US favours direct Indo-Pak talks to solve Kashmir issue

Washington, Jul 8: US Ambassador-designate to India Timothy Roemer favours a step-by-step approach to the Kashmir issue, encouraging India and Pakistan to resolve the issue themselves.
Replying to questions during a confirmation hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, Mr Roemer described Kashmir as a ''delicate and sensitive issue.''
''We would diplomatically encourage that the Pakistanis and the Indians first of all improve their relationship, their ties, their trade, their exchanges, to foster peace and more prosperity in that area between the two countries,'' he said.
Replying to Committee Chairman John Kerry (Democrat) who asked about his assessment of the prospects for renewal of the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan, Mr Roemer referred to ''some back channels'' that were established between the Indian and the Pakistani governments when Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf was in power.
Recognising that Pakistan and India are two sovereign and independent nations, he pointed out, ''There is much that we can do to encourage these two countries to continue to talk, to exchange and to improve hotlines in case something happens in a Mumbai-type attack in the future.'' Senator Kerry said Mr Roemer would be representing the United States at an ''exciting and potentially pivotal moment in US-India relations'' and that the Obama administration had ''a genuine opportunity to forge a true strategic'' partnership between the two countries, ''not as a threat or counterweight against any other nation but based on shared interests and shared values.'' He hoped that Mr Roemer would be confirmed as the Ambassador before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits New Delhi later this month, carrying a message of friendship. Earlier, referring to the US-India Nuclear agreement, Mr Roemer said the legacy issues around the deal would be ''resolved in apositive way, so US businesses can get access to the nuclear-reactor parks there and create jobs here.'' ''Another important issue moving forward in this strategically vital relationship is a broader agreement on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism issues for stability in that region,'' he said.
Mr Roemer felt that Kerry-Lugar legislation could help significantly the United States’ relationship with India. ''But we need to expand intelligence sharing and best practices on homeland security, so that we don't see another Mumbai attack,'' he said.
He also called for broadening and expanding the defence and military-to-military relationships that can also result in jobs in America.
He said he was personally interested in broadening our cooperation on educational reforms. The Indians send about 94,000 students to the US for schools.
Mr Roemer said India has some excellent universities. ''They are challenged to create more. And many of our universities are interested in establishing joint ventures with India, to provide opportunities for us, for Indians overseas, for our land-grant colleges and agricultural universities, to help with a new green
revolution in India. This has very exciting and rewarding potential for the United States and India.''

UNI