Indo-Pak talks a significant step forward: US

C K Arora in Washington

The Clinton administration thinks the India-Pakistan dialogue is a significant step forward and hoped it gains momentum, irrespective of the political changes in India.

Undersecretary of state-designate Thomas Pickering said the secretary-level talks which began in New Delhi last month after three years were ''very important''.

''One would hope that whatever the political configuration that emerges in India, they will continue to support this process," said Pickering, who had a brief stint as US ambassador in New Delhi. He said that only through direct talks could India and Pakistan make the kind of progress that was necessary.

The negotiations between Indian Foreign Secretary Salman Haider and his Pakistani counterpart Shamshad Ahmad in New Delhi were the first since similar discussions collapsed in acrimony in January 1994 amid differences over Kashmir.

Asked about the US role in solving the problems between the two south Asian rivals, Pickering said the American role should be confined to that of a friend of both New Delhi and Islamabad -- ''a friend who would quietly encourage talks''. He said the re-establishment of links between the two countries put ''problem-solving'' in sharp focus.

He felt that India and Pakistan could take a number of confidence-building measures, especially in the Siachen glacier area where the two countries had a massive troop deployment. Pickering, if confirmed, will be number three in the state department after Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. He will hold the sensitive post of undersecretary of state for political affairs.

During the hearing, he was asked about the prospects of a stable government in New Delhi and the future of the resumed India-Pakistan dialogue. But he refused to be drawn into any discussion on the political situation in India following the collapse of the 13-party United Front government.