Armitage arrives for talks

One whole year after he failed to get General Musharraf to deliver on his promise to the US to 8216;8216;permanently8217;8217; end cross...

One whole year after he failed to get General Musharraf to deliver on his promise to the US to 8216;8216;permanently8217;8217; end cross-border infiltration into India as well as close down terrorist training camps on Pakistani territory, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage flew into the capital tonight from Kabul via Islamabad.

Except that there were far more interesting things on the Indo-US relationship happening in Washington today than were taking placing on the New Delhi front.

In an elaborate acceptance of the importance of Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra as PM Vajpayee8217;s envoy, President Bush 8216;8216;dropped in8217;8217; to meet Mishra during his meeting with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. They are said to have spent a good 20 minutes together.

Details of the Mishra-Bush meeting are not known, but if the scheduled 90-minute Mishra-Rice meeting is any indication, Bush also received a briefing on Vajpayee8217;s peace initiatives with Pakistan. Mishra is said to have emphasised New Delhi8217;s determination to see an end to the bloodshed sponsored across the border, pointing out that Washington could play a major role in this regard.

Over the next 24 hours as Armitage meets the spectrum of Indian leadership led by the PM, he will be guided by the big picture that is even at this moment being painted in Washington. In fact, Armitage is said to have hardly endeared himself to New Delhi when he told Pakistan TV yesterday that while Kashmir could be the 8216;8216;core issue8217;8217; for Pakistan, for India it was 8216;8216;unrelenting hostility8217;8217;.

Sources here said if Armitage was going to 8216;8216;equivocate8217;8217; between 8216;8216;hostility and cross-border terrorism,8217;8217; the dialogue with him could hardly be expected to lead anywhere.

The brunt of the Indian argument 8212; over meetings with Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, followed by delegation-level talks with Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal continuing into lunch, as well as post-prandial discussions with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Deputy PM L.K. Advani and finally, the PM himself 8212; is expected to press him on the 8216;8216;movement8217;8217; on ending terrorism that he may have brought from Islamabad.

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New Delhi has made it clear to the US that the PM8217;s initiatives towards Pakistan are his own and are derived from a national sentiment that both propels and supports a dialogue process with Pakistan. Under the circumstances, the US could help the process along by telling Musharraf that the 8216;8216;sooner infiltration end, the better the chances of success for the dialogue,8217;8217; the sources said.

Since Armitage had been here and done that in the sub-continent a year ago, sources added New Delhi would now ask him to deliver on those promises. Clearly, New Delhi hopes the US will bring its superpower weight and influence to also bear upon an end to terrorism by Pakistan.

And even as State Department spokesman Ari Fleischer described the India-Pakistan gambit as a 8216;8216;hopeful moment,8217;8217; Mishra met US Deputy Defence Secretary and a chief architect of the Iraq invasion, Paul Wolfowitz, besides Secretary of State Colin Powell. Interestingly, Armitage announced in Islamabad that President Musharraf will also be visiting Washington in June.