Musharraf on tightrope as he cools war talk

WITH public expectations wound up to breaking point on both sides of the Kashmir border, India and Pakistan cannot risk appearing weak to their own populations by making the first concession.
Over the weekend President Musharraf tempered his war rhetoric and adopted a more conciliatory tone, repeating to CNN in more forceful terms his earlier promise to fight “militancy in all its forms” and offering to sign a “no war pact” with India.

General Musharraf appears to have finally decided to rein in the militants under intense international pressure and threat of war by India. But his insistence that there has to be reciprocal “movement forward in addressing and initiating a process of dialogue on the Kashmir issue” shows that he needs something in return.

Most observers agree that General Musharraf’s standing in Delhi is “almost zero”. India’s leaders insist they want to see results on the ground.

However, there appears to be a wide gap between what India’s leaders demand and what most analysts believe General Musharraf can deliver. While the general sincerely wants to prevent a war, he does not want to be seen as a leader who retreated on his country’s “sacred” cause, Kashmir.