Pak feels threatened by Obama’s India visit
Published: Friday, Oct 8, 2010, 2:30 IST
Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
US President Barack Obama

When it comes to Pakistan, the United States of America and Kashmir, it often seems to India that nothing has changed. The news that a team from the US embassy in New Delhi met Kashmiri separatist leaders in the Valley just ahead of US president Barack Obama’s visit to India later this year brings up old fears about Pakistan manipulating the West to interfere in Kashmir and India’s internal matters.

Usually, this is a direct attempt to deflect attention from Pakistan’s own problems and this time it appears to be the same. Pakistan, apart from grappling with its own fissures and political instability, has the additional pressure applied by the US to deal with terrorists operating within its land and its links with the Taliban. In such a situation, the current law and order situation in Kashmir must have seemed like an unexpected gift for Pakistan and it has wasted no time in upping the ante.

Yet, it may not be necessary for India to assume that we are back to the bad old days. The US could well be playing its new game of paying lip service to Pakistan’s concerns, perhaps as a pay-off for greater US excursions into Pakistani territory. It might also be a way of appeasing Pakistan for the attention being given to India when it comes to commercial and economic ties.

And, most of all, Obama is not scheduled to stop by Pakistan when he visits India. India must make it clear that unsolicited outside interference is unacceptable when it comes to Kashmir.

The current problems in Kashmir notwithstanding, it is evident that Pakistan is no longer part of the solution even as far as most Kashmiris are concerned. If there is an additional worrying point for India, it is Pakistan’s cosy relations with China.

As far as the US and Pakistan are concerned, we know from experience that Pakistan occupies a special place in the US’s view of the world. But at the same time, India is too important for the US to behave the way it did during the Cold War.

India’s increasing success and its growing economy have made it a very attractive proposition for the rest of the world. It is perhaps that which threatens Pakistan the most, as it loses so many of its advantages day after day.