Congressional report warns Obama against focus on Kashmir

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Jan 8 (PTI) The incoming Obama administration
should stay away from any "high-visibility" focus on the
Kashmir issue as it would likely evoke Indian resistance and
risk fuelling Pakistani expectations of a settlement favouring
Islamabad, a Congressional report has warned.

The report, prepared by the Congressional Research
Service for American lawmakers, said the fallout from the
Mumbai terror attacks, being perceived as India's 9/11, could
further complicate America's South Asia policy.

The 19-page report titled 'Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai,
India and Implications for US Interests', prepared mid-
December for US lawmakers -- the 111th Congress in particular,
was released Wednesday and a copy was obtained by PTI.

In seeking to revamp US South Asia policy,
President-elect Barack Obama and his advisors may face a key
central question: Are conflictual relations between the
region's two largest states primarily an India-Pakistan
problem or are they mainly a Pakistan problem alone, it said.

Any high-visibility US government focus on the Kashmir
issue "would risk fuelling Pakistani expectations of a
future settlement favouring Pakistan, thus in turn providing a
motive for Islamabad to sustain pressure by ramping up support
for Kashmiri separatists," it said.

"The Administration of President-elect Barack Obama may
seek to increase US diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving
conflict between these two countries," the Congressional
report said.

It states the basic US position that links of the Mumbai
terror attack go back to Lashkar-e-Toiba, whose leaders have
had the patronage of the Pakistani establishment, the ISI in
particular.

"Potential issues for the 111th Congress with regard to
India include legislation that would foster greater US-India
counter-terrorism relations," it said.

With regard to Pakistan, Congressional attention is
likely to remain focused on the programming and potential
further conditioning of US foreign assistance, including that
related to security and counter-terrorism.

Referring to President-elect Barack Obama's remarks,
before the Mumbai attack, that reconciliation between India
and Pakistan would be a "key foreign policy goal" of his
Administration, the report said: "Renewed tensions between New
Delhi and Islamabad could easily derail such a track while
simultaneously intensifying pressure on the US government to
facilitate regional conflict resolution."

As for Pakistan, the report said the Mumbai attacks have
brought sharp attention to the ongoing problem of Islamist
terrorism that emanates from this country.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari faces the difficult
task of avoiding open conflict with India while at the same
time not alienating Pakistan's powerful military and
intelligence services, it observed. PTI