A rchive Date
[ 04-05-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ India ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/05/02/77987-ap.html
Powell welcomes India-Pakistan peace plan
By NIRMALA GEORGE
Sat, May 3, 2003
NEW DELHI (AP) - The United States on Saturday welcomed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's initiative for peace with Pakistan, a move that raised hopes the two nuclear-armed neighbours can resolve their decades-old dispute over Kashmir.
Secretary of State Colin Powell called External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha from Damascus to praise the peace moves, a Sinha spokesman said Saturday. On Friday, Vajpayee ended a two-year impasse by saying India was ready to name an envoy to Pakistan and resume air links.
Islamabad responded by swiftly agreeing to talks and restoring diplomatic ties.
Powell also had a telephone conversation with Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Saturday, in which he praised India's and Pakistan's decision to hold talks.
Bilateral talks are likely to start at the level of senior officials. A visit by Vajpayee would depend on signals from Pakistan that it is taking steps to curb infiltration into Indian territory by Pakistan-based militants, Indian officials said.
The main source of friction is Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries by a Line of Control but claimed by both in its entirety. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the region since their independence from Britain in 1947.
According to a Pakistani foreign ministry statement, Powell "assured the prime minister that the United States would continue to make efforts to promote better understanding between India and Pakistan, enabling the resumption of dialogue leading to peaceful resolution of problems between the two countries."
The peace moves were also hailed by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in separate calls to Sinha, said Navtej Sarna, the Indian External Affairs ministry spokesman.
Sarna said that within hours of the invitation to visit Pakistan, Vajpayee sent a letter to Jamali saying "careful preparations had to be made on the ground before a meaningful and sustained dialogue" could take place.
"The Prime Minister has said that a conducive atmosphere for talks has to be created through an end to cross-border terrorism and the dismantling of terrorist camps" in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, said Sarna.
On Saturday, Jamali said in Islamabad that a formal invitation has been sent to Vajpayee to visit Pakistan for talks. However, officials in New Delhi said a visit by Vajpayee would depend on signals from Pakistan that it was taking steps to curb infiltration into Indian territory by Pakistan-based militants.
Muslim militants in Kashmir began fighting for independence or merger with Pakistan in 1989. India accuses Pakistan of aiding the rebels - a charge Pakistan denies.
India also expects Pakistan to open up trade and economic co-operation, which was agreed to at a regional summit of South Asian leaders in Kathmandu, Nepal, in January 2002, an official said on condition of anonymity.
The turnaround in relations between India and Pakistan comes ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
Both sides indicated Armitage's upcoming trip helped bring them together. Impending visits by U.S. officials often have led to sudden improvements in relations as the nuclear rivals try to avoid being criticized by Washington.
The two countries sent troops to their borders and went on war alert last year after India blamed Pakistan for a deadly December 2001 attack by Islamic militants on the Parliament. Pakistan denied involvement. Tensions eased after intense diplomacy by the United States and Britain.
India's cricket chief, meanwhile, expressed confidence his country will soon resume cricketing ties with Pakistan following a three-year break.
"We are constantly in touch with our government to find out what are their latest views on the subject and are getting positive signals," Indian cricket board president Jagmohan Dalmiya told reporters after a six-hour Asian Cricket Foundation meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Indian government had frozen cricket and sporting ties with Pakistan due to tensions over Kashmir.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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