Kashmir: What difference will Blair's visit make?

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged Pakistan and India to hold "proper, meaningful" dialogue aimed at resolving their dispute over Kashmir.

"Both countries in these very difficult times understand the need both to defeat terrorism and resolve difficult issues through dialogue and partnership," Mr Blair told reporters after talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad.

Mr Musharraf said his country rejected terrorism in all its forms - one of his strongest denunciations of extremists since the current increase in tensions with India began.

The Prime Minister met with his Indian counterpart, Atal Behari Vajpayee on Sunday. Those talks resulted in a joint declaration condemning all supporters and sponsors of terrorism.

Mr Blair has since landed in Afghanistan, becoming the first Western leader to enter the country since the fall of the Taleban. He was met by interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai.

Will Tony Blair's visit to India and Pakistan make a difference in the long running dispute over Kashmir?

All this trip will amount to will be another sizeable bill for the taxpayer

Shaun, Teignmouth, UK

Tony's visit will make not a scrap of difference. This is a man who represents the country that caused the whole India/Pakistan problem in the first place during an ill-tempered withdrawal from the sub-continent over 50 years ago. A man whose administration cannot fathom out why we had race riots in the UK last year. Hardly likely to cause much of a change for the better is he? No, all this trip will amount to will be another sizeable bill for the taxpayer, a photocall at the Taj Mahal for Tony and Cherie and an even bigger ego to massage upon his return.
Shaun, Teignmouth, UK

I doubt that a British Prime Minister can really affect the affairs of nations that will view intervention as imperialistic. However our British experience of Ireland's troubles can be used to show that such issues can near resolve with discussion and improving good will from the protagonists.
Mr Philip Clarke, UK

Blair seems to have the idea that visiting lots of countries equals being a world statesman. What he actually appears to be is a messenger boy or go-between. Possibly very useful but I can think of far more effective things for Britain's leader to be doing.
Simon Mallett, UK

As they say possession is nine-tenths of the law. If we started reviving territorial disputes then there is potential for a lot of controversies all over the world. Alsace-Lorraine between France and Germany, and Amur River Basin between Russia and China, just to name a couple. Indian Kashmir used to be one of the most peaceful places on the planet until 1989. The solution is to stop dwelling on the past and look towards the future. Making the Line of Control the international boundary is the most practical alternative in Kashmir.
Kedar Bhandary, Santa Clara, CA, USA

Mr Blair's second term in office is now becoming a self-aggrandising mission across the world

Martin, UK

Mr Blair's second term in office is now becoming a self-aggrandising mission across the world. If truth be told, Blair is desperate to be remembered as a historical figure and issues such as these give him the opportunistic bait he needs. Mr Blair, it is high time you came home and concentrated on your New Labour policies which are under threat. The railways are on the brink of collapse but what would you know? I doubt if you've ever even been on a train.
Martin, UK

Kashmir is an integral part of India. There is no bargaining on that. Blair should try to solve his N Ireland problems instead.
Jayb, India

If India thinks it is such a big democracy, why doesn't it give the Kashmiris the right to a referendum as the UN resolutions dictate? Then they can choose whether or not to stay a part of India.
Mumraiz, UK

Mr Blair's efforts to bring the Kashmir situation out into the open now has earned him the des facto title of world ambassador

Arbab Mehmood, Pakistan

Mr Blair's visit comes at a time when two nuclear powers are at a level of maximum tension. A slight misadventure or misunderstanding could put an end to the South Asian civilisation. Before now there was usually silence on the issue of Kashmir during world leaders' visits to this region, but Mr Blair's efforts to bring it out into the open now has earned him the des facto title of world ambassador. Britain has often been accused of double standards in its attempts to solve the Kashmir problem. And while it has not always been consistent in its views and opinions, we certainly now hope that it will work hard to address Kashmir as a global issue rather than a moral or political issue.
Arbab Mehmood, Pakistan

Let's not drag Kashmir into this! India is rightfully angry at an attack at its democratic heart that has been roundly condemned - even by the Pakistanis. India has provided Pakistan with evidence that the terrorist it asserts to be responsible are based in Pakistan. Surely it is time for Pakistan to decide where its loyalty belongs in the campaign against terrorists. Tony Blair can hopefully remind it of that at least!
Chas Puth, USA

I believe that Tony can play a vital role in the peace process between Pakistan and India. After all it was the British Empire that created this whole mess at the time of partition. The British know very well how to solve this problem, and I believe they are in the right position to end the Kashmir conflict once and for all.
Latif, Canada

I think by now, the Kashmiri people have suffered so much. The rest of the world so far has been silent, but since the South Asian rivals obtained nuclear capability, the west has shown that it would like to help. But I don't know how the west differentiates between the terrorism in Afghanistan and Kashmir. I emphasise that only when this double standard and hypocrisy comes to an end, peace will come to Kashmir and rest of world.
Madhan, India/USA

Pakistan has always welcomed outside help on the issue of disputed Kashmir. India does not want to talk about Kashmir. On the other hand, it is Pakistanis who desperately wish to solve this matter. Mr Blair can't stop anything unless he pushes India to hold a referendum on Kashmir, which he is not capable of. He might be able to stop it for now but as time passes, there will be more tension in the region again and the cycle of violence will inevitably continue.
Mustansar, London, UK/Kashmir

It is ironic that Tony Blair is trying to fix a problem that was essentially created by Britain more than 50 years ago. Had Britain done a better job with the issue before the independence of India and Pakistan, many lives would have been saved. Having said that, Blair did play a part in defusing tensions in Northern Ireland. His visit will at least raise the international profile of the situation in a more diplomatic way.
Maaz Gazdar, UK

Mr Blair should go home

Soumitra Bhattacharjee, Bombay, India

Mr Blair should go home. There is nothing he can do and he is not wanted in this part of the world.
Soumitra Bhattacharjee, Bombay, India

The people of Kashmir need to decide for themselves whether to belong to India, Pakistan or to be independent. By following the UN resolution for a free and fair referendum both countries will then know the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Kelly, UK

None of these visits, nor the west's stance on terrorism in general, will make any difference unless the west admits that there is no difference between terrorism by private groups and state-sponsored terrorism. As long as state terrorism occurs in areas such as Kashmir, where the majority of the population is denied their basic right to self-determination, the fighting will inevitably continue. Depending on which side you're on, it will be defined as either terrorism or freedom fighting. At the end of the day, where do such double standards get us?
Tariq Fancy, Canada

Tony Blair is just one of many foreign dignitaries who have visited the subcontinent. But the dispute can only be solved through bilateral talks between India and Pakistan. The conditions conducive for such talks can only be created once Pakistan stops sponsoring terrorism in India. No one visit from a foreign dignitary is going to help.
Ajay Sharma, India

The problem is not so much will Blair's visit make a difference but whether he can control the elements in his own government who support Israel and by their actions have put the UK in the front line as far as the Islamic fundamentalists are concerned. The UK is viewed, along with the US, as an Israeli supporter against the Arab world and unless he does something to curb the power of such groups I don't see the Muslim countries viewing him as impartial. The root of the problem is Israel and its treatment of the Arabs and until this nettle is grasped there will never be peace. A good start would be to withdraw all aid to Israel until it complies with UN resolutions and pulls out of the occupied lands. If this were done then the heat would be taken out of the situation and serious dialogue could begin.
John, France

It would be great if Blair could stop another war and help avert more needless deaths

Dain Bentley, Washington DC, USA

Most of you in the UK are pessimists. You should have more faith in your leader. It would be great if Blair could stop another war and help avert more needless deaths. As for him being Bush's messenger boy, as an American I resent that statement. The US isn't trying to push anyone into our ways. The people in Kashmir must learn to live with each other. We have Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and many other religious groups cohabiting here. It is childish to separate people because of something as trivial as religion. Maybe the rest of the world should take lessons from the US and Britain on how to live together.
Dain Bentley, Washington DC, USA

Not a blind bit of difference - he just wants to keep another potential nuclear club member at arms length.
Rufus, UK

If Blair stops a war then it will make a huge difference, especially as both sides have nuclear capabilities. Maybe the ideal solution for Kashmir would be if it was converted into an autonomous state.
Christopher Hopkins, UK

This will make no difference because this fight has been going on for a long time. For the past few years we have been suffering from this problem and we did not receive any support from the west. Musharraf is not ready to come to a conclusion and we cannot leave or give Kashmir as such to Pakistan. Blair and Musharraf's meeting will be of no use to us whatsoever.
J Saraswathy, India

It is nothing more than a selfish act to make Europe and the rest of the world believe that Blair is helping to bring peace. Instead he is increasingly becoming nothing more than a messenger boy or Boy Friday for George Bush and the Americans. The rest of Europe has made economic history and where is England? Languishing in the middle ages. Start concentrating on Europe instead of North America, Mr Blair.
Wright, Canada