Clinton offers mediation over Kashmir dispute

Clinton offers mediation over Kashmir dispute

NEW DELHI (AFP): U.S. President Bill Clinton has stepped into
the heart of the dispute between India and Pakistan, saying he
was prepared to try and broker a solution to the issue of Kashmir
just weeks before a visit here.

Clinton's statement was given tellingly different spins in
Pakistan and India, with the former focusing on the offer itself,
while New Delhi jumped on the president's qualification that both
countries would have to agree to mediation.

Clinton, who is due to visit India March 20-25, made his
remarks at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday, where
he was asked if he would intervene to broker a solution to the
long-running Kashmir crisis that has sparked two wars between
India and Pakistan. "Absolutely, yes, I would," Clinton replied.

However, the president also stressed that without requests
from both sides any intervention by a third party would be
useless.

"If they don't want us, it won't do any good. We'd just be out
there talking into the air, and I'm not in for that."

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told AFP on Thursday
that Clinton's qualification on the issue of mediation,
effectively ruled out any such role for the United States.

"Mr. Clinton has said that he would be involved only if the
two countries are agreeable to the idea, and the two countries
are not," Singh said.

While Pakistan is keen to internationalize the Kashmir
dispute, India is adamantly opposed to any third-party
interference, insisting that it is a purely bilateral issue that
touches on issues of national sovereignty.

Another senior foreign ministry official expanded on Singh's
comments, saying that Clinton's remarks were an implicit
recognition of New Delhi's opposition to outside mediation.

"What Clinton has said is that the U.S. will not intervene and
has no plans to intervene unless both countries ask for it," said
the official, who declined to be identified.

"He has shown sensitivities to our concern that there is no
scope for third-party involvement of any kind in Indo-Pakistani
issues," the official said, reaffirming that India had "no plan"
to request U.S. help.

In Islamabad, however, analysts said Pakistan would be
encouraged by the president's remarks.

"Clinton's statement is commendable. He will be contributing
immensely in bringing peace to this tormented region by playing a
mediatory role," said Air Marshal Ayaz Ahmed Khan, a former
ambassador to Syria.

Former foreign secretary Tanvir Ahmed Khan said the timing of
Clinton's statement was significant.

"Clinton's readiness is a repetition of the earlier U.S.
position on mediation, but the important thing is that he has
reaffirmed it on the eve of his visit to India," Khan said.
Clinton's South Asian tour is currently limited to India and
Bangladesh.

Initial plans to visit Pakistan as part of the trip were
thrown into disarray last October when General Pervez Musharraf
ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a coup.

Clinton said on Wednesday he might still visit Pakistan, but
only if he felt it would further U.S. interests.

"I haven't decided whether I'm going to Pakistan or not ... I
will make a decision based on what I think will best serve our
long-term interests," he said.

Clinton's visit is keenly awaited in India, which has not
hosted a U.S. presidential since Jimmy Carter in 1978, but New
Delhi is keen that Kashmir should not be allowed to dominate the
visit.