Author: Zia Iqbal Shahid
Publication: www.jang.com.pk
Date: December 16, 2003
URL: http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2003-daily/16-12-2003/main/main10.htm
European Union's Foreign Policy
Chief Javier Solana hopes that the mutual confidence building spirit will
lead to political dialogue between India and Pakistan on all issues, including
the Kashmir dispute.
In his exclusive response to a question
addressed to him by this scribe, the EU foreign policy chief said, "the
EU has welcomed the Pakistan's declaration of unilateral ceasefire, which
was met by reciprocal Indian response."
Solana, however, seems less than
willing to endorse the official Pakistani stance that fencing along the
line of control and the working boundary is in violation of the UN Security
Council resolutions and the bilateral agreements reached between the two
countries saying: "in Kashmir, although a final solution to the dispute
is pending, the Line-of- Control has been delineated in accordance with
the 1972 Simla Agreement signed by India and Pakistan."
In his written response to The News,
Solana views the logic of the construction of the Indian security fence
along the LOC entirely different from that of Security wall being built
by Israel. "I think that we should not mix issues that do not follow the
same logic."
EU foreign policy chief sees Indian
fencing along the LoC in the context of "improvement in technical means
to control terrorists infiltration." Contending that the reason behind
the construction of Israeli security wall is different, the EU foreign
policy chief said, "the EU has been particularly concerned by the route
marked out for the so-called Israeli security fence, because it could prejudge
future negotiations and make the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian
conflict physically impossible to implement," Javier Solana said.
Insisting that issues of Israeli
security wall and Indian security fence along the LoC do not follow the
same logic and both the issues should not be mixed, EU foreign policy chief
Javier Solana said, "in Kashmir, although a final solution to the dispute
is pending, the Line-of-Control has been delineated in accordance with
the 1972 Simla Agreement signed by India and Pakistan.
EU foreign policy chief said the
EU welcomed all measures taken by Pakistan to curb cross border terrorism.
Solana said, "despite the measures taken by Pakistan the problem seems
to persist and more efforts are called for."
Solana said, "the fight against
terrorism in all its forms remains also one of the priorities of the EU
and it is the duty of all countries to actively co-operate in the fight
against terrorism."
Javier Solana, who also holds the
office of the Secretary General of the EU council of ministers, is known
for introducing the element of even handed approach towards India and Pakistan
as a policy covenant in the bloc of 15 set to be enlarged to 25 European
countries. Solana had been encouraging both India and Pakistan to engage
them in constructive and meaningful dialogue through his frequent telephone
calls to the foreign ministers of both the countries.
