June 23, 1999

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Congressman Gary L. Ackerman (N.Y), co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, today commended the Clinton Administration for its leadership in ensuring that the recent Group of Eight summit urged Pakistan to withdraw its forces from inside the Indian Line of Control in Kashmir.

Rep. Ackerman, a leading member of the House international Relational Committee, said: "President Clinton and his National Security Adviser Sandy Berger deserve much credit for persuasively presenting the stakes involved in the ongoing flareup in Kargil/Drass/Batalik areas of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. I believe that the President's personal interest in resolving the conflagration between the two nuclear neighbors of South Asia was key in G-8 summit issuing its unambiguous statement in Cologne, Germany.

"From the beginning the White House correctly assessed the dangers posed to international peace if the frayed situation in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting from Pakistani military misadventure, was allowed to get out of control. Besides speaking to the India Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the president also spoke to Pakistani leader Mian Nawaz Sharif. As a follow up to these conversations, the Administration ensured that the summit of the world's most influential and powerful nations (Group of Eight) sent a clear message to Pakistan."

"The massage from Cologne is clear and unambiguous," Rep. Ackerman asserted. "Pakistan has been held responsible for violating global peace by trying to alter the Line of Control, or LoC, by military means. The summit statement also unambiguously calls for the urgent restoration of status quo ante of the LoC followed by resumption of talks between Indian and Pakistan".

"Although no specific nation was cited as the aggressor in the Kargil flareup, there is no doubt in the mind of the international community about who the culprit is. Pakistan is the aggressor and it must, without any equivocation, pull back its forces and its proxy fundamentalist mercenaries, including those of the Taliban, behind the Line of control," the New York lawmaker said.

In a statement, he added: "The longer Pakistan hugs on to the cliffs and peaks in Kargil/Drass/Batalik sectors, the Islamabad regime not only loses it's diplomatic credibility but also continues to threaten global peace. Pakistan must end this combined act of international terrorism and the covert and overt war in Kashmir now."

" The Kashmir issue can never be resolved by guns. India won't allow it and the international community - as clearly seen by the G-8 statement in Cologne - won't permit it," the lawmaker said.

Rep. Ackerman, who has visited Jammu and Kashmir several times, said: "The Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and there is absolutely no room for third party mediation of any kind. Bilateral diplomacy and dialogue, however time-consuming it may be, is the way - the only acceptable way."

Rep. Ackerman warned Pakistan not to misinterpret or misjudge the sentiments of Cologne declaration on Jammu and Kashmir, "It's a clear and stinging rebuke of Pakistan's unacceptable military misadventure. Islamabad must undo this act of aggression. "He then added. "The G-8 call shouldn't be mistaken as some sort of an invitation for international or third party mediation of the Kashmir issue. That's not what it is. It's a simple and direct call for Pakistan to pull its forces from India's sovereign territory."

"LoC is a well-defined, well-delineated line that came out the Shimla Agreement. The sanctity of the LoC is basic and fundamental to the maintenance of peace and sucurity between the two Nations. Any attempt to change this reality is fraught with terrible danger, " Rep. Ackerman added.