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Andrew Hill
Islamabad, June 30: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns from Beijing on Wednesday armed only with modest Chinese support against US demands to pull troops out of Indian Kashmir or risk a fourth war with arch rival India.
The United States turned up the heat on Islamabad on Wednesday by openly accusing Pakistan of using regular troops in the seizure of strategic heights on the Indian side of disputed Kashmir, a charge Pakistan sternly denies.
A US official in Washington, who declined to be named, said, "There are Pakistani regular forces involved, probably in the high hundreds. It's very substantial."
The statement was seen as a significant escalation of US pressure on Pakistan and a sign of Washington's frustration at scant progress towards a solution to the worst military standoff between Indian and Pakistan in nearly 30 years.
It was the first time the United States had publicly voiced charges which are common knowledge in the Pakistani capital but which have so far only been made underthe cover of diplomatic anonymity or the safety of distant datelines.
Pakistan daily maintains that the insurgents are Kashmiri "freedom fighters" over which Islamabad has no control, but the US statement put the onus for their withdrawal squarely on the shoulders of the two-time Pakistan premier, diplomats said.
Western governments had little doubt the occupying force comprises soldiers from the Northern Light Infantry, a regular army unit, although how many and in what ratio to "mujahideen" (holy warriors) was guesswork, diplomats said.
A Sharif envoy appeared to be preparing public opinion for a withdrawal when he told the BBC that Indian and Pakistani officials could meet soon to prepare a schedule to withdraw "infiltrators" from Indian Kashmir.
Former foreign secretary Niaz Naik said the subject was reviewed in secret weekend talks he had in New Delhi with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and said he hoped a military exit would be followed by resumed peace talks between the two premiers.
Hesaid that Indian and Pakistani military officials should meet to discuss the withdrawal, which could be read as tacit Pakistani acknowledgement of control over the "infiltrators".
But diplomats said Sharif appeared to be trying to link a pledge of progress from India on the 50-year Kashmir dispute as the price for the removal of fighters threatening Indian military supply lines in Kashmir.
India says there can be no talks before a withdrawal and rejects any prior linkage between the two, but Pakistan is seeking foreign support to move the talks beyond the ritual re-stating of old positions which they have largely become.
Sharif was due to return on Wednesday night after a planned week-long visit that was abruptly ended after only 24 hours and expressions of concern over Kashmir but strict neutral statements from China, Pakistan's closest regional ally.
The News newspaper said in an editorial that "Pakistan's bid to come out of the diplomatic wilderness it has found itself in since the eruption ofbattles...has gained hope in China, which shares its commitment to avert another war...."
But it said: "Pakistan's sense of isolation in the international community has also become too obvious to ignore."
Sharif risks a fresh onslaught of criticism from Islamic opposition parties if he oversees a withdrawal of fighters he has consistently called Islamic mujahideen, diplomats said.
He may also anger the powerful army, which has ruled three times in Pakistan's independent history, and which is thought to have masterminded a stunning operation to capture the heights and inflict heavy losses on the Indian army.
"It's hard to see what Pakistan has gained out of this unless there are some meaningful Kashmir talks with India," said a European envoy. "He (Sharif) may find it very hard to sell."
The army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, said at the weekend that plans were afoot for summit talks with US President Bill Clinton which might yield forceful American expressions of concern over the Kashmirdeadlock.
But even those discussions, which are so far only a suggestion, could not take place before a Pakistani withdrawal, the diplomats said.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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