The two countries were among the co-convenors of the conference on the community of democracies held in June in Warsaw. Most conversant with the details are Tom Pickering and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger. Considering that Pickering has been involved in President Clinton's telephonic conversations and correspondence with Prime Minister Vajpayee as well as Gen. Pervez Musharraf, how the Indo-Pak theme and the Kashmir issue will be played out in the talks is being fine tuned by him. It is clear that the Americans have put considerable pressure on Islamabad. The subsequent massacre of pilgrims in Kashmir and the abrupt withdrawal of the ceasefire offer are all seen as symptoms of the extremist elements around Gen. Musharraf throwing the spanner in any peace process.
Discussions proceed on the following lines.
Gen. Musharraf is a prisoner of extremist elements in the army and the ISI, who have links with the United Jehad Council, the apex body which controls 16 militant groups operating in Kashmir. Just as he and his cohorts scuttled Lahore, the extremists behind him will scuttle any peace move he sanctifies. Should he persist on the path of peace, he himself will be sacrificed. It follows, therefore, that Gen. Musharraf's capacity to embark on a path of moderation is not only restricted but almost absent. With every passing day, it is not Musharraf's grip on the nation that grows but the Mullah's grip on him.