J&K bedevils US policymakers

Former US president George W Bush saw India as a rising Asian power, but did not see much value in a relationship with Pakistan. The war on terrorism changed all that and Pakistan became an ally. Still, Bush engaged India and Pakistan, but ignored Kashmir. The Obama administration, however, still sees India as a rising Asian power, but much to New Delhi’s vexation, wants to throw Kashmir in the mix.

An editorial in the New York Times recently said, “India should settle the Kashmir issue with Pakistan. Obama believes the US-led war against the Taliban in Afghanistan might be made a lot easier if ally Pakistan wasn’t so suspicious of India… The Obama administration will try to bring India and Pakistan to a process by which they can deal with the issue.”

Douglas H Paal, vice president for studies at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told DNA, “India and Pakistan internally face different challenges, which make their politics and prospects different. Nevertheless, past issues can drag them, and US interests, back into the cockpit of contention. These will need continued management with a growing multilateral character.”

India is concerned that US will embolden Kashmiri separatists, thus complicating the peace process. America’s involvement will also unintentionally justify the use of terrorism by groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba for political objectives. Analyst Parag Khanna said India shouldn’t be wary of US policy: “The Obama team realises Kashmir is part of the regional security dynamic and that India has concerns about terrorism emanating from Pakistan in and via Kashmir.”

Analysts say US will play a role in trying to resolve Kashmir and Indian diplomacy should know how to use this to its advantage.

Mira Kamdar, author of Planet India, said, “Everyone is onto the unofficial ways in which Pakistan uses the LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed to do cross-border hit-and-run attacks. India has achieved that and that is not negligible.”