Powell Fails to Convince India, Pakistan to Resume Dialogue: Roundup

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 29, 2002

Powell Fails to Convince India, Pakistan to Resume Dialogue: Roundup

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US Secretary of State Colin Powell has failed to convince India and Pakistan to take further steps to ease tensions and resume the deadlocked dialogue in his just-concluded brief visit to New Delhi and Islamabad.

Powell, who arrived here Saturday afternoon and left for Islamabad around lunch time on Sunday, told a press conference early on Sunday morning that Washington wanted to ensure "regionalstability permanently" in South Asia though it had not been engaged as a mediator.

But with troops remaining mobilized on both sides and infiltration continuing, the US official said that the situation in the region, which had "improved considerably in the past few months, "remains tense" and that much more needed to be done by both sides.

A few hours after Powell's departure, spokeswoman of the IndianExternal Affairs Ministry Nirupama Rao told a press conference that New Delhi had told the United States that infiltration into the Indian side had not stopped and that Islamabad had failed to take any action in "dismantling terrorist camps" in the country.

On Saturday, Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha ruled out early resumption of dialogue with Pakistan, saying that necessary conditions for such a dialogue did not exist at present.

During his two-hour talks with Powell Saturday evening, Sinha blamed Islamabad for the current stand-off between India and Pakistan and asked it to do more to ease tensions by ending what New Delhi has termed "cross-border terrorism" against India and dismantling "terrorist camps" in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

However, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told the media in Islamabad after his meeting with Powell later on Sunday that infiltration of Pakistan-based militants into Kashmir had stopped.

Musharraf reportedly asked New Delhi to stop making "baseless" allegations against Pakistan and start talks with Islamabad to resolve all issues including the Kashmir dispute.

Cross-border infiltration "is certainly stopped," "it is not taking place" and whatever India "is saying is absolutely baseless," Musharraf said while meeting with Powell prior to their talks.

Minutes after Musharraf made the statement, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao described it as "terminological inexactitude," saying that there had been a "spurt"in infiltration in the past few weeks.

"I do not want to be undiplomatic in my reaction to that (Musharraf's statement). Let me say that it is a terminological inexactitude," Rao told the reporters when asked for comments on Musharraf's remarks in Islamabad.

On his part, Powell said after holding talks with Musharraf that "we still are not able to say that they (infiltrations) have been stopped although they have gone down."

But he said Washington would watch "very carefully" and assess the points of view of both sides.

"The United States views Pakistan's assurance to permanently seize the infiltration activity across the line of control as an important commitment. We also look to India to take further de-escalatory actions as Pakistan makes good of its promises. It is time to make regional stability permanent," Powell said.

Indians, however, had a different view as to whether or not theinfiltration across the line of control in Kashmir had stopped.

The US secretary of state reportedly told reporters accompanying him on Saturday that he would hear the perception of both India and Pakistan on the question of infiltration, a trend which was "hard to measure with any level of precision."

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated in last October following a terror attack in India-controlled Kashmir which killedover 40 people.

The two countries were on the brink of war last December after the attack on Indian parliament, in which 14 people, including thefive gunmen, died on the spot.

And in May this year, 34 people were killed in two separate militants' attacks in the Kashmir valley, which led to a large-scale military mobilization on both sides of the border.

In his talks with both Indian and Pakistan leaders, Powell tried in vain to persuade them to take further steps to de-escalate tensions along their borer.

New Delhi should take further de-escalatory measures while Islamabad should also take steps to fulfill its promises on "curbing terrorism" and checking cross-border infiltration into India, he told the media in New Delhi.

Holding that Kashmir was on the international agenda, Powell urged the Indian government to allow independent observers to watch and monitor the upcoming elections in India-controlled Kashmir, and to free political prisoners to enhance the credibility of the polls.

New Delhi did not completely reject the suggestion but ruled out the possibility of formal observers investigating or verifyingthe elections.

Rao told the media later that any diplomat or individual, who had visa for India, could travel anywhere in the country includingKashmir and could witness the polls in his individual capacity.

But, she said, the government would not allow any nongovernmental organization or group of individuals to observe orverify the elections.

Maintaining that there was no ambiguity on disallowing formal observers to investigate or certify the elections, the spokeswomansaid, it would be inaccurate to draw the inference or to come to aconclusion that Powell made a pitch for international and formal observers.

On Powell's suggestion that political prisoners in Kashmir be released for the elections to be inclusive, Rao said the issue wasnot raised at any level during the talks he held with Indian leaders, saying that Powell only stressed that the polls should befree, fair and open and be held in an atmosphere without violence.

However, Powell said that the elections, which are scheduled for early October this year, would be the "first step towards a broader dialogue on the Kashmir issue" between India and Pakistan.

Washington made it clear that Kashmir dispute and other outstanding issues between India and Pakistan have to be discussedand solved bilaterally.

In Islamabad, Powell asked Pakistan to let the polls in Kashmirtake place without interference from militants or terrorist activities.

Addressing a joint press conference with President Musharraf, Powell said that India should do everything to ensure polls meet international standards by permitting independent observers and that all parties should ensure they would be held without interference from those who were opposed to it.

Washington saw the polls as the first step leading to the resumption of dialogue between the two countries though they "can not resolve problems between India and Pakistan nor can they erasescars," Powell reportedly said.

This is Powell's third trip to South Asia in ten months since last October in his bid to ease tensions between India and Pakistan.

In New Delhi, he met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Vice Prime Minister Lall Krishna Advani, National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha. While in Islamabad, he held talks with President Musharraf and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Inamul Haq.

Describing both India and Pakistan as "friends," Powell said onSaturday Washington "expects friends to keep their word."

Following the terror attack on the Indian parliament last December and again an attack against an Indian army bus last May, Pakistan pledged to take steps to stop "attacks by terrorists" from its side.

India has also declared that once the reduction of cross-borderterrorist activities and of infiltration into the Indian side wereverified on the ground, it would take measures to ease the escalated tensions with Pakistan.

New Delhi made permanent stop of cross-border terrorism and infiltration as preconditions for resumption of dialogue with Islamabad, while Pakistan said that it has done enough on its promises and that the two sides need to resume dialogue to solve all outstanding issues including Kashmir.

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