diplomacy'' leading to a compromise in Kashmir which is widely seen here as one of the potential ``flashpoints'' in coming months.
In the past week, the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, has often used tough language while urging Pakistan to crack down harder on terrorist groups whom India accuses of being behind the December 13 attack on its Parliament. But after Islamabad arrested Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, leader of Laskhar-e- Taiba, and rounded up a number of other suspects alleged to be linked to the attack on Indian Parliament, there is a growing view here that Gen. Pervez Musharraf should not be painted into a corner as it might provoke a domestic backlash.
Extradition issue
Analysts found it hard to back New Delhi's demand for the extradition of 20 suspects. ``Politically it would be suicidal for any Pakistani leader to extradite 20 nationals to India. If Delhi presses the issue, it could lead to the sort of stalemate the international community wants to avoid,'' a leading newspaper commented.
Mr. Vajpayee will be away in Kathmandu for the SAARC summit when Mr. Blair arrives in India from Bangladesh on January 4, and the two leaders are expected to meet on January 7. This would be their third meeting since the September 11 terrorist attack on the U.S.
Mr. Blair first met Mr. Vajpayee when he visited the region in October to bolster support for the international coalition against terrorism, and later the two had a fleeting meeting at Downing Street when Mr. Vajpayee stopped over at London on his way back home from the U.S. in November. Mr. Blair will also visit Hyderabad and Bangalore where the long-standing issue relating to India's plan to buy 66 Advanced Jet Trainers - a deal worth $ 1 billion - is likely to come up. Britain is competing with Russia to get the deal.
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