TAKING almost complete U-turn, the US administration is reported to have decided not to ‘meddle’ in Kashmir. In an interview with an Indian news agency in Washington, a close aide of the American President – Bruce Riedel — has claimed that Obama administration has no intention of meddling into Kashmir as it is up to Pakistanis and Indians to make decisions to reduce tension.
Contrary to what he has been stating during election campaign, President Obama is now shy of making any mention of the Kashmir dispute and he also ignored this vital issue during his comprehensive speech at Cairo University recently. In a way this is continuation of the policy pursued by previous administrations which acknowledged presence of the dispute but were not willing to play any role for its resolution. When the United States refers to tension in South Asia it should also recognise the root cause of the tension i.e. Kashmir issue that led to four wars between Pakistan and India and is a stumbling block to normalisation of their relations. You cannot expect lowering of the tension in the region by closing your eyes to the basic cause of the conflict. This sort of attitude is indicative of the US double standards and lip-service to the cause of peace in South Asia. In fact, by its policies the United States is encouraging India to adopt arrogant attitude towards settlement of a dispute that is also on the agenda of the UN. Kashmir is not a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India as it involves fate of 13 million Kashmiris and the dispute has direct bearing on regional and international peace. We would, therefore, urge the United States to review its policy and use its good offices with India to convince rulers in New Delhi to move towards resolution of the conflict for the sake of regional and global peace.
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