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Reject Sharief's plea for mediation: US Congressman

Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone has urged US President Bill Clinton to reject Pakistan's oft-repeated demand for mediation on the Kashmir issue, confining to his current 'limited approach' of securing withdrawal of its forces from the Indian side of the Line of Control.

In a letter to the president last night he said he was pleased that the Clinton administration had thus far resisted Pakistani attempts to internationalise the Kashmir conflict.

''To the extent that President Clinton met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief with the purpose of getting Pakistan to withdraw its forces from India's side of the Line of Control, I welcome that,'' Pallone said.

He said: ''It's clear that Pakistan has long sought to drag the United States into this conflict as an international mediator, as a strategic ploy to enhance its position in the conflict. Such a step would not be appropriate for the Kashmir conflict.''

Pallone said he was encouraged by signals from the administration that President Clinton would make his long-awaited journey to South Asia later this year -- but stressed that the trip should not be in the context of a US mediation role on Kashmir.

He said he had been saying for years that a visit by the president to the world's largest democracy was long overdue. ''If the trip to India also includes a trip to Pakistan, so be it. But, it is important that such a trip not turn into the beginning of a shuttle diplomacy process on Kashmir, or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,'' he added.

''The current administration policy is a further indication of Pakistan's international isolation,'' Pallone said. ''This week's joint statement, combined with previous state department statements linking Pakistan with the infiltrators in the Kargil area, demonstrate a welcome objectivity from the administration,'' he added.

Pallone said, ''I don't want to go too far in perceiving a major, seismic shift in the US policy in the region, but I certainly hope we'll continue to see a movement away from the traditional pro-Pakistan tilt in the state department and the Pentagon -- especially when Pakistan's actions are so indefensible, as they are in the current situation.''

''My optimism is somewhat tempered by Sharief's characterisation, in the Pakistani media, of the talks in the US, with the prime minister suggesting that President Clinton will play a more active mediating role on Kashmir. I hope this was merely an exercise in spin control by Sharief,'' he observed.

He said his concern was not so much about Pakistani control over the infiltrators, but Sharief's control over the hard-line elements within his own government and military. ''If the Pakistani government and armed services were truly committed to withdrawal from the Kargil area, they could make it happen tomorrow. I don't buy the argument that Pakistan has no control over these militants, particularly in light of the evidence that Pakistani army regulars are among the infiltrators,'' he added.

UNI

The Kargil Crisis

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