The lastest editorial in Daily times Pakistan that appeared to-day makes interesting reading for me. The editorial commments on the visit of Mr. Halbrooke to that country. His mission is to mainly solve the Afghanistan imbroglio. He has not been to go far to issues with India and Kashmir, which makes the state of Pakistan a little disappointed. At every forum Pakistan tries to link Kashmir with the problem of Taliban and terrorism that flourish in that country. It always tries to keep the issue live, insisting that the only way to solve all the terrorism issues by rosolving the Kashmir, which is purely a bilateral issue, through the International Fora.
Please see here how the editorial skirted the direct references to Kasmir and India here by just referencing about the regional stability.
A state that is central to a solution to the problem of terrorism and regional cooperation in general must be accorded the importance it deserves. And “importance” translates into an understanding of Pakistan’s security concerns and the resolution of those disputes that have so far prevented states in the region from extending cooperation to each other. The proposal by Bangladesh to have a regional force to deal with terrorism is a good one but its actualisation requires the degree of trust and confidence that the region currently lacks. Mr Holbrooke’s task is therefore cut out for him. He did a good job in Bosnia but the Balkans, despite Serb savagery, were still much easier than this part of the world where at least two states are armed with nuclear weapons and that fact reduces the ability of external actors, even one as powerful as the United States, to influence their behaviour. *
