Nation & States 

Good vibes: Kashmir hydro 
project row may end

What is India News Service, June 24, 2004, 1630 hrs

The friendly mood set by minister-level meetings is showing concrete results: officials said they had achieved a breakthrough on the controversial Baglihar hydro power project in Jammu and Kashmir.

The two sides said they were "close to resolution". After the meeting water resources secretary V K Duggal said, "We have discussed all issues with an open mind ... and taken them very close to 
resolution."

The officials will have to present their positions to their respective governments and take their concurrence. Pakistan's water and power secretary Ashfaq Mehmood was also upbeat. He said official discussions were over and the governments would decide on further progress.

While Pakistan has been voicing strong reservations over the design of the dam and saying that work should be stopped, Indian officials say that 40 per cent of the work has already been completed. India's position is that the design is well within the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1962.

Kashmir a 'flashpoint:' Four days after the European Union ambassador to India, Mr Francisco da Gamara Gomes, referred to Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India, the leader of a EU parliamentary delegation, described it as a "nuclear flash point".

John Walls Cushnahan, who is heading the seven member delegation from the European Parliament's committee on foreign affairs, human rights, and defence policy, also asserted that the Kashmir issue ought to be resolved through talks involving India, Pakistan and the people of the state.

Cushnahan, who represents Ireland in the European Parliament is a former rapporteur for Pakistan, and led the delegation to PoK in December last year. The European Union delegation is in Jammu and Kashmir for a firsthand 
assessment that will guide its report on the issue. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan's foreign minister Khurshed Mehmood Kasuri also added his voice to the international chorus from Qingdao, China, saying that a solution of  Kashmir is the "only guarantee of durable peace in South Asia." He said in an interview to the news agencies that the question now was: "Can we resolve it in a way that neither Pakistan nor India are humiliated?" 

Talks with anti-India leader:  A day ahead of the June 27-28 secretary-level talks between Pakistan and India, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riyz Khokar is likely to hold a one-on-one meeting with breakaway Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The gesture is unlikely to please India because of Geelani's well-known pro-Pakistan stance.

Inflitration attempt: The army said it had foiled an infiltration bid, killing three armed 
men in Kupwara district of north Kashmir on Wednesday. Two militants were killed in 
another 'encounter' in the Lolab area of Kupwara district yesterday.


Afghan development: A renegade commander whose forces overran an Afghan provincial 
capital welcomed the deployment of national troops there and said he would 
disarm if rival commanders did so too, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of Afghan National Army (ANA) troops were due in Chaghcharan, 
capital of Ghor province, on Tuesday, charged with reasserting central 
authority and help disarm factional militiamen ahead of September elections.

Analysts have blamed unrest that has hit northern and western provinces 
since March on clumsy attempts by Karzai to impose his will by sending in 
appointees to try to implement the disarmament drive without necessary 
support bases, or central backup.

Ministry reshuffle:  Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, today reshuffled her cabinet for the 
umpteenth time, and in an about turn, reinstated casual state government employees she had dismissed two days ago.


Stamp paper arrests:  The CBI arrested two more persons allegedly involved in the 
fake stamp paper racket, while a Delhi court directed the agency to take Abdul Karim Telgi, the kingpin of the racket, back to the Yerwada jail in Pune.

Vajpayee 'hurt': The BJP may have officially buried the contentious Narendra Modi issue 
for the time being, but the man who rooted for the Gujarat Chief Minister's removal last week and climbed down on his clamour later under pressure from his senior party colleagues is deeply hurt.



Overall:

Power project prospects light up: Indian and Pakistani officials buried the hatchet and came to an agreement on the Baglihar power project.   

EU team leader said Kashmir was a flashpoint: He is in India to make an assessment for a report that will influence European Union policy. 

Vajpayee said he was hurt: He climbed down on his demand for the removal of Modi, but said attacks on him had hurt him.   

Pakistan may talk to anti-India leader: The move is unlikely to please India on the eve of its secretary-level talks with that country.