Us-based study: Need to resolve Kashmir dispute urged

Two new studies have stressed the need for resolving the Kashmir dispute to end violence in the region.

ISLAMABAD: Two new studies, conducted in the US on countering terrorism in South Asia, have stressed the need for resolving the Kashmir dispute to end violence in the region. Washington-based think tank The Heritage Foundation said the US must encourage Pakistan and India to move forward with their dialogue to resolve the dispute, Kashmir Media Service reported on Sunday. “The strongest case for moving Pakistan-India dialogue forward is to improve prospects. The Pakistan-India rapprochement can help reduce conflict in Afghanistan, by reducing competition for influence and the associated violence,” the study said. Another Washington-based think tank The New America Foundation noted, “India`s desire that no third country intervene as a mediator in Kashmir can be accommodated without precluding American efforts to positively support bilateral confidence-building measures.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th,  2011.