The Straits Times: We've failed to stop Pakistan in Kashmir, says US - cross post

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We've failed to stop Pakistan in Kashmir, says US APRIL 19, 2003The Straits

Times:

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,184115,00.htmlWe've

failed to stop Pakistan in Kashmir, says US NEW DELHI - A senior US official

admitted yesterdaythat Washington had failed to persuade Pakistan, aclose ally,

to stop Islamic guerillas from crossinginto the Indian-controlled portion of the

disputedKashmir region.At the same time, he warned India not to respond

tocontinuing infiltrations with excessive force.'The United States for some

time now has urged thePakistani government to stop all infiltration acrossthe

Line of Control,' said Mr Richard Haass, directorfor policy planning at the US

State Department. TheLine of Control is the ceasefire line that has

dividedKashmir for more than five decades.'I'll be honest: We have not

succeeded and we are attimes, shall we say, disappointed and frustrated

withthat reality.'The comments by Mr Haass, which suggest that the USbelieves

Islamabad has influence over the incursions,were an unusually blunt expression

of US displeasure.They were shown in an interview on Indian television,and a

transcript was provided in Washington.India and Pakistan, which both possess

nuclearweapons, have fought two wars over Kashmir, which eachcountry claims as

its own.Islamic militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir havewaged an armed

insurrection since 1989, and India hasaccused Pakistan of supporting

'cross-borderterrorism' by arming and training guerillas andallowing them to

cross the Line of Control.Pakistan has denied the charge, maintaining that

itprovides only moral support for the insurgents.In June, Pakistani President

Pervez Musharraf pledgedto Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage that

hewould seek a permanent end to cross-borderinfiltrations.After a brief dip

over the summer, however,infiltrations have continued unabated, Indian and

USofficials said.Mr Haass warned India that attempting to solve theproblem by

attacking Pakistan 'simply is not wise'.He said that India should not consider

the US invasionof Iraq as a precedent for a similar pre-emptiveattack against a

country accused of sponsoringterrorism.'You don't have the years of effort in

the SecurityCouncil or anywhere else where diplomacy has beenexhausted,' Mr

Haass said.'To the contrary, I would suggest that diplomacyinvolving India and

Pakistan and Kashmir has barelyreally begun.'His remarks came as US officials

were becomingincreasingly concerned about rising tensions betweenIndia and

Pakistan.He said the Kashmir dispute 'will continue to be amajor diplomatic

priority for the United States'.He also pointed out that the issue had

actuallyprevented the US from building even closer ties withPakistan.'It's

simply a fact of life for the Pakistanis thatour relationship with them will

never be able toimprove beyond a certain point unless this problem isadequately

addressed.'Unless Pakistan deals effectively and does everythingin its power to

stop all infiltration across the Lineof Control, it will place a ceiling, it

will limit thepotential for US-Pakistan relations.' -- TheWashington Post,AP

--Copyright

@ 2003 Singapore Press Holdings. All rightsreserved.

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