US should encourage back channel diplomacy on Kashmir: Mike Mullen

Asserting that improved Indo-Pak relationship is key to success of the US war against terror in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, top American military commander Admiral Mike Mullen has said the Obama administration should encourage back channel talks between the two countries on Kashmir.

"As part of our long-term regional approach, we should welcome all steps these important nations (India and Pakistan) take to regenerate their 'back channel' process on Kashmir," Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said in a prepared testimony before the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee.

Mullen, who made a joint appearance with US defence secretary Robert Gates before the committee yesterday, told US Senators that the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan is the epicentre of global terrorism.

"This is where al-Qaeda plans terrorist attacks against the US and our partners — and from where the Taliban leadership targets coalition troops in Afghanistan," he said.

Pakistan's ongoing military operations against extremists in these areas are critical to preventing al-Qaeda and associated groups from gaining ground, Mullen noted.

"In Pakistan, the extremist threat, a fractious political system, economic weakness and long-standing tensions with India continue to threaten stability," Mullen said, adding the Obama administration is working to rebuild its relationship
with Pakistan and re-establish trust lost between the two countries.

Observing that South Asian security tensions and political dynamics significantly impact US objectives in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mullen said the longstanding "animosity and mistrust" between Pakistan and India complicates regional efforts.

"Yet India and Pakistan must both be our partners for the long term. Bilateral military relationships are an essential component in a wide array of cooperative activities," he said.

"We must recognise this and address it as part of our policy. While we acknowledge the sovereign right of India and Pakistan to pursue their own foreign policies, we must demonstrate our desire for continued and long-term partnership with each, and offer our help to improve confidence and understanding between them in a manner that builds long-term stability across the wider region of South Asia," Mullen said.

Observing that threats to US national security from al-Qaeda and affiliated movements based in Af-Pak remain real and persistent, he said: "We require a stable and reasonably secure Afghanistan and Pakistan - inhospitable to al-Qaeda's senior leadership, capable of self defence against internal extremist threats and contributors to regional stability."

Responding to a question, Gates said there is a "deficit of trust" with Pakistan, which according to him is historical.

"The Pakistanis will speak of three or four American betrayals, only the most recent of which are turning our backs on Afghanistan and them after the Soviets withdrew, and the other the implementation of the Pressler amendment (of the 1990s the forced a halt to most US aid due to evidence that Pakistan was developing nuclear weapons) and cutoff of military-to-military relationships," he said.