Pakistan may have reasons to worry

Even though the financial crisis will be the main focus of the Democratic administration, US President-elect Barack Obama’s immediate a

ttention on the foreign policy front will be taken up by the war on Iraq and Afghanistan.

In numerous remarks on the war in Afghanistan, Mr Obama has said that the root of global terror lies in Pakistan and that the US under his leadership will not spare any efforts in ensuring that the problem is fixed. In one interview he went a step further saying that the US `` should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India’’ and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis.

Recent reports suggest that former US President Bill Clinton could even be sent as a US Kashmir emissary.
Though his Kashmir comments have been restricted to one interview, he has consistently made the point that Pakistan needs to be convinced that militants and not India is the key problem.

``If we can get them to refocus on that, then that is going to be critical to our success not just in stabilising Pakistan but also in finishing the job in Afghanistan,” Mr Obama said. This could signal a change of the US approach to Kashmir.

Mr Obama’s remark on the US facilitating a resolution to the Kashmir issue has already caused ripples in different quarters in India. `` When he talks of facilitating he is not going to be objective. He will push an agenda. The US might become more intrusive and interventionaist,’’ said Bharat Karnad, Bharat Karnad, security analyst at the Center for Policy Research.

And New Delhi will not accept any third party intervention in what it considers a bilateral matter. At the moment the composite dialogue process has been moving ahead at its own speed. While incremental progress has been made in areas of trade and commerce, there has been little movement on issues like Kashmir and terrorism.

India has continued to maintain that dialogue can only take place in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. But with Pakistan facing a series of terror attacks, fears are growing that the sub contitnent will only see further outbreaks of terror activity.

If his remarks on Kashmir have raised eyebrows here, his remarks on Pakistan have led to outraged reaction from the Pakistani establishment. He supports the Bush administration’s policy of hot pursuit of terrorists into Pakistani soil and has said that if Islamabad is ``unable or unwilling’’ to take militants out, then the US should go after the targets into Pakistan.

``Now you’ve got a fledgling democratic government (in Pakistan). We have to support their efforts to democratise. That means, by the way, not just providing military aid, it means helping them to provide concrete solutions to the poverty and lack of education that exists in Pakistan. So I want to increase non-military aid to Pakistan,” he told CNN. He has also voiced concern about the stability of the Zardari government and reports that Al Qaeda was targetting the new government.

This is being seen in some quarters as a sign that the Obama presidency will take Pakistan to task. ``On Pakistan he has made successive statements and he seeks to impose far greater accountability and he has taken a much harsher line then McCain,’’ said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management.

Source: EconomicTimes