I read with interest your apt and timely editorial titled as above. It is fortunate that at least one English daily the Nation keeps Kashmir dispute on the front headliners through its bold and forceful editorials like the one under reference that appeared on Oct 13.
PPP government has been following a dubious policy regarding Kashmir issue. I agree with you regarding Foreign Office spokesman “did not realise the inherent fallacy in this option” soliciting help of US, Russia and China to resolve Kashmir dispute as intermediaries. Present generation of Pakistan including Mr. Moazzam A. Khan Foreign Office spokesman may not perhaps be aware of the role US and Russia played when Kashmir dispute was under discussion in the Security Council for several years since January1948 when India took the case to UNO. Pakistan was a member of Baghdad Pact and SEATO which was to please US. However the US did not use its veto even once in favour of Pakistan to help us at certain crucial stages of Kashmir issue in Security Council. On the contrary Russia used its veto on more than one occasion to help India. China was not a member of UNO then.
You were right that “Kashmir is jugular vein of Pakistan.” But the situation has undergone a sea change. In my assessment, while PPP government has been bending over backwards over the past five years to woo India to a “dialogue table”, she worked fast to gain a firm hold on our jugular vein. India now is in a position to strangulate Pakistan at will. It should ring alarm bells in the highest of quarters.
BASHIR A. MALIK (AIG),
Lahore, October 16.