Word: musharraf
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...massacre this week of 90 Indian pilgrims in Kashmir may prove to be more of a headache for Pakistan's General Parvez Musharraf than for India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Tuesday's killings are believed to be the work of Kashmiri separatist guerrillas aiming to preempt historic peace talks between the largest separatist organization, Hizbul Mujahideen, and the Indian government. Pakistan hosts and sponsors all of the separatist groups fighting to end Indian rule in the disputed, predominantly Muslim territory and unite with Pakistan. But General Musharraf, under pressure from the West to ease tensions with India...
...normally an easy call. But Pakistan is a key to regional stability and to battling terrorism. The Pentagon is pushing hard for Clinton to go--in order to mend badly frayed military-military ties, and Clinton is said to believe that establishing a personal link to ruling GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF could be vital in defusing a crisis. But Clinton's security is a major concern, as is the danger of sending the wrong message about U.S. commitment to democracy and weapons nonproliferation. Progress in those areas--if it comes soon--could tip the balance in favor of going...
...visit to India and Bangladesh, one of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's lawyers, Iqbal Raad, was shot dead in broad daylight by unknown gunmen. Nawaz is being tried on charges of kidnapping and attempted murder, for allegedly attempting to prevent a plane carrying current military leader General Parvez Musharraf from landing - the event that triggered last year's coup. The Friday shooting came a day after Raad had begun to present Nawaz's defense, arguing that the coup plot against him originated after he met with President Clinton last June and agreed to withdraw Pakistani forces who had crossed...
...Although the Clinton administration had considered staying away from Pakistan in light of the coup and unhappiness in Washington over Islamabad's efforts in the fight against terrorism, the President elected to go in the belief that a personal relationship with General Musharraf could be critical to resolving future crises in an unstable region - as his personal relationship with Nawaz had helped end the Kargil standoff. The fact that President Clinton's old friend Nawaz is now saying General Musharraf launched his coup in retaliation for the Pakistani premier's doing Washington's bidding - and the assassination of his lawyer...
...fact that the current Pakistani leader, General Parvez Musharraf, took power in a military coup that ousted Nawaz may have created an obstacle to the meeting - at least at the level of appearances - but Washington has a long tradition of close cooperation with Pakistani strongmen, recognizing also perhaps that the prospects for stability may be greater under military rule than they were under Nawaz's corrupt civilian administration. President Clinton will go through the motions of urging a speedy return to civilian rule, but terrorism remains the most important point of contention between the U.S. and the country that remains...