Indian Express: Periscope On Pakistan

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Periscope On Pakistan

The Indian Express brings you snippets from the Pak media

US weakness on Afghanistan

NATION: India's successful manoeuvring to engage the US in a bilateral discussion exclusively devoted to Afghanistan that will reportedly concentrate on the so-called breeding ground for ``Islamic fundamentalist terrorism'' which the Taliban have, in the opinion of both of them, made of their country -- an issue that has become one of Washington's prime concerns, thanks to its perception about Osama bin Laden -- is a calculated attempt to exploit the situation to curry favour with the Americans. New Delhi's confirmed antipathy against Pakistan, its desire to build on the support which the US extended to it during the Kargil crisis and, of course, its eagerness to somehow avenge the dismal military performance against mujahideen -- are clearly recognisable factors which have prompted it to exploit the American weakness.

India would certainly use the occasion to malign Pakistan for its perceivedsupport for the Taliban with the purpose of driving a wedge between Washington and Islamabad. Nor would it spare any effort to damage the cause of the mujahideen fighting for their freedom in Kashmir by trying to establish a linkage between them and the Taliban. Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh is already claiming the Kargil conflict was an overspill of the Afghanistan crisis.

Considering the possibility that Indian officials, who have already reached Washington, might find a ready and responsive ear in the State Department about their canard that the Pakistan Army and the ISI are the ``principal backers'' of the Taliban, the US-Indian bilateral parleys would constitute a setback to Pakistan. A thorough review of Pakistan's Afghan policy already long overdue is now urgently called for to tackle the possibility of any dangerous fall-out of the US-Indian move.

Net Express

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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.

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