BARACK Obama is considering sending Bill Clinton, to Kashmir to help negotiate a settlement between India and Pakistan over the disputed region.
The president-elect is said to believe that a peace settlement over Kashmir holds the key to unlocking co-operation between the two South Asian neighbours in the battle against al-Qa’ida and the Taliban.
Senator Obama as described Kashmir as one of the "critical tasks" for his administration, adding that he had discussed the possibility of the former US president playing a role in "redefining" relations between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan.
Mr Clinton -- who once described Kashmir as "the most dangerous place in the world" and a "nuclear tinderbox" -- could be appointed a special envoy on Kashmir charged with finding a solution to a strategic problem that Senator Obama believes holds the key to the conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The role would be similar to that of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who was appointed a special Middle East peace envoy by the "Quartet" of Middle East peace sponsors, Russia, the US, the UN and the European Union, after stepping down from office in June last year.
Senator Obama sensed "the opportunity for a path-breaking peace initiative in the subcontinent and recalled Mr Clinton's role in ending the Kargil conflict in 1999, when Pakistan occupied territory in Indian-held Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have gone to war twice over Kashmir, and came close to launching full-scale nuclear attacks on each other after Kashmiri separatists staged a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi in December 2001.
As news of Senator Obama's momentous election victory filtered through the region, officials in New Delhi and Islamabad expressed apprehension about what the new Democratic presidency might mean for one of the world's most dangerous and volatile regions.
While there is strong popular backing in both countries for Senator Obama because of his intellect and his multicultural background, there is also concern he might be too interventionist.
India, which has enjoyed particularly warm relations with President George W. Bush, opposes any third-party intervention in the Kashmir dispute, which it believes is a bilateral problem with Pakistan.
Islamabad, meanwhile, is deeply concerned about Senator Obama's repeated warnings during the election campaign that he would be prepared to order US forces to undertake operations inside Pakistani territory to eliminate al-Qa'ida or other terrorist threats if Pakistan was unwilling to act.
The president-elect is said to believe that a peace settlement over Kashmir holds the key to unlocking co-operation between the two South Asian neighbours in the battle against al-Qa’ida and the Taliban.
Senator Obama as described Kashmir as one of the "critical tasks" for his administration, adding that he had discussed the possibility of the former US president playing a role in "redefining" relations between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan.
Mr Clinton -- who once described Kashmir as "the most dangerous place in the world" and a "nuclear tinderbox" -- could be appointed a special envoy on Kashmir charged with finding a solution to a strategic problem that Senator Obama believes holds the key to the conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The role would be similar to that of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who was appointed a special Middle East peace envoy by the "Quartet" of Middle East peace sponsors, Russia, the US, the UN and the European Union, after stepping down from office in June last year.
Senator Obama sensed "the opportunity for a path-breaking peace initiative in the subcontinent and recalled Mr Clinton's role in ending the Kargil conflict in 1999, when Pakistan occupied territory in Indian-held Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have gone to war twice over Kashmir, and came close to launching full-scale nuclear attacks on each other after Kashmiri separatists staged a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi in December 2001.
As news of Senator Obama's momentous election victory filtered through the region, officials in New Delhi and Islamabad expressed apprehension about what the new Democratic presidency might mean for one of the world's most dangerous and volatile regions.
While there is strong popular backing in both countries for Senator Obama because of his intellect and his multicultural background, there is also concern he might be too interventionist.
India, which has enjoyed particularly warm relations with President George W. Bush, opposes any third-party intervention in the Kashmir dispute, which it believes is a bilateral problem with Pakistan.
Islamabad, meanwhile, is deeply concerned about Senator Obama's repeated warnings during the election campaign that he would be prepared to order US forces to undertake operations inside Pakistani territory to eliminate al-Qa'ida or other terrorist threats if Pakistan was unwilling to act.
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