U.S.: Pakistan Will Withdraw Forces-NY Times (Oh geeeez I wonder why???)
Filed at 6:40 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pakistan's prime minister met with President Clinton for more than three hours Sunday and agreed ''that concrete steps will be taken'' to restore the ''Line of Control'' separating Pakistani and Indian forces near Kashmir.
''Our understanding is that there will be a withdrawal of the (Pakistani) forces now,'' said a U.S. official who briefed reporters on the meeting under condition of anonymity. ''Both have a great sense of urgency. We want to see steps taken very quickly.''
The officials declined to elaborate on exactly what ''concrete steps'' Pakistan might take.
''Our position has been that the forces across the Line of Control need to be returned to the Pakistani side,'' the U.S. official said.
Another said, ''The prime minister will have to make those decisions himself on how he will undertake to implement the decisions contained in this document.''
''The president urged an immediate cessation of the hostilities once these steps are taken,'' a joint statement issued by the two leaders said.
The statement, issued by Clinton and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said that the two agreed that an Indian-Pakistani dialog begun last February in Lahore ''provides the best forum for resolving all issues dividing India and Pakistan, including Kashmir.''
''The president said he would take a personal interest in encouraging an expeditious resumption and intensification of those bilateral efforts, once the sanctity of the Line of Control has been fully restored,'' the statement said.
The two leaders called the current fighting in Kashmir dangerous and said it ''contains the seeds of a wider conflict.''
The statement did not spell out what specific steps Pakistan might take, nor was there any indication of what India's response might be.
Clinton also repeated his intention to visit South Asia in the relatively near future.
Sharif requested the meeting and flew from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, to attend. The president agreed to meet with the Pakistani leader after conferring by telephone Saturday with Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Officials said that Clinton again called Vajpayee during a break in the meeting to keep him informed of the course of the conversation and that National Security Adviser Sandy Berger called his counterpart in India when the meeting had concluded.
White House officials said Clinton would not attempt to mediate the dispute. They said he continues to believe that the Kashmir problem must be resolved by direct dialogue between India and Pakistan.
But White House officials said Saturday that Clinton, Sharif and Vajpayee all agree ''the situation is dangerous and could escalate if not resolved quickly.''
The meetings between Clinton and Sharif occurred at Blair House, the official government guest house that is across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
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U.S. Says Agreement Reached on Kashmir-Washington Post
The statement also finessed another issue – India's longstanding rejection of any outside mediation over Kashmir and Washington's resulting reluctance to play such a role, even though Clinton intervened with Pakistan in this instance.
The White House said Clinton had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for about 10 minutes today to brief him on the talks..
Rediff Report:-
...Clinton, before agreeing to the meeting, conferred on telephone with Vajpayee who raised no objections to the meeting, said a White House official who asked not to be identified.
According to a report from New Delhi, Clinton invited Vajpayee also to Washington, but he expressed his inability to undertake the trip at this juncture.
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