Bold and Promising

6 December 2006



Musharraf May Surrender Claim to Kashmir

Kashmir is a flashpoint between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. While the world community spends a great deal of emotion on the Palestinians, with some left over passion for Darfur, Kashmir is the one problem where a nuclear exchange could arise. Two of the three wars between Pakistan and India centered around Kashmiri sovereignty. President Pervez Musharraf has offered to give up Pakistan’s claims if India meets certain conditions. This represents half of a breakthrough, and it is cause for optimism in a region where optimism is often unfounded.

Specifically, President Musharraf has offered a renunciation of Pakistan’s claims to Kashmir in exchange for a phased withdrawal of troops, self-governance for Kashmiris under joint Indo-Pakistani supervision and creation of rules that would render the border “irrelevant.” Those close to the issue say that there isn’t anything new in this proposal. What is important is the concrete and united formulation of the various parts. India’s former foreign secretary Salman Haidar said, “I don't see any fresh proposal. It's difficult to draw any firm conclusions from what he has said. The only difference is that his ideas are now being articulated more firmly and concretely.”

Back in July, talks about Kashmir and better relations all around took a hit when 185 people were killed in Mumbai (Bombay for those over 40) by Muslim extremist bombers. Last month, rather junior officials took up a revival of the discussions, and the two nations have since established a joint intelligence panel to deal with terrorism.

Domestically, the president is gambling that settling Kashmir without total victory will be popular with the average Pakistani. Given that it would almost certainly result in better ties with India’s powerhouse economy, a deal would add to stability. In addition, it would put the Fascislamists on the defensive, having to either support the president or argue in favor of further pointless conflict.

There are Kashmiri separatists who want independence, but their main political party, Hurriyat Conference in J&K [Jammu and Kashmir], appears to have backed the proposal. Why not? Autonomy, if structured properly, can be a sweeter deal than independence, which entails all that responsibility. While Baghdad burns and the West Bank weeps, in Kashmir, reason may actually be putting in an appearance.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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