Srinagar, Feb 22: A leading US newspaper urged the Obama administration to quietly help India and Pakistan resolve their differences over Kashmir and Afghanistan, saying such a move would be the “biggest game-changer” in the region facing nuclear arms build-up.
“There is a lot the Obama administration can do quietly to press the countries to work to settle their differences over Afghanistan and the disputed region of Kashmir,” the New York Times said in an editorial on Monday as it welcomed the decision by Islamabad and New Delhi to resume peace talks.
“Washington also needs to urge the two militaries to start talking, and urge the two governments to begin exploring ways to lessen the danger of an accidental nuclear war - with more effective hotlines and data exchanges - with a long-term goal of arms-control negotiations,” the newspaper said.
The Times voiced concern over the reported building of a fourth nuclear reactor in Pakistan to produce more weapons fuel, claiming that Pakistan already has between 95 and more than 110 deployed nuclear weapons, up from the mid-to-high 70s just two years ago.
“Even without that reactor, experts say, it has already manufactured enough fuel for 40 to 100 additional weapons. That means Pakistan - which claims to want a minimal credible deterrent - could soon possess the world’s fifth-largest arsenal, behind the United States, Russia, France and China but ahead of Britain and India,” according to the newspaper.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
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