From this security-conscious outlook, Mr Holbrooke’s task will be to ensure Pakistan’s cooperation while trying to assure it that the days of a ‘transactional’ relationship between the US and Pakistan are firmly in the past. Easier said than done. The state can be propped up with infusions of cash and commodities but on the ground it is hard to see how development projects can be undertaken. Anything with a whiff of American input will quickly become a target of militants. And if the Americans push too hard too quickly on quieting Fata, militants will retaliate in Pakistani cities. Militancy poses as much of a threat to Pakistan as to Afghanistan. We must defeat it. But if the US is too aggressive or impatient, South Asia will not become a safer place. Dawn Editorial

Blaming Pakistan won’t help the war on terror.The Government in Pakistan under tremendous pressure from the populace is unable to handle the pressure and will have to take a stand against the drones. Pakistan to Holbrooke: Here’s a list. The United States should reshape its Afghan policy to take into account Pakistan’s security concerns, otherwise no strategy will work. US Charge of the Light Brigade into Pakistan is a US failure and has to stop

All these strands of US aggression and pressure towards Pakistan have now come together in what was a clear threat of aggression against this country by Obama in his press conference on Monday (February 9) where he declared that the US knew that Al Qaeda safe havens existed in FATA (I suppose just as US intelligence knew WMD existed in Iraq which warranted the US invasion) and would not be tolerated! This statement was preceded by US gunship intrusions into Pakistan along with drone attacks and missiles fired from across Afghanistan into the tribal belt. So the Obama threat of sending in US troops into Pakistan has been given presidential expression. And in the face of all this, Holbrooke has the gall to declare that he is in Pakistan to renew US “commitment and friendship with the people of Pakistan”. Mr Holbrooke, the US has never had a commitment to the Pakistani nation – only to its own goals here and to its handpicked leaders, both in uniform and in civvies. As for friendship, only the US would define this in terms of killings, which is what they are doing to the Pakistani people.Shireen Mazari. The News

The Kashmir dispute has to be resolved fairly & peacefully” Holbrooke

Richar Holbrooke, the special envoy in Washington made the right noises while he was in Islamabad using the right vocabulary. Behind Mumbai is Kashmir: Richard Holbrook Kashmir envoy under a different name. Each and every word is weighed and rehearsed at length. His statement on Kashmir is not different from any that the Bush administration has made. He failed to make any commitments on halting “drone bombings”.  His next stop is in Delhi. As expected he will appease Delhi and deny that he is there to extricate Kashmir away from Hindustan. On his landing in Kabul he will try to impress on Mr. Karzai that his administration is corrupt and ineffective.

• “What we have today agreed upon is that a team, an inter-agency team, including all stake-holders, will be led by ambassador Holbrooke from U.S. side and on the Pakistan side it will be led by the Foreign Minister,” Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi.AFP
• It’s an orientation visit. Pakistan conveyed that military action is not the only solution. We should look for dialogue and development also as a tool to combat terrorism,” a foreign ministry official told AFP.
• “They also conveyed their concern about the drone attacks and told them this is counter-productive. He took note. He expects to talk to the administration and then come back, this is his very first interaction,” he said. AFP

Ambassador M.K. Bhadrakumar is an astute ex-Ambassador who provides us with deep insight into Afghanistan and Central Asia. His views are usually well balanced–at least when he is writing for Asia Times. He does revert to his xenophobic self when writing for rabidly Anti-Pakistani news outlets in Bharat like Rediff News etc. We found this quote from him very poignant.

What Holbrooke is going to deal with in Pakistan is far beyond the realms of cognitive processes. There is nothing like this in the Balkans where he impressed with his forceful diplomatic skills. The Khyber is a mysterious place that breeds poltergeist stories. Yazid’s reappearance testifies to the region’s strange powers. M K Bhadrakumar is a former diplomat writing for Rediff News

• “The Kashmir dispute has to be resolved fairly and peacefully,”
• “Unless it is resolved, you can’t really have viable stability in South Asia.”
• US will review policy on Pakistan
• Observing Kashmir Solidarity Day–in Teheran
• Black Day on January 26th: Kashmir solidarity day
• Border Disputes: Decoding Sir Creek issues 
• Indian Aqua bomb-Water wars against Pakistan in Kashmir 
• “What we haven’t seen is the kind of concerted effort to root out those safe havens that ultimately makes our mission successful,” said Obama. He called for more effective coordination between the US and its allies.
• “I do not have a timetable for how long that’s going to take. What I know is I’m not going to allow Al-Qaeda and (Osama) bin Laden to operate with impunity attacking the US,” he said

Extricating US out of its “Vietnam”: Holbrooke to get an earful from Pakistan . To the chagrin of Delhi, President Obama’s special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mr. Richard Holbrooke mentioned the “K” word on his arrival in Islamabad. Originally Mr. Holbrook had been named as a special envoy for Kashmir only. However after the conniption fit in Delhi his assignment was renamed as “Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan and other projects“. Even this did not satisfy the Indians. So now the “K” is silent in Mr. Holbrooke’s portfolio. To make sure everyone understood the fact that Mr. Holbrooke’s assignment included “Kasmir” he mentioned it on the first leg of his maiden visit. He is going to Delhi next to underscore that same very point. Holbrooke: Envoy to Pakistan & Afghanistan visits India with a silent “K” portfolio

ISLAMABAD: The US will review its policy on Pakistan but will remain committed to the country and its people, US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said on Monday.

“The United States looks forward to reviewing our policies and renewing our commitment and friendship with the people of Pakistan,” he said shortly after his arrival in Pakistan on his maiden visit after appointment as special representative.

Ground realities: Holbrooke said he was delighted to visit Pakistan and welcomed the opportunity to meet with Pakistani leaders on a wide range of issues. “As President (Barack) Obama’s and Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, I am here to listen and learn the ground realities of this critically important country,” he said. “I look forward to my continued consultations with leaders in Pakistan and in the region and will be reporting my findings and conclusions to President Obama and to Secretary of State Clinton upon my return to the United States,” he added.

Scheduled meetings: “Ambassador Holbrooke will meet with elected officials, senior military leaders, and representatives of the private sector and civil society for consultations on a variety of bilateral and regional issues,” a US embassy statement released after his arrival stated. Holbrooke will meet President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and senior military commanders before leaving for India on Thursday, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said.

“We hope that our discussions would give him the perspective which we have, from Islamabad, on issues facing Afghanistan, Pakistan and our region as a whole,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told Reuters. “The Kashmir dispute has to be resolved fairly and peacefully,” he said, adding, “Unless it is resolved, you can’t really have viable stability in South Asia.” US will review policy on Pakistan, says Holbrooke

According to sources, Holbrooke will seek to reduce tension between Pakistan and India so that Pakistan could refocus attention towards its western borders.

 

Separately, US Ambassador Anne Patterson called on Prime Minister Gilani at Prime Minister’s House on Monday and exchanged views on several issues, including Ambassador Holbrooke’s visit. sajjad malik/reuters

 

Delhi’s Cold Start Strategy frozen DOA (Dead on Arrival)
Pakistani response to India’s Cold Start Strategy
Neutralizing Delhi’s Surgical strikes
Hot War: A response to Cold Start
Pakistan is not Hizullah and Bharat is not Israel
India’s Cold War Strategy and the Pakistani Nuclear Response Pakistani defense based upon Missle Nuclear deterrent Shaheed, Ghauri, Babar, & Abdali
Nuclear Armeggedon in South Asia: Analysis

Delhi outwitted at its own game. It is good that Mr. Holbrooke announced that the the Obama Administration is “reviewing” it policy about Pakistan. Afghanistan: Obama’s policy in total chaos. Who is in charge? Anyone home?

Richard Holrooke and the Obama Administration should recognize that converting the Cease Fire Line into an international boundary is a Non-starter. Delhi has been unable to swallow Kashmir and has to accept changes in the boundaries. The Chenab solution is a viable option. Indo-Pak Kashmir deal? Andora, Ireland or Chenab solution?

So when it rains, it pours. London has also named an ambassador to Islamabad with the same nomenclature as that of Mr. Holbrooke. Still reeling from the flak crated by David Milliband that talked about resolving Kashmir, the assignment of the UK ambassador also has a silent “K” portfolio.

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Monday named Sherard Cowper-Coles, currently British ambassador to Afghanistan, as British special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Reuters reported the British Foreign Office as saying. A spokesman for the British prime minister said the appointment would reinforce strategic engagement with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Miliband later telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the regional situation, a private TV channel reported. reuters/daily times monitor

KASHMIR Junagarh & Manvadar Kashmir and Junagarh is Pakistani territory
Kashmir: Does the article of accession exist?

Peace is a two way street
Nehru’s commitment to the people of Kashmir
Pakistani territories occupied by Bharat (aka India)

Northern Areas are part of Pakistan and were never part of Kashmir