Word: kashmir
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Last year India and Pakistan almost fought a war over Kashmir. Now they appear set to make peace, with India extending its unilateral cease-fire against separatist groups there, and now Pakistan beginning to withdraw its troops. Why the change...
...that both sides will lose badly if there is another war. And of course the fact that both sides now have nuclear weapons creates an added anxiety. There's a better understanding by the leadership in both India and Pakistan that something has to be done to reduce Kashmir's potential to be flash point that ignites conflict between the two. And, of course, the Americans have helped both sides come to this realization...
...Looking at the domestic politics of each side, presumably it's a lot harder for Pakistan to calm things down on their side of the Kashmir conflict than it is for India. "Well, yes, in the sense that it may be a lot harder for the government of General Musharraf to rein in the Islamic militant groups who're doing much of the fighting in Kashmir. But in the end, it may be equally difficult for India and Pakistan to step back from the brink in Kashmir, because Kashmir is far more than a territorial dispute; it's intimately linked...
...Arafat, too, may have made his position even more difficult. He's drawn every single Arab and Muslim around the world into the Palestinian problem, and that's going to restrict his own freedom of movement. A Tunisian sheik in Kashmir is now saying, 'That's my Jerusalem.' Every Arab who sent a check to support Arafat in this uprising will expect him to respect their concerns...
...start of last year's air war over Kosovo, there were seven McDonald's outlets in Belgrade. And while their artillery and air forces were exchanging fire over Kashmir last year, Indians and Pakistanis were still munching on Macs - "lamburgers" in the Indian case, since the chain has eschewed beef there out of respect for Hindu dietary customs. And only weeks before the latest intifada began, the Palestinian Authority was trying to interest Mickey D's in setting up shop in a series of malls planned for such latter-day hotspots as Kalkilya, Tulkarm, Bethlehem and Ramallah...