Why India And Pakistan Did Not Go Nuclear

War between the two rivals was avoided when Gen. Musharraf promised to stop, permanently, the infiltration of Pakistani-sponsored guerrillas into Kashmir. As The Washington Post explains, Musharraf made his vow in a June 6 meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage:

A veteran diplomat with a blunt manner, Armitage spent the next two hours gently probing Musharraf, asking, “What can I tell the Indians?” Musharraf had already pledged to halt terrorist infiltrations in the Indian-held part of Kashmir. Armitage wanted to go a step further: Would Musharraf now promise a “permanent end” to the terrorist activity long encouraged by Pakistan? “Yes,” Musharraf replied.

Author: Peter Maass

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post.