|
Asia Times: "Musharraf cooks up an American banquet"
Found via the Brothers Judd.
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf's visit to the United States and his meeting with President George W Bush on June 24 are likely to lay the foundations for landmark changes in Pakistan's policies, including those on Israel, Kashmir, its nuclear program and the army. Sources in the Foreign Office familiar with the agenda say that key decisions likely to be agreed on by Musharraf and Bush at Camp David include the following:- A clear road map for resolution of the Kashmir conflict in which the "Chanab" formula, which envisages the division of Kashmir along religious lines, is likely to be adopted. Thus, the Muslim-majority areas would be allowed to join Pakistan, while the areas where Hindus and Buddhists are in the majority would remain with India.
That would be rather amazing.
- A rollback in Pakistan's nuclear and missile program pursuant to the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
- Deployment of Pakistani troops in Iraq, subject to a financial deal to be agreed on by the US and Pakistan.
Which would free up some US divisions for . . . other things.
- Renewed assistance in Afghanistan to contain the burgeoning revival of the Taliban movement. Before the elections scheduled in Afghanistan later in the year, Pakistan will help the US to eliminate the power vacuum in the country by mediating talks with the various Afghan groups, including the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Taliban and other Pashtun factions.
- Cutbacks in the Pakistani armed forces. Pakistan has already laid off 300,000 personnel.
And to really gild the lily . . .
- Recognition for Israel. Initially, the two countries would establish "track II" diplomacy, and once the grounds were prepared, Pakistan would announce its recognition of the Israeli state. In return, the US would waiver US$1.8 billion in bilateral debt. The US has already written off $1 billion in return for Islamabad's support after the September 11 attacks and for its reversal of support for the Taliban.
. . . All of the issues on the table in Washington, if agreed on and fully implemented, would dovetail with US aspirations for the South Asian region, and would significantly marginalize China, Iran and Russia. On the domestic front, though, Musharraf's reputation in some hardline Islamic quarters as a stooge for the US would be further damaged, raising the prospects of more internal strife.
Don't know if this is for-real, or just someone trying to sell someone else a bridge in Brooklyn, but if it's a for-real, it would be a major diplomatic coup for us and a brave move for Musharaaf.
| The same writer had a piece on the U.S. turning to the Talibs to settle Afghanistan last week. Either he knows something none of the rest of us know, or he's thinking wishfully. It's an idea that stinks out loud. If that part of it smells, the rest of it's probably from the same source. The Kashmir deal would be unacceptable to the jihadis because it would give part of Kashmir to India, unacceptable to India because it'd give most of it to Pakland â because the Paks and their front organizations have killed or chased out the Pandits. Given the level of sweet reason prevailing in Pakistan, I'd call chances of diplomatic relations with Israel a pipedream. Having Pak troops in Iraq would also be a crummy idea; the biggest trouble areas we have are the Sunni areas (read wahhabi), so adding Sunni troops to the mix isn't the way to go. In fact, adding Muslim troops into the mix is probably a crummy idea in general. |
Posted by: Mike 2003-06-18 |
