Get over Kargil and talk: U.S.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, APRIL 28. The Clinton administration has asked India to get over Kargil and start the now-stalled dialogue with Pakistan. According to the Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Mr. Thomas Pickering: ``Kargil cannot be forgotten, but it can and should be transcended. In the past few weeks, Gen. Musharraf has repeatedly offered to meet with India, and we are asking New Delhi to consider very seriously the possibilities for resuming this dialogue.''

Speaking at the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University here on Thursday, Mr. Pickering said that Pakistan, too, should do its part to help create the ``peaceful conditions'' needed to make such a dialogue meaningful. ``This need not be a matter of public fanfare, proclamations or even comments; what matters most is to be able to see the reality on the ground,'' the senior Clinton administration official said.

The message of the speech was in sharp contrast to the hoopla and excitement in New Delhi during the visit of the President, Mr. Bill Clinton, and the official ``spin'' that the U.S. had somehow signed on to the BJP-led Government's agenda on a number of issues.

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