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Genuine Efforts To Settle Kashmir Dispute Must Occupy Obama Administration Policies
17 July 2009
Five experts on Kashmir Affairs have emphasised that the unresolved Kashmir dispute could pose a problem to the Obama administration’s so-called counter-terrorism efforts in the region.
C Raja Mohan, Hasan Askari Rizvi, Howard B Schaffer and Farooq Kathwari said this in their comments sought by New York-based, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
Daniel Markey, CFR senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia, said, Pak-India tensions are especially dangerous because they bring two nuclear states toe-to-toe. “The dispute over Kashmir is one part of a wider regional dynamic that had direct implications for Washington’s ability to support a stable Afghan and to address the threat posed by terrorist groups in South Asia, he said.
C Raja Mohan, Professor, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore maintained that many direct US interventions in Kashmir over the last six decades were unsuccessful. He stated that from 2003-2007, Delhi and Islamabad unveiled many confidence-building measures in Kashmir for the first time since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. Above all, Indian and Pakistani leaders negotiated, through an official back channel, the framework of a political settlement on Kashmir, he added. Hasan-Askari Rizvi, Independent Political and Defense Analyst, Pakistan, pointed out that improvement of India-Pakistan relations and the resolution of the Kashmir conflict would strengthen Pakistan’s role in the ongoing US efforts to eliminate extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said that the Obama administration was most suited to help ease tension between the two neighbours and improve their bilateral relations because it had cordial relations with both the countries.
Howard B Schaffer, Deputy Director and Director of Studies, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, said, the unsettled Kashmir dispute poses a potentially serious threat to the expanding interests of the United States in South Asia and any conflict between India and Pakistan sparked by the dispute could escalate into a catastrophic nuclear war. He added that Washington should look for opportunities to play a more active role in helping resolve the dispute.
M Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, Kashmir Study Group, said that in order to achieve stability, regional cooperation, trust must be established, especially between India and Pakistan. “Resolving the Kashmir conflict will go a long way in bringing peace to South Asia,” he said.
While the ultimate responsibility of negotiating a solution is with the involved parties, it is also the right time for the United States to pursue creative, persistent, and discreet high-level diplomacy to help move the peace process forward, he stated. »
Peace in SA linked to Kashmir solution: Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Pakistan Parliamentary Kashmir Committee, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that fresh initiatives are under way to highlight the Kashmir dispute at global level.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, while addressing a gathering at Kashmir Centre London, said that there was unanimity in Pakistan that Kashmir was the core issue of the region and all routes to peace were linked to its amicable solution.
He deplored the human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and demanded the release of pro-liberation leaders and activists and creating a proper atmosphere for composite dialogue. He supported the idea of the inclusion of Kashmiris in the talks.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman in his remarks briefed the participants about the role that Kashmir Parliamentary Committee was playing to highlight Kashmir dispute.
The Chairman of Kashmir Committee was also keen to get in touch with the Hurriyet leadership in occupied Kashmir and seek their views on resolving the dispute.
He said that the Kashmir Committee intended to arrange an international conference on Kashmir in Islamabad after coming Ramazan to highlight the issue at the international level.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl, Executive Director of Kashmir Centre London, welcomed him and referred to unabated state terrorism unleashed by Indian administration in the occupied territory.
Mohammad Ghalib, Raja Rauf, Nazir Qureshi, Ershad Malik, Dr Saboor, Abdul Rasheed Turabi, Professor Zafar Khan and Chaudhry Muhammad Khan highlighted various aspects of Kashmir dispute and suggested proposals to highlight the matter in a effective manner. »
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