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Ela Dutt & Vasantha Arora
New York, July 5: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has promised US President Bill Clinton to withdraw Pakistan-backed forces from the Indian side of the line of control (LoC) in Kargil even as Washington called for speedy resumption of India-Pakistan talks for resolving all issues, including Kashmir.
An 18-line joint statement released after a three-hour meeting between the two leaders said: "It was agreed between the president and the prime minister that concrete steps will be taken for the restoration of the line of control in accordance with the Shimla Agreement." At a media briefing soon after the meeting, a White House spokesperson emphasised: "Our position has been that the forces that are across the line of control need to be returned to the Pakistani side."
The meeting, which saw intense discussions between the two delegations, included breakout sessions during which Clinton called Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to give him a 10-minute update "to keep him fully apprised of thediscussion," a spokesperson said. The formal statement issued by the White House said the two leaders shared the view that the current fighting "contains the seeds of a wider conflict" and that "it was vital for the peace of South Asia that the line of control in Kashmir be respected by both parties in accordance with their 1972 Shimla accord."
Clinton urged an "immediate cessation of the hostilities once these steps are taken" to restore the status quo ante with regard to withdrawal of Pakistan-backed forces. Both leaders agreed that "the bilateral dialogue begun in Lahore in February provides the best forum for resolving all issues dividing India and Pakistan, including Kashmir," the statement emphasised.
Clinton told Sharif that "he would take a personal interest in encouraging an expeditious resumption and intensification of those bilateral efforts once the sanctity of the line of control has been fully restored." The US president also said he intended to plan an early visit to SouthAsia.
Immediately after the Clinton-Sharif meeting, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Tariq Altaf announced that Pakistan would "appeal and use its influence" on the Mujahideen to stop the fighting and vacate their positions in Kargil. They had achieved their objective and the world attention was now focussed on the core issue of Kashmir, he added. "We are issuing this appeal because fighting has involved a lot many casualties, resulting in a dangerous situation," he added. Asked whether both sides -- India and Pakistan -- had agreed to pull out their troops, he clarified that "this is a joint statement between the United States and Pakistan, and I think it speaks for itself. Our understanding is that there will be withdrawal of the forces (by Pakistan) now."
Asked about the time frame for the withdrawal of forces, he said, "I think it is safe to say that the president and both prime ministers have a great sense of urgency here, and that we want to see positive steps taken in a very early time. For theimmediate situation, we would like to see positive steps in the very near future."
Clinton's national security adviser Sandy Berger called his Indian counterpart Brajesh Mishra again in New Delhi "to brief him on the (joint) statement and give him a recap of what has happened here today (Sunday)." "I expect that we will have other communications with the Indians, probably through deputy secretary (of state) Strobe Talbott, calling the foreign minister (Jaswant Singh) probably tomorrow (Monday)," he added.
Asked about Vajpayee's reaction to the Clinton-Sharif statement, the official said, "I think I will let the Indian Prime Minister characterise his view himself."
When asked whether the statement envisaged only the withdrawal by Pakistan forces, he said, "Those forces that have been involved, have crossed over to the Indian side of the line of control."
He parried the question whether the Pakistani prime minister had conceded that he had the influence to get the guerrillas out of Kashmir. The jointstatement said Clinton and Sharif shared the view that the current fighting in the Kargil was dangerous and contained the seeds of a wider conflict. They agreed that the bilateral dialogue begun in Lahore in February provided the best forum for resolving all issues dividing India and Pakistan, including Kashmir.
New Delhi gave some amount of concurrence to the joint statement because the White House gave it a blow-by-blow account of the proceedings. About Clinton's effort to expedite the bilateral negotiations, the spokesperson said the President "wants to see this process move forward as quickly as possible and he will be involved in trying in his fashion to encourage that to take place, and that once the sanctity of the line of control has been fully restored -- in other words, the point being there that this process really can't be resumed until that line of control is restored."
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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