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Sharief's linkage of CTBT with Kashmir seen as political posturing

C K Arorain Washington

The Clinton administration appears to have dismissed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief's linkage of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the Kashmir issue as a mere political posturing meant for domestic consumption back home.

Commenting on Sharief's statement to this effect, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Karl Inderfurth yesterday made it clear that the US would go by Sharief's commitment in the UN General Assembly in September last, regarding adherence to the CTBT.

''We have no reason to believe that the prime minister's assurance provided at the time of UNGA is any different today than it was then. We believe that Pakistan is on a path to both sign and ratify the CTBT,'' he added.

The controversy arose over Sharief's remarks in reply to a question at his media conference on Thursday suggesting that Pakistan would sign the CTBT only after the Kashmir issue had been ''meaningfully'' addressed and all the embargoes on Pakistan had been lifted. He had never made such a statement before, according to observers.

Inderfurth drew attention to the joint statement issued yesterday at the end of Sharief's US visit which said that President Bill Clinton had welcomed the prime minister's statement made at the UNGA, regarding adherence to the CTBT and Pakistan's decision to participate constructively in the upcoming negotiations at Geneva on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty''.

''I think he brought that issue in because he feels very strongly that addressing Kashmir is of utmost importance to Pakistan and addressing the question of sanctions relief is also of utmost importance to Pakistan,'' he added.

Inderfurth said, ''Mr Sharief is a leader and a leader had to keep his eyes on things of greatest importance to his country. We were not surprised that he had raised those issues.''

The US hoped that India and Pakistan would be able to fully explore their views on the Kashmir issue as their current dialogue progressed. It would lead to some satisfactory solution of the Kashmir issue and ''that will over time also take into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people,'' he added.

The senior state department official said, ''We also believe that the international community can at some appropriate time perform a valuable role if there is a movement of the two parties (India and Pakistan) towards resolving the issue.

''We can provide some form of support and that is what we are hoping to do.'' He said Kashmir had acquired greater importance in the wake of May nuclear tests by India and Pakistan.

''We are not going to say or do anything at this stage which would deflect attention away from the parties themselves discussing this issue in a serious fashion,'' he said obviously in justification of the US inability to accept Pakistan's demand for American mediation in the dispute.

UNI

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