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US ambassador to India Frank Wisner, who was accorded red-carpet treatment by
the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir, has just returned from the state after
reassuring Hurriyat leaders, and other "contacts" developed over the past several
years, that the US will continue to "pay attention" to Kashmir.
Mr Wisner's visit was in the nature of a farewell to Jammu and Kashmir as he will
be leaving India soon. It was not very clear what form the "attention" would take,
although in the past it has included several visits by Mr Wisner and senior US
diplomats, as well as academics, strategic experts and others, who have sought
appointments with and met politicians, extremists and Army commanders.
This is in sharp variance to the official American position that is interest in
the Valley does note extend beyond a desire to see an improvement of relations
between India and Pakistan. The US government, according to information received
here, is officially of the view that it is only interested in providing
opportunities for a dialogue between the two neighbours.
In this context, in the US establishment's opinion, the onus lies on India in
paving the way for a dialogue as the "major regional power."
Although Pakistan's foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan has defined this to mean
dialogue on the status of Kashmir, there is no official comment from the American
establishment which is quite happy to restrict its comments to, "more contact is
desirable between the two countries and this has been out lognstanding position."
The US government, whose interest in Jammu and Kashmir has grown over the years,
is now no longer willing to take a categorical position on converting the line of
control into an international border. This was incidentally a demand made recently
by Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah but has since not been
reiterated.
Influential members of non-government groups in the US have been openly advocating
the division of Jammu and Kashmir into religious-based autonomous zones. The US
government, however, is reportedly not in concurrence with this view at the moment
preferring to draw distinction between the government and the well connected not
government organisations that have been set up in that country to look
specifically into the issue of Kashmir.
Mr Balraj Puri, who is heading the Jammu and Kashmir committee set up by the state
government to look into the question of sub-regional autonomy, is reported to be
complete against religious-based division Several "experts" from the US are
reported to have met him on this issue in what is described as a bid to convince
him to their point of view. This, incidentally was a demand raised at one point of
time by the erstwhile Jana Sangh.
The US government is reportedly of the view that India, Pakistan and the third
entity formalised by that country, as "the people of Jammu and Kashmir," should
put behind their constraints and look for new opportunities for a dialogue. The
Saarc meeting, however, is not being over-played as a major achievement by the US
which is of the view that only time will tell to what extent the two countries are
able to set a politically sustainable agenda. The onus, of course in the US point
of view has always rested on India as a "big self confident country."
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