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Ackerman Urges Clinton to Reject Calls for Internationalizing Kashmir Issue

A P Kamath

Asserting that the United States and India "are on the cusp of a new relationship," Congressman Gary L Ackerman urged the Clinton Administration to reject calls for the appointment of a 'Special Envoy' to deal with the Kashmir issue.

Giving into such demands would amount to rewarding Pakistan for its invasion in Kargil, he stressed.

His passionate plea was echoed in a letter to Representatives by fellow Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr.

Pakistan wants to internationalize the Kashmir issue in the wake of its recent infiltration, Pallone (D-NJ) said. India is fighting to defend its territory against armed infiltration, Pallone continued. "Pakistan has richly earned its recent international isolation," Pallone said, adding that the efforts of pro-Pakistani members should not be encouraged.

Pallone also said, in a letter to Clinton, that given the treacherous nature of Pakistan's action against India, "the US must maintain a clear policy of opposing armed aggression and not reward Pakistan with gains at the negotiating table".

Pallone said he was "encouraged" by indications that Clinton will travel to South Asia later this year. "It is important that the trip not be a vehicle for the US to play a mediator role in Kashmir," he urged.

In his letter to Clinton, Ackerman, co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said: "The situation in Kashmir can best be resolved by discussions between India and Pakistan as envisioned in the 1972 Simla Agreement."

Ackerman (D-New York), a leading member of the House International Relations Committee, said: "It is in this spirit that the path-breaking Lahore Declaration was issued last February. In that document, both India and Pakistan renewed their commitments to implementing the Simla Agreement. Specifically, the Lahore Declaration states that the prime ministers of India and Pakistan 'have agreed that their respective governments shall intensify their efforts to resolve all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir'."

The previous commitments to address the issue of Kashmir on a bilateral basis, he argued, do not warrant the internationalization of the Kashmir question.

Ackerman commended the Administration for its "recent handing of the incursion by Pakistani fighters onto the Indian side of the Line of Control."

But he also urged the President to "reject calls to strengthen the United Nations Observer Mission in the region."

"...I do not believe that expansion of the UN Observer Mission in Kashmir is necessary. I believe that such steps only reward Pakistan for its aggression and would do nothing to further efforts toward peace in South Asia. In fact, our naming a special envoy or seeking an enhanced role for the UN will be clearly seen as external meddling in India's domestic affairs. In other words, Mr President, any such move will have the opposite of the intended effect," the Ackerman letter said.

He reminded Clinton that the president's phone conversation with Prime Minister Vajpayee showed the United States and India are on the cusp of a new relationship.

"There's much in common that we share with the world's most populous democracy. There are many issues that bind our relations with India. Last weekend's successful meeting between Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh in Singapore, I believe, sets the right tone and direction in shaping our two nations' relations."

The letter added: "Let us seize this historic opportunity and cement the bilateral relationship between the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest by rejecting calls for a special envoy and an enlarged UN observer mission in Kashmir."

Next story: Making Connections, By A New Way

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