There’re signs of hope in the Indian subcontinent:
The leaders of India and Pakistan met for the first time in two years yesterday, with the disputed territory of Kashmir high on the agenda.
The two nuclear-armed countries nearly came to war two years ago but relations have thawed dramatically in recent months and Pervaiz Musharraf, the Pakistani president, spent more than an hour with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Indian prime minister. The Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers refused to give details of what was discussed in Islamabad, except to say progress was made.
There are a couple things to keep in mind. This will only work if Gen. Musharraf can keep the Islamists at bay in Pakistan, and that will require him staying alive. More to the point, the fact that Gen. Musharraf thinks that he could or should thaw relations with India in the face of Islamist opposition is a direct result of the Bush administration’s determination to drive those Islamists into dark ratholes all over the Muslim world.
Related Mere Rhetoric Posts:
