But there are enough indications to presume that bilateral talks between the Prime Ministers of the two countries are likely to be resumed following the discussions U. S. Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State Rocca, had first with President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad, and later with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi during their recent visit to the sub-continent.

According to military intelligence reports, 4,000 Islamic militants have already been trained in camps operating near the Line of Control on the Pakistani side for launching operations in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country. Where will these trained militants go? Under intense U. S. pressure for peace in the region, these Islamic militants may be asked to lie low for some time. Unless better sense prevails on Pakistan’s rulers or they are forced to fall in line by the U. S., chances of peace returning to the violence-ridden State remain slim.

According to a blueprint already drawn up by the U. S. State Department for ushering permanent peace in the subcontinent, the region east of the Line of Control, instead of being known as the disputed territory, should be recognised as the "Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir" and the territories to the west of the LoC may be called "Pakistan controlled areas of Kashmir". In fact, the CIA has released the redrawn map of the State and behind-the-scenes efforts are being made to persuade both India and Pakistan to fall in line with this proposal. But officially, the U. S. denies that there is any such move to solve the Kashmir tangle.

There are some indications that the U. S. means business this time and would not allow its leaning towards Pakistan to come in the way of creating a harmonious environment between the two countries. Pakistan’s Director of Inter-Services Intelligence, Ehsanul Haq, the brain behind cross-border infiltration and terrorist operations in India, is already in Washington, invited by the U. S. State Department for meetings with officials dealing with security matters. He will call on the chiefs of the CIA and FBI, besides National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. All this shows the importance the Bush Administration is attaching to restoration of normalcy in Indo-Pak relations. According to diplomatic sources, Haq is in America not to get a pat from the U. S. A. for whatever he had been doing to keep Indo-Pak tensions at breaking point, but to be told that he should stop the diabolic game of creating violence in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India now. The global policeman doesn’t want violence to spoil the proposed Indo-Pak dialogue. However, increasing U. S. interest for peace in the subcontinent may bring about some change in the political scenario in Pakistan, where India-bashing over Jammu and Kashmir had become a sort of passport to power in the country. In fact, whenever politicians in power in Islamabad were faced with serious domestic problems they raked up the issue of the sufferings of Kashmiris under Indian rule and their determination to liberate them by hook or crook. This was a common tactic adopted to divert attention of the people and thus ward off criticism. With no chance of dwelling upon theKashmir issue in future, they will have to abide by the dictates of the global policeman or be prepared to meet the fate of Saddam Hussein. The writing on the wall is that Pakistani leaders will have to devote greater attention to solving the problems of poverty and corruption, which are as serious there as in India.

Not only will the hawks in Pakistan suffer, hawks in India also will have to change tack. The ISI-sponsored terrorist violence has been a convenient weapon for the Sangh parivar fanatics to stir up communal passions to promote their own self-interest in polarising the communities and thus creating an atmosphere for their victories in elections. Whatever Narender Modi, the Gujarat chief minister, might claim, the fact is he could win the Assembly elections last year only by raising the bogey of the communal threat to the majority community as evident from the Godhra carnage and later terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar in the State.

The hawks in India are again bracing up to raise communal issues for the Assembly elections due to take place in November this year in Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan and Delhi. Already, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad general secretary, Praveen Togadia, who has many admirers despite the fact that he is given to making tall and sometimes irresponsible statements, has openly asked the Prime Minister "not to repeat the blunders of the past by extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan." After distributing tridents to Bajrang Dal activists at a Trishul Diksha function in East Delhi recently, Togadia said instead of being courted as a friend, Pakistan should be punished for waging a proxy war against India through terrorists. "We do not want any Samjautha Express, Lahore Bus or Agra talks. We want our tanks to be in the lanes of Lahore, our missiles hitting Rawalpindi and the Bhagwa Dhwaj (saffron flag ) in Karachi," he declared . "If the U. S. can attack Iraq—which is thousands of miles away—for national security reasons, why can’t we attack Pakistan?" asked the firebrand leader.

Continuing his rhetoric, Togadia said: "Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is directly engaged in fuelling terrorist activities in India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. In the fitness of things, India should do the same from Karachi to Kandahar. We will not keep quiet till Pakistan is disintegrated into 40 small nations. We want "Akhand" Bharat. I do not want to learn Hindutva from spineless people who can’t defend the country from jehadi terrorists. We will use all means to achieve our final goal of establishing a Hindu Rashtra". He claimed the ISI was not content with merely seeking to create anarchy and chaos in India. Now it had pumped Rs. 500 crore into Assam to instigate the demand for "Greater Bangladesh" with the annexation of Indian territories bordering Bangladesh so that all those who were migrating from the country for lack of space and employment opportunities could live in peace. He said those people who are giving employment and shelter to illegal migrants from Bangladesh were "anti-national".

Togadia had launched his Trishul Diksha campaign soon after the conclusion of the three-day conclave organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to underline the need for greater co-operation and understanding between the Vajpayee-led government and all the RSS affiliates as a preparation for the coming Assembly elections in the four States in November.