US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Pak asks mujahideen to help resolve crisis

Pakistan's top civil-military body today issued a thinly veiled appeal to defiant so-called Muslim militants to leave Kashmir and help solve the worst India-Pakistan military showdown in almost three decades.

The Defence Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief, said in a nine-point statement that the "DCC therefore decided that Pakistan should appeal to the mujahideen to help resolve the current Kargil situation...".

The appeal, which mujahideen groups have said they will reject, followed a weekend meeting in Washington between Sharief and US President Bill Clinton which agreed that "concrete steps" would be taken to defuse the crisis.

The DCC statement linked the appeal to Clinton's pledge to take "personal interest" in kick-starting the stalled Indo-Pakistani peace talks, a commitment which India sees as mediation, something it steadfastly rejects.

"The committee considered it a significant development as this is the first time that the US has agreed to play such a role in the search for the final settlement of the Kashmir dispute," the statement said.

"The DCC took the view that Pakistan's objective of focusing international attention on the Kashmir issue and securing US involvement with the process for the settlement had been achieved," the statement said.

It said "help" from Kashmiri militants would "provide an opportunity to the international community to play an active role for the realisation of the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people and to promote peace and development in South Asia".

The statement made no linkage between any withdrawal and willingness by India to resume peace talks. Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz had made the connection in a series of interviews with the Western media this week.

The militants see the weekend pact as a sell-out of their 10-year guerrilla campaign and a U-turn by a government which has backed their "armed struggle" to get India to agree to a United Nations plebiscite in the region.

The statement made no mention of a ceasefire either, which Western defence experts say is crucial for an orderly withdrawal of the mujahideen. India alleges the mujahideen are backed by Pakistan Army regulars, but Islamabad denies this.

Nor did the statement mention any contacts between the directors-general of military operations in India and Pakistan to discuss a ceasefire, a step which the experts say would be the first phase of any orderly withdrawal.

It is not known how many fighters are on the Indian side of the Line of Control, but Western estimates say the force is around 1,000-strong.

The DCC gave Sharief, who has come under fierce attack at home from Islamic parties, the parliamentary Opposition and militants, a pat on the back for his weekend dash to the talks with Clinton. "The DCC lauded the prime minister's efforts to highlight to the world that the Kargil situation is an aspect of the larger Kashmir issue, which must be addressed urgently," the statement said.

UNI

EARLIER REPORT:
Sharief meets military chiefs

The Kargil Crisis

Tell us what you think of this report