March 14, 2013
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration's salutary warning to Islamabad that it risked a setback to even the "modest progress" made in ties with India if another terrorist attack was linked to it appears to the have sunk home, at least in one section of the Pakistani establishment.
March 14, 2013
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration's salutary warning to Islamabad that it risked a setback to even the "modest progress" made in ties with India if another terrorist attack was linked to it appears to the have sunk home, at least in one section of the Pakistani establishment.
The Pakistani government, which is demitting office this week in sight of an election, virtually disowned militancy in Kashmir in its final days, with foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar saying neither militancy nor military action can resolve the issue, and an out-of-box solution was needed, even as terrorists killed five CRPF soldiers in Srinagar. The US warning was spelled out starkly by its intelligence chief in an annual report to Congress underscoring major threats to America.
"Both India and Pakistan have made calculated decisions to improve ties, despite deep-rooted mistrust. They will probably continue to achieve incremental progress on economic relations, such as trade, while deferring serious discussion on the more contentious issues of territorial disputes and terrorism," James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence said in the report, adding that, "Even modest progress, however, could easily be undone by a terrorist attack against India linked to Pakistan, which could trigger a new crisis."
Hina Rabbani Khar's reported address to foreign office officials in her final meeting before demitting office echoed Clapper's analysis. But indicative of the growing schism in Islamabad, some officials contested the remarks, saying she was quoted out of context. Disowning militancy in Kashmir, the latest bloody round which was claimed by Hizbul Mujahideen, would also mean renouncing its leader Syed Salahuddin, a madrassa-embracing extremist who gave up a secular education and has openly said his organization is fighting Pakistan's battle in Kashmir.
Courtesy: TOI
