Leading US think tank says ISI behind Kashmir unrest

Washington, Aug.16 : An expert on South Asia attached with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading U.S. think tank, has said that he believes that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is behind the unrest in Kashmir.

In an interview to ANI TV, Frederic Grare said that there seemed to be some truth to the Indian Government's view that the ISI is fermenting trouble in Kashmir.

"It (New Delhi's view) is not suggested, it is clearly said that the ISI is fermenting trouble in Kashmir. They have been fermenting trouble in Kashmir for years. Again you have a situation where part of it is outside, particularly from Pakistan, and the other side has been doing so for decades, not just the past few weeks," Grare said.

"Similarly, there is evidence that the ISI has been active on the Afghanistan border. Recently, there were accusations about the ISI involvement in the Kabul (Indian embassy) attack (on July 7). I mean, these are just tip of the iceberg. It's interesting now. It's not the ISI that is possibly doing something new; it's the fact that the international community accepts its and can say it publicly, and that's the major difference, not the action themselves," he added.

Grare is absolutely convinced that the ISI is out to create trouble, and adds this will be of no help to concerned parties; rather it will act as a hindrance to peace in South Asia.

Commenting on the impeachment process against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Grare, said that it would reduce tensions in Pakistan.

He told ANI TV that Musharraf himself is part of the political instability in Pakistan and his dismissal would reduce the ongoing tension in Pakistan.

"The question is very bizarre to start with, in a sense that political instability is already there. But I mean, don't forget that Pervez Musharraf himself is part of this political instability. By staying on, he clearly ignored the result of the February 2008 election and therefore creating frustration in the population. So his departure is likely to lessen the tension, not increase it," said Grare.

Speaking on whether the relations between India and Pakistan would change with Musharraf's impeachment, Grare said that nothing much would change.

"To an extent it is true that Musharraf had at least contributed to the significant improvement of relations between the two and for a long time there is a new perception that his departure would be a problem for that very reason. At the same time, this is not the impeachment of Musharraf or the beginning of the process, which has started the deterioration of relations with India," he said.

"What we have seen since the beginning of the summer, resumption of the situation on the attack of all kind in a sense, including their Embassy in Afghanistan. So the deterioration was there anyway it would not be changed by the impeachment process itself," he added

As far as Pakistan's relations with the U.S. were concerned, Grare opined that Musharraf's departure from office might not have much of an impact, but at same time added that no 'Pakistani Government can really affors to alienate the U.S. So, the need for the U.S would still be there. What is likely to change is the room for maneuver of the U.S. Government."

He also said that a change in the Pakistan Government would have no major implications in its relations or differences with Afghanistan, as the country is largely dictated by the military, and therefore, policies were unlikely to change, at least for the time being.

ANI