New York, December 10
In an apparent bid to drag the United States into the long pending Kashmir issue, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said Washington should step in to mediate and help resolve the core issue between India and Pakistan.

In his article in the New York Times, Zardari, while welcoming America’s $7.5 billion pledge over the next five years for non-military projects in Pakistan, said the Obama Administration should compliment its long-term objectives through some short-term strategies, which would reflect Washington’s ‘neutrality’.

“It could start by stepping up its efforts to mediate the Kashmir dispute,” Zardari said.

Zardari underlined that there is a massive anti-America feeling prevailing in Pakistan, which stems from regional issues, particularly policies concerning India.

“Just as the Israeli-Palestinian dispute cannot be resolved without accommodating the Palestinian people, there cannot be permanent regional peace in South Asia without addressing Kashmir,” he added.

Terming his country’s media as ‘hyperactive’, the President stressed that any doubts in the US regarding Pakistan’s civilian regime were uncalled for.

While dispelling the notion about having differences with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, he said the country’s leadership is united and working closely with Parliament and the army towards the prime objective of defeating the Taliban and al-Qaida backed campaign of terrorism.

Referring to his recent decision to hand over the ‘nuclear button’ Gilani, Zardari said the decision was his own and rejected reports that he was being pressurised to do so.

“Recently, I voluntarily handed back the chairmanship of the National Command Authority that exercises control over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Contrary to some of the commentary on the subject, this is not a sign of weakness, but rather a demonstration of the vitality of Pakistani democracy,” he said. — ANI