Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
US Stand on Kashmir
US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has declared that Kashmir is on the international agenda. He has further indicated the steps that the Indian government should take with regard to the holding of elections in Jammu & Kashmir. This direct interference in the affairs of Kashmir is the result of the Vajpayee government’s consistent efforts to make the United States the arbiter in Indo-Pakistan relations.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) has been consistently warning the Vajpayee government that its pro-US policies are reducing India to the same status as Pakistan in its relations with the United States. The Vajpayee government has to clarify to the country what it proposes to do in response to Powell’s announcement that Kashmir is now an international issue.