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Saturday, January 15, 2011
US should join bid for Kashmir solution: Pakistan
GENEVA: The United States could play a key role in allaying Pakistan’s fears about its neighbour India by getting involved in a solution to the Kashmir dispute, a senior Pakistani diplomat said on Friday. Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Zamir Akram, said attempts by India and Pakistan to negotiate a settlement were derailed after 2006 by Hindu or Muslim “extremist” groups in each country. “Unfortunately the momentum has been lost,” he told journalists. When asked what single short-term gesture could help allay Pakistan’s concerns about the strategic intentions of its neighbour, Akram said: “Something that Obama promised when he was a candidate for president but abandoned when he became president, that is, facilitate the solution to the Kashmir dispute.” “That’s the gesture that the administration itself said it wanted to take and they should follow up on it,” he added. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari was due to hold talks with US President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday, while Obama has promised to visit Pakistan this year. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk