New York, July 18 (Inditop.com) An influential US daily Saturday suggested an ambitious agenda for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in India ranging from a bilateral investment treaty to climate change and Doha trade talks but with “primary focus” on Pakistan.
The India-US civil nuclear deal “was supposed to be the start of a beautiful new friendship,” the New York Times said in an editorial. “But it is time for India to take more responsibility internationally.
“The primary focus must be Pakistan,” the Times said welcoming the resumption of India Pakistan dialogue interrupted after the Nov 26 Mumbai attacks by Pakistani-based extremists.
On her part “Clinton needs to assure India that Washington will keep pressing Pakistan to prosecute suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks and to shut down the Lashkar-e-Taiba group of extremists once and for all”.
“India also needs to help allay Pakistan’s fears. If resolving tensions over Kashmir – their biggest flashpoint – is not possible while Pakistan is battling the Taliban, then talks on water and environmental issues may be an interim way to seek common ground,” the daily said.
One of the concerns about the nuclear deal was that it would make it easier for India to expand its arsenal – and drive Pakistan to produce more of its own weapons, the Times said suggesting: “With access to global fuel markets, India can use its limited domestic uranium stocks for weapons.”
President Barack Obama and Clinton both endorsed the deal, “now they have a responsibility to do what President George W. Bush never did: push India to stop producing more weapons fuel rather than waiting for a multinational treaty to be negotiated”, the daily said.
“That would make it easier to press Pakistan to do the same. Both India and Pakistan claim that they want only a ‘minimal credible’ nuclear deterrent – but who knows what that means?” the Times wondered.
President Obama’s efforts to revive arms control talks with Russia and his commitment to seek ratification of the test ban treaty mean that Clinton arrives with bolstered credibility, the Times said asking her to “urge India to consider opening regional arms talks with Pakistan and China and drop its opposition to the test ban treaty”.
