{"id":2131,"date":"2014-08-11T10:32:09","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T05:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/?p=2131"},"modified":"2014-08-11T10:34:26","modified_gmt":"2014-08-11T05:04:26","slug":"us-india-pakistan-and-kashmir-new-challanges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/editors-take\/us-india-pakistan-and-kashmir-new-challanges\/","title":{"rendered":"US, India, Pakistan and Kashmir – New Challanges"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/fb:like>

Srinagar and Washington<\/p>\n

By Z. G. Muhammad<\/p>\n

Will the \u2018cold war mummy\u2019 come to life in South-Asia after America leaves Afghanistan towards end of the year. This question has been haunting minds of political analysts and strategic experts in the region for quite some time. Notwithstanding, protracted dispute in Kabul over the election results and standoff increasingly threatening countries stability, the debate about US role in South Asia got a new spin after two days visit of US Secretary of State, John Kerry to New Delhi, closely followed by arrival of US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel on a three day visit. In India, visit of Kerry and Hagel did not create much of enthusiasm in print media. Even \u201cultra-nationalist\u201d TV channels, contrary to their habit were not euphoric about it. Largely, the visit was seen as a move for \u2018re-energizing the bilateral ties between two nations and narrow down the difference on issues\u2019 and to reach out to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, before his schedule visit to Washington in September. The visit did not create waves in Delhi, nevertheless, it send alarm bells to Pakistan. With, the PML (N) government facing toughest challenges from the rival opposition party and it fighting survival battle largely there was no official reaction from Pakistan officials to US officials visits to India. If it had something to do with space that Pakistan would get in Afghanistan after US withdrawal. However, some Pakistani commentators looked alarmed at the visit and saw it aimed at shrinking Pakistan\u2019s role in the region. Mansoor Jafar editor of Al-Arabiya writing in Saudi Gazette as to how United States used Pakistan for furthering its geo-strategic interests was now \u201cpatronizing\u201d India with the aim of making the \u2018country a globally powerful ally as a counterweight to China\u2019s influence in the region.\u2019 Exuding with scepticism about Washington\u2019s role in South Asia for enabling India to \u201crise\u201d Asif Ezdi a Pakistani commentator talking about US foreign policy initiatives in South Asia in which India is \u201clinchpin\u201d \u2018are ostensibly related to trade but in reality intended to serve the strategic purpose of enhancing India\u2019s regional profile while marginalising Pakistan.\u2019 Most of Pakistani commentators are apprehensive about increasing diplomatic activities by US in India after change of guard in New Delhi. Islamabad has started believing that Washington will go extra-mile in its relations with New Delhi to win over good will of Narendra Modi– it had denied visa in the past and to end acrimony caused because of NSA snooping on the BJP. But, some important commentators of Indian origin like former editor of Newsweek Tunku Varadarajan are not optimistic, they see \u2018the bar in US-India relation at low\u2019 and do not see these improving, despite the two countries converging in their fears of Chinese aggression and expansion in Asia\u2019. The Americans pretty well understand India is \u2018loath to embrace to any formal alliance with it for checkmating Beijing.\u2019 But given to mind-set of India largely wedded to non-aligned policy commentator Varadarajan holds the view, \u201cas things stand, America gets neither strategic comfort nor a fair economic opportunity from India. Perhaps it\u2019s time for Washington to shrug its shoulders and move on, leaving a warmer relationship with India to a time when Indians have made up their muddled minds about the kind of country theirs is\u2014or ought to be.\u201d One may agree or may not agree with argument advanced by Varadarajan but in all likelihood South-Asia after US exit from Afghanistan will throw up newer challenges to peace and stability in the region. To avert, these challenges if one may recall statements by US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Late Richard Holbrooke and President Obama that gateway to permanent peace in Afghanistan passes through Kashmir. True, the much touted phrase dropped after India-US nuclear deal holds well even today. An after the total drawdown of US soldiers from Afghanistan it will become more significant for Kashmir remaining only major dispute in Asia to be resolved. It is equally true since 1947, as very rightly pointed out by Ahmed Rashid in \u2018Descent into Chaos\u2019 US \u2018did not recognize how crucial the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir is to stability in the region.\u2019 Nevertheless, Washington has been at centre of the dispute from the day India knocked at United Nations Security Council on January 1, 1948. It was United States that co-sponsored the UN resolution about Kashmir that guaranteed right to self-determination for people of the state. And despite seeing no major strategic interest at stake in the region Washington runs through Kashmir narrative as good as third party along with India and Pakistan. To seek US support on Kashmir, Nehru in 1948, sought a \u2018long-term military collaboration with US, one of major implication for seeking exclusive relationship, marginalizing Pakistan. But, pentagon rejected the overture,\u2019 and thereafter it took a stand on Kashmir. \u2018Washington, the US mission to UN, US embassies in New Delhi and Karachi worked in unison with Washington on Kashmir.\u00a0 Not only through embassies did US remain connected to Kashmir related developments but it established direct link with Kashmir\u00a0 after Sheikh\u00a0 Abdullah\u00a0 met Warren. R. Austin, US permanent representative in the United Nations. Abdullah, who at that time had gone to the UN as a part of Indian trusted member of Indian delegation for supporting Indian cause and justifying India\u2019s military action in Kashmir. They could not have calculated that Abdullah would \u201cundercut\u201d their position seeking US support for independent Kashmir. Washington had not dismissed Sheikh Abdullah proposition. It in fact had become serious about it and asked embassies in New Delhi and Karachi that Independence would emerge as basis for India-Pakistan settlement of Kashmir US in all likelihood will not oppose the solution. In this column, it may not be possible to completely recap the US role in the Kashmir dispute. And after 1948, Washington is significantly present at all Kashmir related developments whether in the United Nations or outside. It also encouraged resolution of the dispute outside the United Nations Security Council. In 1962, after India-China war, when India and Pakistan at the persuasion of US when India and Pakistan were engaged in dialogue at highest level and discussions revolved around partition of Jammu and Kashmir as solution of the dispute, Washington supported Kashmir going to Pakistan, with India guaranteed a corridor for supplies to Ladkah, because of threat from China. In early nineties the United States, reappeared on the Kashmir scene as enthusiastically as in 1948, or during the cold war. Even after 1972 bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan in Shimla and New Delhi preferred calling Kashmir a \u201cbilateral problem\u201d and ruled out third party involvement Washington has been at the centre of cessation of Kashmir related hostility between two countries- Kargil war is a classic examples. It would be too na\u00efve to think that after, total withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan the US role in the region will end as pointed in this column the region will through up new challenge that could endanger peace in the region. And to cope with new challenge allow peace permanence in the region United State needs to recognize the fact as articulated by Steve Cole author of \u2018Ghost Wars\u2019 that \u2018Kashmir is the cause of conflict and insecurity in south Asia\u2019 and it needs to work for bringing in lasting between India and Pakistan and resolution of the Kashmir.<\/p>\n<\/fb:like><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinagar and Washington
\nBy Z. G. Muhammad
\nWill the \u2018cold war mummy\u2019 come to life in South-Asia after America leaves Afghanistan towards end of the year. This question has been haunting minds of political analysts and strategic experts in the region for quite some time. Notwithstanding, protracted dispute in Kabul over the election results and standoff increasingly threatening countries stability, the debate about US role in South Asia got a new spin after two days visit of US Secretary of State, John Kerry to New Delhi, closely followed by arrival of US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel on a three day visit. In India, visit of Kerry and Hagel did not create much of enthusiasm in print media. Even \u201cultra-nationalist\u201d TV channels, contrary to their habit were not euphoric about it. Largely, the visit was seen as a move for \u2018re-energizing the bilateral ties between two nations and narrow down the difference on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editors-take"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2131"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2131"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2132,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2131\/revisions\/2132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}