Saturday, Jul 20, 2002
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By Sridhar Krishnaswami
"... The U.S. supported successive U.N. efforts... But in 1972, India and Pakistan reached an agreement (Shimla) that it would be a bilateral issue. We support India and Pakistan and we are working towards getting these two countries to the table to resolve the issue,'' the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, said at a hearing in a House International Relations Sub-Committee. Ms. Rocca was responding to the Republican Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher of California, who wanted to know where the Bush administration stood on the issue of plebiscite. A critic of India, Mr. Rohrabacher, in his opening remarks, argued that much of the instability in the sub-continent stemmed from the "unwillingness, arrogance and intransigence'' on the part of India for not permitting the people of Kashmir the "right to control their own destiny''. "We are also supportive of Indian efforts to conduct free and fair elections in the State of Kashmir scheduled for later this year and to begin to address Kashmiri grievances. Such elections could proceed with a much greater chance of success in an atmosphere free of violence and intimidation and serve as a first step towards resolution of the issue'', Ms. Rocca said in her prepared statement to the House Sub-Committee on the Middle East and South Asia. Ms. Rocca recalled that the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, due to visit India and Pakistan next week, had said that war was not an option for the two South Asian countries; and that the Republican administration was working to help India and Pakistan find acceptable ways to begin the de-escalation process. "The only way forward that offers a prospect of genuinely resolving their differences is the path of dialogue and confidence building. We are working to help the two sides find mutually acceptable ways to begin the de-escalation process'', she said. Ms. Rocca made it clear that the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, must live up to his pledges. By the same token, once tensions begin to subside, India should agree to resume talks with Pakistan on all issues including Kashmir. "President Musharraf has pledged that infiltration into Kashmir from his country will end permanently. Pakistan needs to keep that pledge in order to begin a process of resolution of the immediate crisis and of its more fundamental differences with India. Once tensions begin to subside, the process should be continued by New Delhi agreeing to resume talks with Islamabad on all issues, including Kashmir'', Ms. Rocca said. Arguing that the encouraging progress in South Asia towards prosperity and democracy is "too often overshadowed by the spectre of war between India and Pakistan'', Ms. Rocca maintained that the administration remained deeply concerned over the high levels of tension between the two countries, in particular about the continued deployment of forces along the border and within Kashmir. "A surge in violence could spark a military confrontation with long-lasting and devastating consequences for the entire region. The enemies of moderation in the region are aware of this fact and are trying to exploit it through high profile terrorist attacks, such as that outside of Jammu this past Saturday,'' Ms. Rocca said.
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