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129 印巴首脑会谈于七月十四日在阿格拉开始
Pakistani-Indian Summit to Start July 14
Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
9 Jul 2001 01:50 UTC
Leaders of India and Pakistan are meeting in the Indian city of Agra next week to discuss their long-running 1)conflict over the divided region of Kashmir. But experts say the chances are slim the summit will end with a far-reaching accord to settle the 54-year-old 2)dispute.
Pakistan's leader General Pervez Musharraf is 3)due to arrive in India July 14 to hold the first talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The meeting in the city of Agra is expected to focus on the Kashmir dispute, which has caused two of the three wars between India and Pakistan.
For more than half a century, the dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a constant source of military tensions between India and Pakistan. The divided region pushed the South Asian nations to the 4)brink of a fourth war in 1999, when Indian troops fought Pakistan-backed fighters in the Kargil region of Kashmir.
Pakistan's President General Musharraf says he is going to India with an open mind. But he told reporters that he will have only one item on his 5)agenda, Kashmir. "We have a desire to remove this tension remove this irritant, and remove this dispute," he said. "From my side, 50 percent is my part, but I am not responsible for the other 50 percent. My going there and succeeding is not dependent on me. It is dependent also on Prime Minister Vajpayee. I can not dictate terms to Prime Minister Vajpayee." India controls two-thirds of Kashmir and says the region is its 6)integral part. Pakistan insists it is a disputed 7)territory and that people in Kashmir be allowed to vote on its status. 8)Analysts maintain that the 9)gap between the countries is too big, therefore there is little chance of achieving a 10)breakthrough in the upcoming meeting between President Musharraf and Mr. Vajpayee.
Najmuddeen Sheikh is Pakistan's former foreign secretary. "It would be un-realistic to entertain very high expectations from the 11)initial, first, meeting," he said. "I think if we can make some progress towards moving slowly in a direction where an agreement can 12)eventually be fleshed out that would be a significant achievement. But it would be overly 13)optimistic to talk about a breakthrough beyond that."
Islamabad residents say they support the summit meeting. They say tensions between India and Pakistan can be reduced only through such a dialogue. Hinna Khan is a school teacher. "I think it is about time that the two countries take a step forward in that direction, because I do not think that we can solve our problems by war," said Ms. Khan. "It has to be solved by talk, by contact with people, by bringing about 14)awareness of each other's problems, and by making agreements."
India and Pakistan tested their nuclear 15)devices in 1998, raising fears that a future war between the two countries can lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
Ahmed Nair is a leading anti-nuclear 16)activist in Islamabad. "I think it is very 17)essential that they talk to each other and find ways of de-18)escalating tensions in this region," he said. "This region has far too many sources of tensions and any one of them can flare up to unmanageable 19)proportions. It is therefore important that, wherever possible, there should be de-escalation."
Pakistan's President Musharraf says the fact that India has invited him to discuss Kashmir makes him 20)hopeful about the outcome of the summit. "I am optimistic because I have been invited," he said. "Nobody in the past has ever been invited to discuss the Kashmir issue. This is the first time that the head of state from Pakistan has been invited to India for a dialogue. We have never entered into a dialogue willingly with no pressures. Previously heads of states have met but that was under some special 21)circumstances. This time there is no circumstance other than a 22)genuine desire, maybe, to talk to each other."
There have been many rounds of peace talks between the two countries, but all of them 23)deadlocked over Kashmir. This time around India has adopted a 24)conciliatory approach. It has announced that it will free hundreds of Pakistani prisoners, offer scholarships to Pakistani students, and send its military operations chief to discuss a reduction in tensions with his Pakistani counterpart.
General Musharraf has made similar gestures. But observers say such moves are designed to score points before the summit. They maintain that the two leaders will have almost nothing to concede on the 25)negotiating table.
A controversy over whether Pakistani leader General Musharraf would meet separatist Kashmir leaders during his visit has already threatened the pre-summit mood of cooperation. India opposes the meeting between General Musharraf and leaders of a major 26)separatist 27)alliance of Indian Kashmir, saying they have no role in the summit. New Delhi 28)accuses Islamabad of aiding the separatist groups in Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies.
(1) conflict[5kRnflIkt]n.斗争, 冲突vi.抵触, 冲突
(2) dispute[dI5spju:t]v.争论,争夺(土地,胜利等)n.争论, 辩论, 争吵
(3) due to adv.由于, 应归于
(4) brink[brINk]n.边缘
(5) agenda[E5dVendE]n.pl.议程
(6) integral[5IntI^r(E)l]adj.完整的, 整体的
(7) territory[5terItErI; (?@) -tC:rI]n.领土, 版图, 地域
(8) analyst[5AnElIst]n.分析家, 分解者
(9) gap[^Ap]n.缝隙, 差距, 隔阂
(10) breakthrough[5breIkWru:]n.突破
(11) initial[I5nIF(E)l]adj.最初的, 词首的, 初始的
(12) eventually[I5ventjJElI]adv.最后, 终于
(13) optimistic[RptI5mIstIk]adj.乐观的
(14) awareness n.知道, 晓得
(15) device[dI5vaIs]n.装置, 设计, 图案, 策略
(16) activist[5AktIvIst]n.激进主义分子, 行动主义分子
(17) essential[I5senF(E)l]adj.本质的, 实质的n.本质, 实质, 要素
(18) escalate[5eskEleIt]vi.逐步升高, 逐步增强vt.使逐步上升
(19) proportion[prE5pC:F(E)n]n.比例, 均衡, 面积 vt.使成比例, 使均衡
(20) hopeful[5hEJpfJl]adj.怀有希望的, 有希望的
(21) circumstance[5s:kEmstEns]n.环境, 详情, 境况
(22) genuine[5dVenju:In]adj.真实的, 真正的, 诚恳的
(23) deadlock[5dedlRk]n.死锁, 僵局
(24) conciliatory[kEn`sIlIEtErI]adj.抚慰的, 调和的
(25) negotiating table 谈判桌
(26) separatist[5sepErEtIst]n.分离主义者, 独立派
(27) alliance[E5laIEns]n.联盟, 联合
(28) accuse[E5kju:z]vt.控告, 谴责, 非难
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