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| Curtain raiser on Parliament session UPA aims to tag Pak with terror,deal Kashmir issue separately | | |
Early Times
NEW DELHI, NOV 18: Distancing Pakistan from Kashmir and keeping it confined to respond to last year’s attack on Mumbai by stepping up the demand for the arrest and trial of the plotters of the 26/11 attack are parts of ruling United Progressive Alliance for Parliament’s Winter Session beginning tomorrow morning.
This is how the Government plans to back its diplomatic efforts to bring peace and stability to Kashmir particularly at a time when the United States of America is quite keen that India and Pakistan resolve and end their long standing enmity over Jammu and Kashmir.
Highly placed sources here say that the Winter Session of Parliament may well be used to the hilt for a public positioning that brings pressure on Pakistan to control and end terror. These are the times when America wants Islamabad to step up its fight against Taliban in its northern parts and help allied forces led by US to tackle Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan. Kashmir figures in American scheme of things now more than ever before because Pakistan insists that its troops can only be disengaged from its borders with India when the issue of Kashmir is resolved to the satisfaction of majority of populace of the Valley.
This poses a tricky situation for India. Thus, Parliament session has come at a time when the elected representatives from all over the country cutting across party lines and all other divides would supposedly come together to express the popular sentiments in the country vis-à-vis issues like security that has often been threatened because of actions from across the borders.
Significantly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would leave for United States on the coming weekend and would be back only after the first anniversary of last November’s attack on Mumbai since he has to attend the Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Port of Spain where he would participate after his meeting with US President Barak Obama at whose invitation he is visiting America as a State guest.
There are big expectations back home by Prime Minister’s US visit this time. Yet certain recent developments vis-à-vis American policy for South Asia has been bothering Indian foreign policy wizards. The biggest blow has come during President Obama’s visit to China where he declared Tibet as a part of China though while stressing for talks between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and Chinese Government. The other source of worry for India is US President’s move to appoint Stephen Cohen for the study of Kashmir dispute. India has objected to an earlier similar move during the time of President Bill Clinton.
Since these developments have taken place in just past couple of days or so, foreign policy experts here feel that the recent visit of Iranian Foreign Minister to New Delhi might not have been taken kindly by the US. Whatever may be the reason the Indo-American bonhomie is turning out to be more euphoric than substantive as per observers.
The issue of tackling terror, indeed, serves as a point where the US has been collaborating with Indian security and intelligence agencies. But the gap in perceptions vis-à-vis other strategic issues (where India differs with Pakistan and China) do exist between US and India. The US prefers to maintain its own exclusive or separate stand whereby it believes that its interests in South Asia can be taken care of. Washington takes care to save its interests from getting aligned to any singular player or power in the region.
From New Delhi’s point of view America often depends more on Pakistan vis-à-vis its fight in Afghanistan and tries to pander China even more because of its growing economic might. Jammu and Kashmir is going to have a direct impact of such American preferences. And, thus, New Delhi has moved a step forward in extending an olive branch to separatist groups in the Kashmir Valley by its no longer secret parleys with Hurriyat chairman, Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq, and his cohorts.
Among other things this has been taking care of some of the American sensibilities. Mirwaiz has indicated that the quiet diplomacy initiated by the Union Home Ministry is moving at a faster pace than what is generally perceived. He is expected to visit Pakistan after a week or so from now where his task is turning out to be that of acting like a bridge between India and Pakistan.
This is indeed to the liking of Americans whose blessings for these efforts came when Mirwaiz visited New York in September this year. How far these American backed moves succeed may take some more time to be known but for certain America has opted to play the role of a coach in what started as covert diplomacy and which is now slowly coming out into the open.
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