Nicholas Kristof gets an earful on Kashmir

NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof recently wrote what the U.S. should do for Pakistan. His advice to Obama was mostly about improving education and basic services in Pakistan, to help counteract growing militancy.

Unfortunately, he also gave this suggestion:

...we should push much harder for a peace deal in Kashmir -— including far more pressure on India —- because Kashmir grievances empower Pakistani militants.

The outpouring of comments on his blog was disproportionately about the Kashmir suggestion, an overwhelming amount of it negative, from desi readers.

Kristof then added a clarification on his blog:

Let me clarify that this is not just to “appease” Pakistan, but because India’s own behavior in Kashmir has often been shameful. Paying more attention to Kashmir and to human rights violations (in both Kashmirs) is not only geopolitically correct, but it’s also the right thing to do.

This "clarification" seems to have inflamed his Indian readers even more. Tsk, tsk. He has really put his foot in it now, exposing his own ignorance about the India-Pakistan problem. This was perhaps to be expected from someone who has "been coming to Pakistan for 26 years" and who quotes Ahmed Rashid's "Descent into Chaos". All good things, but if these are his only sources of information, then it's no wonder he's been brainwashed beyond help by Pakistani talking points.