DATE=8/13/1999
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
TITLE=INDIA AND PAKISTAN ON THE BRINK?
NUMBER=6-11424
BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
TELEPHONE=619-3335
CONTENT=
INTRO: The shooting down by an Indian air force jet
fighter of a Pakistani surveillance plane and the
death of all 16 people aboard this week has
dramatically increased tension on the sub-continent.
The U-S press has been quick to caution the two long-
time enemies not to allow themselves to be drawn into
a nuclear war. We get a sampling now from ___________
in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.
TEXT: Several months ago, the two nations traded
artillery shells and diplomatic charges, after a group
of Islamic irregular troops crossed into Indian-
controlled territory in the troubled province of Jammu
and Kashmir.
After weeks of intense diplomatic pressure, the
irregulars withdrew, and relations appeared to be
improving. The shooting down of the plane, which both
countries are claiming was in the other's air space,
has again raised the terrifying specter of a nuclear
war on the sub-continent. We begin our sampling in
the nation's capitol where "Sliding Toward Nuclear
War" is the headline over a The Washington Post lead
editorial.
VOICE: The latest shootings on the India-Pakistan
border signify big trouble. They suggest that last
month's cooling of war threats exchanged by the two
countries is transient and unstable. Worse, they
suggest that the two consider the threat of another,
fourth war-which in their new circumstances could well
be nuclear-a plausible line of policy. . The new
Indian-Pakistani aerial bumps on the border, not to
speak of the continuing violence in Indian-held
Kashmir and the near-permanent fighting on a high
Himalayan glacier, are all part of a confrontation
that issued from the birth of India and Pakistan as
post-colonial states some 50 years ago. .. That both
governments have prideful and professionally able
militaries sharpens their sense that they can keep
things under control. .. [But] Here is where the
danger lies. India and Pakistan are in the grip -the
loose grip-of politicians who seem unable to grasp
their duty to their electorates and, as well, to the
foreign populations that would suffer from the
overflow of a nuclear exchange. . India and Pakistan
cannot be forced to be responsible. But they can be
called on in all available forums to answer why they
are sliding toward nuclear war.
TEXT: Echoes the Los Angeles Times:
VOICE: This week's downing of a Pakistani
reconnaissance plane by an Indian fighter jet, killing
all 16 crewmen, escalates the ominous tension between
two neighbors that have fought three wars in half a
century. What makes the situation far more dangerous
now is that both countries tested nuclear weapons 15
months ago. There is little room for misjudgment. .
Countries like China, Russia, Japan and the United
States need to exercise their influence, stressing to
Islamabad and New Delhi the unthinkability of nuclear
weapon use.
TEXT: And in Baltimore, Maryland, The Sun has some
specifics about why neither side should want this war.
VOICE: Never was the need for a comprehensive
settlement of disputes between India and Pakistan more
apparent than in the air warfare over their border..
For more than 50 years, the ruling and military elites
of both countries have doubted the legitimacy of the
other, though outbreaks of peacemaking have occurred
during thoughtful prime ministries. The friction
involves more than Jammu and Kashmir .. . Pakistan
should not want to fight any version of this war. It
is geographically vulnerable . and. Its sole
commercial port, Karachi, is just north of the current
tension and easily blockaded. India should not want
this war, either, for fear of civil strife and
rebellion. It has more important uses for its
exchequer.
TEXT: That concludes this early sampling of opinion on
the latest tension-inducing incident between India and
Pakistan.
NEB/ANG/JO
13-Aug-1999 15:28 PM EDT (13-Aug-1999 1928 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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