MEDIA REACTION: INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS, U.S-

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001604

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E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS, U.S-
INDIA RELATIONS; NEW DELHI.

This countrywide cable reports on relevant media
reaction/opinion from India's large non-English press.
The Mission reports on English-language media via email
through the daily "Early Edition" summary.

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INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS
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1. "INDIA-PAKISTAN TALKS: NO NEGOTIATION OUT OF FEAR;
AND NO FEAR OF NEGOTIATION," editorial in July 31
centrist Marathi daily, LOKMAT: "In his response to the
accusation of being a sellout to Pakistan, Prime
Minister Singh reiterated Kennedy's rhetoric: "let us
never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to
negotiate". And while maintainig that he intends to
continue the dialogue with Pakistan, he endorsed the
Reagan line: "trust but verify". Singh still feels that
it is not in the common interest of both countries to
make peace talks solely conditional on Pakistan's
immediate action against the terrorists."


2. "IS PAKISTAN WORTH TRUSTING?" editorial in July 31
centrist Marathi daily, SAKAAL: "The Indian Prime
Minister's recent rhetoric on Pakistan is obviously a
result of subtle pressure exercised by the U.S. One can
see that India has mellowed its stance with regard to
the resumption of peace talks with Pakistan. The world
knows that the U.S. has high and visible stakes in the
India-Pakistan talks. And having entered into a long-
term bilateral relationship with the U.S, India cannot
resist U.S. pressure beyond a point. But while the PM
toes the U.S. line and expresses optimism over the
fresh round of renewed peace talks with Pakistan, the
Indian people are wary of Pakistan's future strategic
moves."


3. "QUESTION OF TRUST," editorial in July 31,
Bangalore-based independent Kannada daily, VIJAY
KARNATAKA: "Prime Minister Singh has come up with a
nice phrase "trust and verify" with regard to Indo-Pak
relations. He was forced to issue the clarification in
the wake of controversial interpretations of the recent
Indo-Pak joint statement. Confusion continues over the
Baluchistan issue even after a clarification was
given. While it is imperative for Congress to back the
Prime Minister in this issue, the Opposition continues
its tirade against the joint statement. Is it really
possible to hold talks with Pakistan in this
situation?"


4. "MAGIC OF MANMOHAN TALK," editorial in July 31,
Bangalore-based independent Kannada daily, KANNADA
PRABHA: "Though the Prime Minister's clarification on
the Indo-Pak joint statement has not convinced all, he
achieved partial success in silencing the Opposition to
an extent. Prime Minister Singh made a contentious
statement that war will be the only option if talks did
not occur. However, the current situation makes the
Indo-Pak statement almost irrelevant. Probably,
everyone wanted that to happen."

NEW DELHI 00001604 002 OF 002




5. "CLARIFICATION ON JOINT STATEMENT," editorial in
July 30 right-of-center Hindi daily, DAINIK JAGRAN: "PM
Singh's explanation on the Sharm el-Sheikh declaration
does not help. It is bizarre that India agreed to
delink terrorism from talks with Pakistan! By the time
Singh clarified that he did not refer to the composite
dialogue, the damage was already done. There is no
place for such liberalism in diplomatic affairs. The
Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement has become a symbol of
India's diplomatic error."

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U.S-INDIA RELATIONS
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6. "INDIA'S DILEMMA IN THE WORLD'S CHANGING SCENARIO,"
op-ed article in July 30 centrist Hindi daily, DAINIK
HINDUSTAN: "China's emergence has upset the balance of
power in this region. As a consequence, India has been
marginalized. Earlier, the U.S. considered India as a
growing power to establish a balance of power in the
Asia-Pacific area. But now it looks at India as a
regional power at best, whose role is limited to
assuring that Pakistan fights with its complete force
against the Taliban and does not get distracted on the
Kashmir issue. India will have to find ways to overturn
this power balancing."
ROEMER