ID :
46977
Mon, 02/23/2009 - 08:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/46977
The shortlink copeid
India, Pak narrowly missed breakthrough on Kashmir: report
Washington, Feb 22 (PTI) India and Pakistan "narrowly
missed" a historic breakthrough in their three-year long
secret negotiations on the vexed Kashmir issue based on
"gradual demilitarisation" of the borders, according to a new
publication.
The two countries had "come to semicolons" in their
negotiations when the effort lost steam in 2007 due to
declining political fortunes of the then Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf.
These details have been documented in an account set
for publication today written by 'New Yorker' magazine
investigative journalist Steve Coll.
The negotiations, which began in 2004, produced the
outlines of an accord that would have allowed a gradual
demilitarisation of Kashmir, a flash point in relations
between the nuclear-armed rivals, the publication said.
"The effort stalled in 2007, and the prospects for a
settlement were further undermined by deadly terrorist attacks
on Mumbai in November," Washington Post reported quoting the
publication.
Coll, a Pultizer prize winner, says under the plan,
the Kashmir conflict would have been resolved through the
creation of an autonomous region in which local residents
could move freely and conduct trade on both sides of the
territorial boundary.
Over time, the border would become irrelevant, and
declining violence would allow a gradual withdrawal of tens of
thousands of troops that now face one another across the
region's mountain passes, Coll wrote in the publication.
The attempt ultimately failed, not because of
substantive differences but because declining political
fortunes left Pakistan's then-president, Pervez Musharraf,
without the clout he needed to sell the agreement at home.
Although Musharraf fought for the deal -- as did
Indian leader Manmohan Singh -- he became so weakened
politically that he "couldn't sell himself," let alone a
surprise peace deal with Pakistan's longtime rival, Coll says,
quoting senior Pakistani and Indian officials.
Musharraf resigned as President in August, 2008 after
pressure mounted on him to step down from the then
newly-elected democratic government in Pakistan.
"The resolution of the Kashmir dispute was the
cornerstone of a broad agreement that would have represented a
paradigm shift in relations between India and Pakistan: a
moving away from decades of hostility to acceptance and
peaceful trade," Coll writes in the publication.
"It was huge -- I think it would have changed the
basic nature of the problem," the article quoted a senior
Indian official as saying. "You would have then had the
freedom to remake Indo-Pakistani relations."
According to Coll's account, the secret negotiations
consisted of about two dozen meetings in hotel rooms in
various overseas locations.
The sessions revolved around developing a document
known as a "non-paper," diplomatic jargon for a negotiated
text that bears no names or signatures and can "serve as a
deniable but detailed basis for a deal," he said.
The US and British governments were aware of the talks
and offered low-key support and advice but otherwise elected
to let India and Pakistan settle their disputes unaided, the
article says.
"Ultimately, any peace settlement would have to
attract support in both countries' parliaments; if it were
seen as a product of American or British meddling, its
prospects would be dim," Coll writes.
Musharraf is portrayed as an enthusiastic supporter of
the deal who succeeded in winning converts among the country's
skeptical military leadership.
Yet, just as the two countries were beginning to
consider how to sell the plan domestically, Musharraf was
compelled to seek a delay.
In March 2007, as the two capitals were discussing
plans for a historic summit, Musharraf became embroiled in a
public feud with his country's highest court. He eventually
fired the chief justice, triggering weeks of protests by
lawyers and activists.
What was thought to be a temporary setback soon proved
to be far more serious. "Rather than recovering, the general
slipped into a political death spiral," culminating in his
resignation, Coll said in the publication. PTI ETB
RKM
NNNN
missed" a historic breakthrough in their three-year long
secret negotiations on the vexed Kashmir issue based on
"gradual demilitarisation" of the borders, according to a new
publication.
The two countries had "come to semicolons" in their
negotiations when the effort lost steam in 2007 due to
declining political fortunes of the then Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf.
These details have been documented in an account set
for publication today written by 'New Yorker' magazine
investigative journalist Steve Coll.
The negotiations, which began in 2004, produced the
outlines of an accord that would have allowed a gradual
demilitarisation of Kashmir, a flash point in relations
between the nuclear-armed rivals, the publication said.
"The effort stalled in 2007, and the prospects for a
settlement were further undermined by deadly terrorist attacks
on Mumbai in November," Washington Post reported quoting the
publication.
Coll, a Pultizer prize winner, says under the plan,
the Kashmir conflict would have been resolved through the
creation of an autonomous region in which local residents
could move freely and conduct trade on both sides of the
territorial boundary.
Over time, the border would become irrelevant, and
declining violence would allow a gradual withdrawal of tens of
thousands of troops that now face one another across the
region's mountain passes, Coll wrote in the publication.
The attempt ultimately failed, not because of
substantive differences but because declining political
fortunes left Pakistan's then-president, Pervez Musharraf,
without the clout he needed to sell the agreement at home.
Although Musharraf fought for the deal -- as did
Indian leader Manmohan Singh -- he became so weakened
politically that he "couldn't sell himself," let alone a
surprise peace deal with Pakistan's longtime rival, Coll says,
quoting senior Pakistani and Indian officials.
Musharraf resigned as President in August, 2008 after
pressure mounted on him to step down from the then
newly-elected democratic government in Pakistan.
"The resolution of the Kashmir dispute was the
cornerstone of a broad agreement that would have represented a
paradigm shift in relations between India and Pakistan: a
moving away from decades of hostility to acceptance and
peaceful trade," Coll writes in the publication.
"It was huge -- I think it would have changed the
basic nature of the problem," the article quoted a senior
Indian official as saying. "You would have then had the
freedom to remake Indo-Pakistani relations."
According to Coll's account, the secret negotiations
consisted of about two dozen meetings in hotel rooms in
various overseas locations.
The sessions revolved around developing a document
known as a "non-paper," diplomatic jargon for a negotiated
text that bears no names or signatures and can "serve as a
deniable but detailed basis for a deal," he said.
The US and British governments were aware of the talks
and offered low-key support and advice but otherwise elected
to let India and Pakistan settle their disputes unaided, the
article says.
"Ultimately, any peace settlement would have to
attract support in both countries' parliaments; if it were
seen as a product of American or British meddling, its
prospects would be dim," Coll writes.
Musharraf is portrayed as an enthusiastic supporter of
the deal who succeeded in winning converts among the country's
skeptical military leadership.
Yet, just as the two countries were beginning to
consider how to sell the plan domestically, Musharraf was
compelled to seek a delay.
In March 2007, as the two capitals were discussing
plans for a historic summit, Musharraf became embroiled in a
public feud with his country's highest court. He eventually
fired the chief justice, triggering weeks of protests by
lawyers and activists.
What was thought to be a temporary setback soon proved
to be far more serious. "Rather than recovering, the general
slipped into a political death spiral," culminating in his
resignation, Coll said in the publication. PTI ETB
RKM
NNNN
