Periscope on Pakistan

The Indian Express brings you clippings from the Pak mediaVajpayee will have to educate' BillTHE NATION: US Secretary of State Madeleine ...

The Indian Express brings you clippings from the Pak media

Vajpayee will have to educate8217; Bill
THE NATION: US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright8217;s brief elucidation of the goals of President Clinton8217;s visit to India are unlikely to bring much cheer to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Albright has said: quot;We continue to have very serious concerns about the issues of non-proliferation and about Kashmir and hope very much that the Indian government understands and will continue to deal with those issues because they are essential.quot; In practical terms it implies that as and when Clinton raises the issue of Kashmir with Vajpayee, which is almost certain now, Vajpayee will have to educate him as to how the Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India, allowing Clinton to see the instrument of accession which, incidentally, does not exist, how the then Chief Minister of Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah, a personal friend of the then Indian PM, Nehru, managed to get a resolution passed by a rubberstamp House in favour of India8230;

Having thus educated Clinton, Vajpayee would no doubt expect him to forswear any interest in Kashmir, where the Kashmiris are supposedly living quite happily and where it is the bad Pakistani terrorists8217; who are creating a problem. And in case Clinton chooses to question the Indian thesis and lays the cause of trouble in Kashmir elsewhere, he better think again. India is a big market which Vajpayee could easily block to the US. Albright chose not to talk about Pakistan8217;s omission from Clinton8217;s itinerary, but it is hard to imagine how US concern on Kashmir could be properly addressed if India alone is consulted.

It is not just Kashmir8217;s fate that is at stake but given the possibility of a nuclear clash, of the whole subcontinent. Despite that, the chances of Clinton persuading the Indian leadership to follow reason on Kashmir are not rated very high, at least not by the Indians. The Indian perception, therefore, is that Clinton can exercise, if at all, only a verylimited influence on it. If the US decides to tighten its screws on India, it will still have many friends left including Russia. Therefore, while one hopes that the US would be able to drive some sense into the heads of the Indian leadership, it would be unrealistic to pin too much hope on it.