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| J&K: US President Obama just can't be trusted | | Obama part - I | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Nov 7: United States' President Barack Husein Obama's Saturday Mumbai statement on 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks has not been appreciated by many in India. The reason: the US President didn't even once refer to the Pakistani role in that deplorable act that took away hundreds of innocent lives. Four American nationals had also lost their precious lives. It appears that persons in the Indian political class and media, both print and electronic, had hoped that the US President would visit the Taj Hotel and point his fingers towards Pakistan indicating the Islamabad's deep involvement in the terrorist attacks. How else should one interpret a fierce debate in the country over the failure of the US President to share the Indian belief that Pakistan's involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks was knee-deep? This hope was misplaced.
Barack Hussain Obama is, it needs to be underlined, not a friend of India. He is a friend of Pakistan and he has soft corner for the America-based Kashmiri separatist Farooq Kathwari, who has been carrying on a relentless anti-India campaign in the United States, particularly since January 2003. Who is this Kathwari? What are his views? What is the nature of relationship between Obama and him? Who are the persons in the United States who are hobnobbing with Kathwari or with whom Kathwari has been hobnobbing to ensure the implementation of his sinister game plan? What is his Jammu and Kashmir solution? What is the attitude of Obama towards Kathwari?
Kathwari is an America-based Kashmiri. He has been spewing venom on India and seeking its dismemberment since decades. He is a leading businessman. In fact, he is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ethan Allen Interiors. Ethan Allen Interiors is an established interior design company. His son, Irfan, was killed in 1992 while waging "jihad against the (erstwhile) Soviet Union in Afghanistan." There were reports that Irfan was "connected with either the Jais-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba." Kathwari is a member of the "influential" council of Foreign Relations. Just about six weeks ago, Obama put Kathwari as member on the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, despite the fact that the dreaded mujahideen have unleashed a "holy crusade" against the Americans in Afghanistan and on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Kathwari is known for his close links with extremists in Kashmir whose single point agenda is to convert Jammu and Kashmir into a theocratic country.
Besides, Kathwari is chairman of the controversial Kashmir Study Group. He founded it in 1996 to propagate his anti-India views and strengthen the Kashmiri separatists and communalists. Some of the members of the Kashmir Study Group include Gary L. Ackerman, US House of Representatives; James A. Leach, US House of Representatives; Dr. Peter Lyon, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London; Dr. Nigel J.R. Allan University of California, Davis; Dr. Walter Andersen, Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Ainslie T. Embree, Columbia University; Dr. Robert L. Hardgrave, Jr. University of Texas, Austin; Dr. David Taylor, Aga Khan University, Pakistan; Dr. Barbara D. Metcalf, University of Michigan; Amb. Robert B. Oakley, Institute for National Strategic Studies; Amb. Nicholas Platt, Asia Society; Amb. Anthony C.E. Quainton, Retired; Amb. Harry G. Barnes, Jr., he Asia Society; Dr. Leo Rose, Asian Survey; Dr. Marshall M. Bouton, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations; Amb. Howard B. Schaffer, Georgetown University; Dr. Chester A. Crocker, Georgetown University; Amb. Teresita C. Schaffer, Center for Strategic & International Studies; Dr. Joseph E. Schwartzberg, University of Minnesota; Dr. Fen Osler Hampson, Carleton University, Ottawa; Amb. Phillips Talbot, Asia Society; Dr. Rodney W. Jones, Policy Architects International; Dr. Thomas P. Thornton, Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Charles H. Kennedy, Wake Forest University; and Dr. Robert G. Wirsing, Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies.
It is important to note that after the failure of the Vajpayee-Musharraf Agra Summit in July 2001, Kathwari brought out a paper on Jammu and Kashmir in January 2003. It was titled Kashmir - A way Forward. It was based on discussions with "several Indian and Pakistani fellow travelers." The paper read like this: "The conflict in Kashmir has been a major factor in the differences between the two great nations of India and Pakistan. The conflict has potential implications for peace and security for over two billion people of South Asia, Central Asia, and China. And if not resolved, continues to pose serious implications for world peace.
The Kashmir conflict has resulted in tremendous costs for the region - mounting death toll, impact on economic growth, military buildup, psychological stress (especially in Kashmir itself) and points to the wisdom and necessity of resolving the conflict.
The recently announced de-escalation by India and Pakistan is a positive development. But ending the immediate conflict is not enough - it can all too easily recur. India and Pakistan need to settle the Kashmir dispute for their well being and that of the entire region. In doing so they must both work with the people of Kashmir to secure a peaceful future. (To be continued) |
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