New Delhi, July 20
The repeated refusal by the USA and Britain along with other countries to recognise Pakistan as a terrorist state has given further credence to the International Crisis Group (ICG) report which stresses that the international community has not put enough pressure on Islamabad.
A recent report tabled in Brussels by the ICG, which has offices in over 30 crisis-hit countries and is funded by a number of countries, said “had the international community more forcefully pressurised President Pervez Musharraf to curb militant groups in Kashmir after the attack on Indian Parliament, the situation would not have veered so dangerously out of control”.
The ICG is presently chaired by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and its President and Chief Executive since January 2000 has been former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans. The ICG is funded by countries like Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK and Switzerland.
The UK’s stand yesterday of describing Kashmir as a ‘central’ issue between India and Pakistan also reinforces the view of the ICG that Islamabad was being propped up for the short-term gains that the Allied Forces were wanting to have in their fight against terrorism and specifically against Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida.
The report said “the US policy of actively condoning military rule in Pakistan as a reward for military cooperation in the war on terrorism is understandable if considered in terms of only short-term goals”. However it added that such active condoning could be dangerously counter-productive over the long term.
The ICG is also of the view that it was the Pakistani Government which was providing support to the militant groups and there was no ‘broad popular backing’ for these groups. As a result these groups were re-emerging under other names.
“Militant groups in Pakistan continue to rely on government support because they enjoy little by way of broad popular backing. A clamp down by the government of Pakistan on Islamist militants is not likely to spark wide public anger. It is also unlikely that General Musharraf would face stiff resistance from within the military if he reverses course on Kashmir.”
The report also opines that General Musharraf appears to have the means, but not the `will’, to largely end cross-border militancy permanently. Pakistan’s military can exert considerable influence because of the militant groups limited support base.
While stressing on the importance and problems of holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the face of threats from terrorists, the report says that there is need for ending all support for cross-border militants and closing of all training camps which are being run in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
