 |
Tuesday,
June 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Musharraf’s J&K policy draws flak at home No US intervention if war breaks out US Embassy
in Islamabad reopens Rice: USA has no role in Kashmir |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chirac’s party triumphs in poll Paris, June 17
|
|
Musharraf’s J&K policy draws flak at home Washington, June 17 The Strategic Forecasts (Stratfor) said in the midst of negotiations to persuade India to reduce its military build-up, President Musharraf had “apparently” taken concrete steps to temporarily suspend recruiting and fund-raising by pro-Pakistani Kashmiri militants to stem cross-border terrorist attacks on Indian targets. But support for Kashmiri militants — whether tacit or direct “in their fight against India” is the “sacred cow” of Pakistani politics, an issue no leader in the country can back down on, Stratfor said. Although some Kashmiri groups have agreed to cooperate with President Musharraf due to the threat of war with India, his apparent reversal on Islamabad’s long-standing policy has drawn criticism from militants, Islamic leaders, secular political parties and even members of the military, it said. Since assuming power in a 1999 coup, President Musharraf has managed to retain broad support both from the general public and the military despite several seemingly controversial moves. The domestic crackdown on warring Islamic sects and Islamist militants were not gestures to the West as much as they were an attempt to reshape Pakistan and regain central control in Islamabad, Stratfor said. President Musharraf’s greater design is to reform Pakistan into an Islamic state led by a secular military, similar to Turkey. This plan appeased the military and the moderate middle class and left the fringe Islamic militants and some elements of the military and intelligence service, who had a vested interest in the status quo, to oppose his programmes, it said. President Musharraf’s support declined, at the start of the US war against terrorism, when he distanced himself from the Taliban and allowed US forces to operate from Pakistani territory. But given the choice between “conditionally acceding to US demands or ending up on the receiving end of a US bombing campaign, President Musharraf had plenty of justification to assuage those who feared he was selling out Pakistan to the USA.’’ However, President Musharraff refrained from taking steps to rein in the militants in Kashmir — until now, Stratfor said. “Having tampered with Islamabad’s Kashmir policy, President Musharraf is now facing a critical test of his power and control.’’ Stratfor said President Musharraf appeared confident in his decision. “If the cries against President Musharraf fail to evolve into action, the president will have free rein in dealing with domestic and foreign problems as he sees fit. However, if the outcry is more than just bluster, Pakistan — and all of South Asia — may be in for some rough times.’’
UNI |
|
No US intervention if war breaks out Both the USA and China are reported to have made it clear to President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan that they will not intervene in the event of a war between India and Pakistan. According to noted columnist Jim Hoagland, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, during his recent meeting with General Musharraf did not have to dwell on the immediate risks the Pakistani General faced. The USA had told General Musharraf that it would not be able to stop India from attacking if he offered no movement. Washington would not come to his aid if that happened. In his article in the Washington Post on Sunday, Jim Hoagland said China, pursuing better relations with India, had also let Pakistan know that it would not intervene if war occurred. It was against this bleak horizon that General Musharraf took up the US suggestion that a pledge to halt permanently the infiltration that had been episodic over the past six months was the only way to move the Indians off war footing. The change, the columnist, noted, was announced not in Islamabad or New Delhi but in Washington, as if to emphasise the US role in guaranteeing the promise. According to Jim Hoagland, the essential new element is General Musharraf’s undertaking to close down the 50 to 60 terrorism “camps” the Indians have identified in Kashmir. These range from a collection of a few tents in fields to well-established urban neighbourhoods that terrorists control. “But General Musharraf is now committed to ripping out the plumbing of the terror network created by his intelligence services.” The columnist believes India’s acceptance of America’s role as an “honest broker” in the current crisis is a strategic shift worth developing. “There is now an opportunity to use this crisis to reverse decades of mutual distrust between Washington and New Delhi that prevailed during the Cold War. This is the big picture the Bush administration must keep in view.” |
|
US Embassy
in Islamabad reopens Islamabad, June 17 However, the US Consulate in Karachi remained shut. “With the exception of the Consulate-General in Karachi, all US mission facilities in Pakistan, including the embassy’s consular section, are operating normally today,” an embassy spokeswoman said. More than 24 US investigators are working with their Pakistani counterparts in Karachi for clues. Senior investigator Manzoor Mughal was quoted as saying that three persons had been questioned. They included a car mechanic, a security guard and a student from a madrassa. The previously unknown Al-Qanoon, which has claimed responsibility for the Friday attack, yesterday faxed a message to Pakistani newspaper Ummat calling on President Pervez Musharraf to resign and threatened more attacks.
PTI |
|
Rice: USA has no role in Kashmir
Washington, June 17 “We believe that if it could be a bilateral dialogue, that would be better. Ultimately, the two parties need to have a dialogue about the underlying problems here,’’ National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice said in an interview to Mercury News. “The Bush administration was hopeful of easing tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Still, more talks between the two countries need to take place to avoid a possible nuclear confrontation in the future,’’ Ms Rice said. On the war against terrorism, she said the Al-Qaida was on the run, but still Americans needed to be vigilant against potential attacks. “We have seriously degraded their capability to do certain things; certainly they can’t train in the way that they once did, they can’t communicate in the way they once did but this is a very shadowy network that has dug itself in a lot of places and probably pretty decentralised, and so I don’t think anybody can be certain we can avoid or prevent another attack,’’ Ms Rice said. She said President Bush would outline the US approach to a Middle East peace settlement this week, including moving towards establi- shing a Palestinian state. “But such a state should not be based on Mr Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority.’’
UNI |
|
Chirac’s party triumphs in poll
Paris, June 17 The parliamentary triumph closed the curtains on five years of Left-wing rule and two months of elections which started and ended in unprecedented apathy — with a brief interlude when millions hit the streets in protest after a shock score by the far right. With all but 12 of 577 constituencies declared, Mr Chirac’s allies took 392 seats, leaving the Socialists and other Leftists with just 173. The anti-immigrant National Front failed to win any seats despite leader Jean-Marie Le Pen’s fleeting success in qualifying for the presidential runoff vote against Mr Chirac eight weeks ago. Mr Jean-Pierre Raffarin, named Prime Minister of a stop-gap government after Mr Chirac’s May 5 re-election, was expected to announce a similar, more permanent Cabinet tomorrow, and he vowed to enact everything promised by the 69-year-old President. It concluded a double-run of two-round competitions for the presidency and Parliament. Mr Chirac won with 82 per cent of the vote, but only after protests marches nationwide and backing from Left-wingers bent on halting Le Pen. Former Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin bowed out of politics after Mr Le Pen beat him to the final presidential duel. Ms Martine Aubry, the daughter of one-time European Commission President Jacques Delors lost her seat in northern France yesterday and struggled to hold back tears on television. Other victims included Mr Robert Hue, the man who also ran for President on behalf of the ailing Communist Party.
Reuters |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
