- New Delhi (IANS) - Marxist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet
says the U.S. has an ulterior motive in trying to broker peace between
India and Pakistan - to help Kashmir become a free country so that it can
set up a military base there.
As Jammu and Kashmir lies "in the vortex" of Russia, China, Pakistan
and India, the U.S. wants a presence there, the general secretary of Communist
Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) told The Indian Express in an interview
published Sunday.
Surjeet also doubted the sincerity of the U.S. efforts to "deescalate"
the military tensions between India and Pakistan and nudge them towards
dialogue to sort their 50-year-old dispute over the Himalayan state.
"Ostensibly they might be trying to de-escalate the situation. But
while appearing to act as an arbitrator, the motives of Americans are totally
suspect.
"On the issue of Kashmir, they are going to cheat both Pakistan and
India. In an increasingly unipolar world, the U.S. is trying its best to
dominate the situation in South Asia.
"They have a clear design: they simply want Kashmiri independence.
The reason is not to honour the spirit of Kashmiriyat and realise the aspirations
of the Kashmiri people; but because Kashmir is strategically important,
lying as it does in the vortex of Russia, China, Pakistan and India. All
that they want is a military base in an independent Kashmir."
The CPI-M has been critical of the U.S.-led war against terrorism that
followed the September 11 terror attacks. The party slammed New Delhi for
offering military help to the U.S. after the September attacks.
Saying the "Americans are not at all fair", Surjeet said the
U.S. cannot be trusted by India. Although India offered to provide military
help for the war, "the Americans ignored us completely and turned
towards Pakistan.
- "Overnight, military dictator General (and Pakistan
President Pervez) Musharraf became the great American hope and, in fact,
the American hero.
"The U.S. made full use of Pakistan in their battle against Afghanistan.
Now they have turned towards India. Their motive is purely mischievous.
All that they care for is an independent Kashmir for the sake of a military
base."
Surjeet, however, praised Musharraf, saying his much heralded speech of
January 12 that outlined a programme of action against terrorists held
a "ray of hope".
"He (Musharraf) is drawing a distinction between religion and politics.
He has attacked the political use of mosques and madarasas (seminaries).
"He has firmly attacked the religious fundamentalists. The recent
positive steps by Musharraf require a response from us."
Surjeet slammed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government for failing
in a "comprehensive review of the situation and forging a diplomatic
dialogue".
The Marxist leader also dismissed Musharraf's continuous claim that the
violent secessionists in Jammu and Kashmir were freedom fighters.
"Remember that (claim) has to do with the origins of Pakistan itself
as a nation, based as it is on the dubious claims of the two-nation theory:
Pakistan for Muslims and India for Hindus."
To blunt Kashmir's armed insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives
in the last 12 years, Surjeet suggested that the state be once again given
the special status it enjoyed about five decades ago.
"I think we need to revert to the pre-1953 position - separate Constitutional
arrangement with all powers to the state except defence, foreign affairs
and communications - with Kashmir enjoying more rights than other states.
There could be some alterations but there is no alternative to Kashmiri
autonomy.
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