December 1995, Page 72

Diplomatic Doings

Pakistan Foreign Minister Visits United States

U.S.-CREST Hosts Ambassador

The United States Center for Research and Education on Strategy and Technology (U.S.- CREST) hosted a presentation entitled "French Policy Towards Iraq" on Oct. 3 in Washington, DC. Speaking during the event was retired French Ambassador Marc Bonnefous, former director of North African and Middle Eastern affairs and former deputy secretary-general for the French Foreign Ministry. Additional remarks were given by Phebe Marr, senior fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University.

Ambassador Bonnefous provided an in-depth overview of U.S. and French policy toward Iraq during and since the Aug. 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait. After pointing out numerous similarities between the policies of the two countries, he then detailed their differences.

Foremost among the latter was France's belief that the sanctions imposed upon Iraq should be lifted because they are not weakening Saddam Hussain's hold on the government of Iraq. The French diplomat argued that the sanctions were appropriate when first imposed but that now they serve only to punish Iraqi civilians. He added, however, that the sanctions should stay in place until the U.N. is convinced that Iraq's unconventional weapons program has been destroyed completely. He predicted that this point will be reached in the near future.

Dr. Marr focused her comments on the difficulties in the U.S.-Iraqi relationship, highlighting what she referred to as a "very profound distrust of Saddam Hussain in Washington." While she agreed with Ambassador Bonnefous that the United States will reach a crossroad when Iraq's unconventional weapons program has been dismantled, she added that "that day is a long way off." Summing up the U.S. view of Saddam Hussain's Iraq she said: "What we perceive in Saddam is tactical compliance and strategic defiance."

—Shawn L. Twing

Azad Kashmiri President at National Press Club

President Sardar Abdul Muhammad Qayyub Khan of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (on the Pakistani side of the line of control) discussed with members of the Foreign Correspondents' Association at the National Press Club on Oct. 6 the growing tensions between India and Pakistan over the fate of Kashmir. He began his remarks by expressing his gratitude to both the United Nations and the United States for continuing to recognize Kashmir as a still-disputed territory and for their past efforts in reaching a resolution to the conflict.

President Qayyub Khan warned that further escalation of India-Pakistan tensions, or even failure to reduce the current level of hostilities in Kashmir, could lead to a disaster in South Asia. He said that currently 600,000 Indian troops occupy every nook and cranny of the territory on India's side of the line of control, and that 20 to 30 people are being killed daily near the cease-fire line. "If the situation stays as it is, I will be suprised if a war doesn't break out between the two sides," said the president. "Even if it's not a large-scale war, a military conflict cannot be ruled out. To my knowledge, human life cannot be any more miserable than it is now in Kashmir."

Qayyub Khan advocated further negotiations between India and Pakistan in the presence of either the United Nations or of the United States in order to reach a lasting political solution to the dispute. He rejected India's position that the status of Kashmir remains a regional dispute and must therefore be settled bilaterally between India and Pakistan and without third-party interference. He said that, on the contrary, a third party presence is necessary to inhibit India's aggressive designs and settle the Kashmir problem permanently.

The president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which includes the one-third of Kashmiri territory administered by Pakistan, denied any formal link between his and the Pakistani government and their official positions on Kashmir. He said his government comprises a 48-member assembly, some of whose members live in Azad Kashmir and some in Pakistan.

Although a recent poll taken by the Mode independent polling organization and published in the Indian magazine Outlook put the percentage of Kashmiris who want independence at 72 percent, President Qayyub Khan rejected independence as an available option. He said the conflict is not about Kashmiris, but about the relationship between India and Pakistan and the need for the two parties to come to a political settlement.

—Dokhi Fassihian

Pelletreau Discusses Oman Relations

Six U.S. journalists, diplomats and scholars participated in an Oct. 12 seminar on "Contemporary Oman and U.S. Relations" sponsored by the Middle East Policy Council of Washington, DC. Leading off the half-day seminar was Ambassador Robert H. Pelletreau Jr., assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, who emphasized the strong ties that have developed between the U.S. and Oman during the reign of Sultan Qaboos.

"Oman has become a leader on the Arabian peninsula in areas as diverse as enhancing regional security and free trade, support for the Middle East peace process, de-linking terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, the education and political empowerment of women, protecting the environment, and the effort to develop a post-oil economy," Pelletreau said.

Other speakers were Joseph Kechichian of the RAND Corporation; Michael Collins Dunn, editor of The International Estimate; syndicated columnist Georgie Anne Geyer; Christine Eickelman, visiting scholar at Dartmouth University and author of Women and Community in Oman ; and John Page, Jr., chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank. All of the speakers echoed Pelletreau's praise for Oman's accomplishments during the period Sultan Qaboos has ruled, and his comments on the close ties Oman has developed with the United States.

—Shawn L. Twing