Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=05/06/03

TYPE=US OPINION ROUNDUP

TITLE=INDIA-PAKISTAN PROGRESS

NUMBER=6-12917

BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS

TELEPHONE=619-3335

CONTENT=

INTRO: U.S. newspaper editorial writers are praising the tentative thaw in relations between India and Pakistan. India's Prime Minister recently extended the "hand of friendship" to Pakistan after 16 months of squabbling over the State of Jammu and Kashmir. We get a sampling from V-O-A's _______________ in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.

TEXT: The latest round of diplomatic overtures began when Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee offered "the hand of friendship" to Pakistan in a speech which reportedly surprised even his own foreign ministry. Pakistan's Prime Minister responded with thanks and now India is taking steps to restore diplomatic and airline links severed after a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament building that India believed was instigated by Pakistan.

The United States has been working diligently behind the scenes to get both nations talking peace again after they almost went to war about 16-months ago over Jammu and Kashmir. In Baltimore, The Sun notes:

VOICE: Spring annually brings the threat of armed conflict between India and Pakistan in [Jammu and] Kashmir, the mountainous region divided more than a half century ago between the two nations. But this year, rapprochement is suddenly in the air. The result of the last two weeks' surprising movement toward peace in South Asia can't be predicted.

More than 50 years of enmity between India and Pakistan - - including three wars, two fought over this Kashmir - - shows more can go wrong than right. But this breathtaking turn, breaking a 16-month standoff ... should be taken seriously ... At stake is not only South Asian peace, but whether Pakistan allows itself to develop into a more viable, modern state.

TEXT: In the Middle West, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is also pleased with the latest peace overtures, suggesting:

VOICE: If the dispute between India and Pakistan were remote and insignificant, it would not have attracted as much attention as the United States has devoted to it. Secretary of State Colin Powell made two trips to the Indian subcontinent last year, and his deputy, Richard Armitage will visit Pakistan, Afghanistan and India this week.

TEXT: Still in the region, Cleveland's [Ohio] Plain Dealer headlines its comments: "A welcome nuclear thaw."

VOICE: India and Pakistan have taken an important step toward averting a disastrous war on the subcontinent by agreeing to restore diplomatic ties and resume talks on long-standing territorial disputes. The breakthrough follows intensive U-S diplomatic efforts. .Yesterday's [5-5] suggestion by the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman that Pakistan would give up all nuclear weapons if India did the same is an indicator of the magnitude of the possibilities - - and of the risks.

TEXT: "A good sign from India" is how the rapprochement is seen in Tennessee by Nashville's Tennessean.

VOICE: Given such delicate diplomatic times in the world, progress in the relationship between India and Pakistan is worthy of the world's close attention. .The risks of confrontation between the two cannot be overstated. The attempt to loosen tensions and improve relations should be applauded.

TEXT: The Washington Post gives particular praise to Prime Minister Vajpayee for making the first move.

VOICE: . Mr. Vajpayee's decision to abandon India's previous insistence that an end to cross-border terrorism must precede any renewal of dialogue was politically courageous as well as pragmatic. Pakistan might respond by restraining the terrorists; but if there are more incidents like the bloody assault on the Indian parliament last year, Mr. Vajpayee will face a fierce backlash at home.

The best he, and the world, can probably hope for is an incremental and gradual easing of tensions, aided by cricket matches and other confidence-building measures. . Even a modest warming between India and Pakistan would make the region look a lot safer than it did a year ago.

TEXT: On that note, we conclude this U-S Opinion Roundup on the current thawing of relations on the sub-continent.

NEB/ANG/MAR