Author: Seth Mydans
Publication: The New York Times
Date: June 7, 2002
Deputy Secretary of State Richard
L. Armitage began an effort at American shuttle diplomacy here today with
what Pakistani officials said was blunt talk and detailed demands.
His one-day visit, to be followed
Friday by a visit to India, comes as the two nations are poised on the
brink of war, with one million soldiers facing each other along their border.
Both have nuclear weapons.
"Clearly the situation is quite
complicated and quite volatile," Mr. Armitage said after meeting for an
hour and 45 minutes with President Pervez Musharraf. But he said the meeting
had produced "a good basis on which to proceed."
"President Musharraf has made it
very clear that he is searching for peace and he won't be the one to initiate
a war," Mr. Armitage told reporters, "and I will be hopefully getting the
same type of assurances tomorrow in Delhi."
The American's visit follows similar
missions by Chris Patten, the foreign affairs director of the European
Union, and Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, and places the United
States at the center of a dangerous conflict in which it has not always
played a front-line role.
As the United States pursues its
campaign against terrorism, it finds itself called on to deal with other
regional issues, this one closely entangled with its efforts to combat
the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
United States officials have said
that prolonged tension here could hamper Washington's antiterrorism efforts.
Pakistan is a key ally in that campaign, and has stationed thousands of
troops along its border with Afghanistan to try to stop infiltration by
the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Mr. Armitage said that in his meeting
with General Musharraf, he elaborated on a private message delivered by
telephone on Wednesday by President Bush to the leaders of both nations.
Mr. Armitage is to be followed next week by Secretary of Defense Donald
H. Rumsfeld, who is also to visit both capitals.
At issue is the disputed territory
of Kashmir, over which India and Pakistan have already fought two wars.
The United States has joined India in demanding that Pakistan halt infiltration
by militants in an effort to end terrorist attacks. At the same time, the
United States is pressing India not to attack Pakistan.
In his talks here, a senior Pakistani
official said, "Armitage laid out specific tasks for Pakistan, which would
help the United States verify Pakistani action against militant infiltration
into Indian-held Kashmir." The official said Mr. Armitage handed over a
dossier containing the details of the border areas where, in the United
States view, Pakistan is continuing to assist Kashmiri militants.
"He assured the Pakistanis that
he'll tell the Indians in equally strong terms to withdraw the threat of
war," the Pakistani official said.
Under intense international pressure,
General Musharraf now asserts that all border infiltrations have stopped,
although it is not clear that Pakistan can fully control all the militant
groups.
"The president of Pakistan has made
it very clear that nothing is happening across the Line of Control," Mr.
Armitage said, referring to the boundary that divides Kashmir into areas
of Indian and Pakistani control. "We're looking for that to hold in the
longer term."
Whatever General Musharraf's orders,
the situation on the ground remains fluid and uncertain. "We are discussing
all sorts of monitoring mechanisms, without any prejudices one way or the
other," Mr. Armitage said.
As they have almost every day for
weeks, Indian and Pakistani troops traded artillery and machine-gun fire
across the border today, with exchanges reported in a dozen places. At
least 14 people were killed, according to reports from both sides.
Last week General Musharraf said
he was shifting some of his troops away from the border with Afghanistan
to Kashmir, raising concerns in Washington that Pakistan's position would
be weakened in areas where remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda are believed
to be hiding.
Mr. Armitage played down that concern.
"Some elements have moved," he said, "but the main activities on the western
border of Pakistan seem to be unaffected."
Mr. Armitage also said he would
discuss with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee India's proposal for joint
Indian-Pakistani patrols along the border to verify that infiltration had
stopped. But he told reporters, "It doesn't do any good to discuss these
things in public."
Pakistan has rejected the idea,
and the information minister, Nisar A. Memon, said today, "Given the state
of Pakistan-India relations, mechanisms for joint patrolling are unlikely
to work."
Some analysts saw the Indian proposal
as a positive signal, given the stubborn standoff. At an international
conference in Kazakhstan earlier this week, the two leaders refused even
to shake hands. General Musharraf has said he is willing to talk at any
time, but Prime Minister Vajpayee says there can be no talks until infiltration
is stopped.
