Clinton likely to visit India

United States President Bill Clinton's visit to India is ''seriously under consideration'' though no decision has been taken, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Robin Raphel said in New Delhi on Tuesday, January 4.

Strengthening of the economic and strategic relations with the countries of the South Asian region is very much on the agenda during the second term of Clinton administration and therefore a visit by the president is a possibility, Raphel told a press conference.

In fact, President Clinton is ''quite jealous'' over the visit of his wife to India, she said in a lighter vein.

US Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who is ''well-qualified and temperamentally'' suited for the job has expressed her intention to ''cast'' the net wide for political reaction with South Asian nations, she said.

Moreover, several secretaries of state from the United States have visited India during the first term of the Clinton, administration reflecting the importance being attached to the region, she pointed out.

Raphel also told reporters that the United States has not given up its efforts to persuade India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

''We will continue to have discussions with the government of India on this issue,'' Raphel said while answering questions on the post-election scenario in Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan at a press conference.

Raphel is on her way to Tashkent after her routine visit to the region during which she interacted with the heads of missions of the region at Dhaka.

''We believe that CTBT is a good treaty for elimination of nuclear weapons and therefore we would like everyone to sign it,'' she said.

A fresh opportunity has opened up for a dialogue with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue with the return to Nawaz Sharief as the prime minister, Raphel said. Sharief, before he was dismissed, had in fact started a dialogue with then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao. The talks could be resumed, Raphel said.

On US bilateral relations with Pakistan, she pointed out that the country was facing serious economic problem mainly due financial mismanagement and this aspect needs to be seriously addressed too.

She disagreed with the view that the recently concluded elections in Kashmir had altered the larger perspective that is the permanent solution to the Kashmir problem. It is true that peoples participation in the elections was beyond expectation but the problem still remains, she added.

The successful conduct of elections in Kashmir is only the beginning, Raphel pointed out. What needs to be done is the fulfilment of peoples expectations arising from the elections.

She explained that in her meeting with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, an impression was gained that Kashmiris expect a lot from the government of India, particularly in terms of autonomy.

This is a good opportunity for the government to cash in on the goodwill gained by the elections, she said. She regretted that efforts to bring out a package have considerably slowed down.

Dr Abdullah, she said, has plans to rehabilitate the militants, particularly in terms of generating employment opportunities to wean away the youth from the path of militancy. The sooner these plans are implemented, the better, she said.

UNI