Lee Hamilton, a veteran Democratic leader and vice chairman of the 9/11 commission, has called for United States' support for resolution of the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute and also favoured assisting Pakistan's effort against al Qaeda along the Afghan border as preferred policy.
"We've got to help Pakistan in many ways. Over a period of years, we have helped them vitally on the military side. That has to continue. But I would also help them on the economic side, particularly on education and healthcare. And let them know that we as a people have concern for them and want to try to improve the quality of their lives."
"We certainly need to work with Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir problem. The United States can't resolve that, but we can encourage the two parties to address it," Hamilton told popular PBS channel Charlie Rose Show, when he was asked as to what should the newly appointed US envoy, Richard Holbrooke try to achieve.
Hamilton, who served as lawmaker for over three decades and has been a close aide to President Barack Obama, noted that resolving the Kashmir conflict would require tough diplomacy. He said Washington should ensure that Pakistan stays focused on the Afghan border and does not have to divert its troops to its eastern border with India.
"If the Pakistanis continue to move troops from the Afghanistan border towards Kashmir, as they recently did with a portion of their troops (in the wake of Mumbai attacks tensions), that's going to make the matters more difficult for American interests in Afghanistan, because we reduced the Pakistani effort to control those tribal areas. So we have to help them there. This is going to take some very tough difficult diplomacy and it will take good bit of time to resolve it."
Hamilton, who heads Woodrow Wilson Center said " it's unacceptable to me to have al Qaeda with a sanctuary in the tribal areas of Pakistan" but emphasised that "it would be much preferable if the Pakistanis handle that problem, on their territory." However, he said, the US would not wait indefinitely and will have to act to stop al Qaeda.
"We have been trying to do is, encourage the Pakistanis to deal with the problem in their own country with assistance both military and economic. What I am suggesting is that there is a period of time that we have to try to bolster the Pakistani effort but our time is not indefinite."
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