Word: musharraf
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...territory, and emotion often shunts reason aside. In India, following recent state-election victories by his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, Vajpayee is riding high, but he might have to face down party hard-liners who see the talks as a concession to Pakistan. In Pakistan, the ?lite supports Musharraf's moves, but it's a harder sell with militants, lower-ranking military officers and ordinary Kashmiris. "You've got to remember that two or three generations of Pakistanis have been taught that Kashmir is theirs by right," says a Western diplomat in Islamabad. "That's going to be difficult...
...Abdul Qayyum Khan, is concerned that Kashmiris have been excluded from upcoming negotiations, undermining the legitimacy of the talks. "They agreed that Kashmir was a central issue," he says, "but they did not mention the centrality of the Kashmiris in making any decision." And there are questions, too, about Musharraf's reasons for seeking peace. Some observers say that although he had been considering rapprochement with India for some time, his decision to drop support for Kashmiri militancy was cemented by the Christmas Day attempt on his life?the second in two weeks?which was apparently made by graduates...
...fight on without state protection, have been selling their AK-47s and SUVs in the markets of Pakistani Kashmir, others like Abu Khalid, a veteran of one tour in Indian Kashmir, are vowing to continue. "Jihad is our Islamic duty," he says. "Nobody can stop us, not even Musharraf. If Musharraf stops our food, we will not die of hunger. God will arrange it from somewhere else." In fact, argues Ajai Sahni, of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, Musharraf's pledge to end support for the militants could encourage a surge in violence, especially when the snow...
...then things started to happen. In December, two attempts were made on the life of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf; the attack on Christmas Day was so close that God must have been on the side of the general. Pakistan's government blamed Kashmir militants once supported by Musharraf, now aggrieved by his neglect. Eleven days later the SAARC meeting began in Islamabad, and the initial signals were tentative at best. When Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived, his Pakistani counterpart, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, tried to greet him with a hug. Vajpayee smiled cordially but took...
...Musharraf declared that credit for the rapprochement went to Vajpayee's "vision, commitment and flexibility"?and it's been a very long time since a Pakistani leader has praised an Indian Prime Minister so sincerely. Simultaneously, Pakistan gave a written commitment that it would "not permit any territory under [its] control to be used to support terrorism in any manner," the most definitive response to India's constant drum thump on that issue?and, presumably, a reaction to the attempts on Musharraf's life...