Reid meets with Indian ambassador

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 | 10:31 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., met with the Indian ambassador to the United States today to discuss tensions between India and Pakistan and President Clinton's upcoming trip to Asia.

Reid arranged the meeting with Ambassador Naresh Chandra, and the two talked for an hour in Reid's Capitol Hill office, chatting at one point about nuclear proliferation and testing in both nations.

"You can't talk to the Ambassador from India without talking about nuclear weapons," Reid said after the meeting. "We had a very frank discussion. He realizes the problem. I think India is working toward signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty."

Reid has urged both India and Pakistan to sign the treaty, even though the United States has not signed it. After the meeting, Chandra said India will act independently of whether or not the United States signs the treaty.

"The decision will be made based on national security concerns of the Indian people," he said.

Reid, the assistant Democratic leader in the Senate, has become a U.S. player in relations between India and Pakistan. The two nations, which have fought two wars over the disputed Kashmir region, are also the world's newest nuclear powers.

Tensions were further strained after Pakistani hijackers in December seized and Indian commercial jetliner and India accused Pakistani officials of being behind the act. Pakistan angrily denied the charge.

Reid and three other senators met with leaders in both nations in January. Now Clinton is preparing for a trip to India next month.

On Wednesday Reid and eight other Democratic senators signed a letter prepared by Pakistan's U.S. embassy, urging Clinton to visit Pakistan, too.

"We share with both nations many of the same concerns," the letter said. "It may well be impossible to resolve each of these issues with one nation without concurrence of the other."

The letter said those issues include nuclear proliferation, the Kashmir conflict, terrorism and drug trafficking, protecting the environment in the populous nations and U.S. investment in both countries.

Reid said Clinton could create some anti-American sentiment in Pakistan if he does not stop there. But after the meeting, Chandra said, "If the President goes to Pakistan at this time, it will be seen as a negative by many of the Indian people."

Reid and Chandra discussed India's wariness about Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf. Chandra said peace was a complicated proposition. "We agreed that it's going to take some time," Chandra said. "It is not something fixed on the negotiating table just like that."