LONDON: India must not ignore Kashmir when search­ing for explanations for extrem­ism, says a report in The Times' which has attributed the disput­ed Himalayan region as 'the ele­phant in the room'.

Referring to the recent visit of the British Foreign Secretary Dav­id Miliband to India and his com­ments on Kashmir which caused dismay in New Delhi, the paper said regardless of the adjectives used by the Indian commenta­tors about his remarks, Miliband was correct in his analysis.

According to the paper, Indian officials admit in private that there is no evidence yet of a di­rect link between Mumbai attacks and the Pakistani state.

"More significantly, most re­gional experts agree with Miliband that "resolution of the dis­pute over Kashmir would help deny extremists in the region one of their main calls to arms".

For too long, Kashmir has been the "elephant in the room" in the international discourse on secu­rity in South Asia and a stain on the copybook of the world's larg­est democracy, the paper said.

It noted that in 1948-9, the United Nations passed resolu­tions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir on whether it should join India or Pakistan.

"Ever since, India has refused to comply and blocked interna­tional efforts to resolve the issue, over which it has fought ^two of its three wars with Pakistan.

"Now that both have nuclear weapons, Kashmir is a legitimate concern for the whole world, yet foreigners who bring it up are in­variably shouted down.

"India's media rarely challeng­es government policy there, while the foreign media has been un­derstandably focused on Paki­stan and Afghanistan since 9/11.

"As a result, few outside the region are even aware that India still has half a million troops in Kashmir, making it one of the most heavily militarised corners of the planet.

"Or that by official estimates, more than 47,000 people have been killed there since an upris­ing against Indian rule began in 1989 (rights groups put the toll nearer 70,000).

"Or that that Kashmir's four million Muslims routinely suffer arbitrary arrest, torture and ex­tra-judicial execution by security forces, according to most rights groups." The paper further said last year alone, at least 42 people were killed by security forces in protests against Indian rule.

Although Kashmir's problems do not justify the Mumbai at­tacks, but the daily said 'in try­ing to prevent more attacks in India and elsewhere, it is ludi­crous to continue to ignore Indi­an policy in the region. The fact is that Kashmir is the primary mo­tivation for most terrorists in In­dia and Pakistan.

'The real reason India is so up­set is that Miliband's words re­flect the thinking of President Obama, who plans to appoint a special envoy on South Asia.

'The idea is for this envoy to take a more holistic approach to the region, including Kashmir, to address the concerns of all the major stakeholders. It is a good idea and Mr Obama and his al­lies should continue to promote it, however loudly India com­plains/ Another report in 'Finan­cial Times' describe Kashmir issue as a conflict that 'transcend regional boundaries.'

Terming Miliband's observa­tions as 'right', the paper said the global war on terror was mud­dled thinking from theorists who misdiagnosed the nature of me en­emy and how best to attack him.

'He was also right in linking November's deadly terrorist as­sault on Mumbai to the conflict j in Kashmir, at the heart of the j post-partition rivalry between India and Pakistan.'
'The Miliband storm was not in a teacup,' it concluded.

Courtesy: The Nation

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