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| The taste of pudding is in its eating | | editorial | |
The meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pak
President Parvez Musharraf at Hawana, on the side line of NAM Summit
has generated the hope among sections of he people about the road
block in the peace process between the two South Asian neighbouring
countries, placed in the wake of Mumbai serial train blasts, on July
11, going to be removed. While the main stream political leaders in
Jammu and Kashmir and many in the country have welcomed the
development to augur well for resuming the peace process and resolving
the differences between the two countries getting a fresh momentum.
But in view of many such declarations by the leader of the two
countries made in the past having not culminated into any tangible
result, there is also skepticism among various circles about any
practical outcome of the present declaration made at Hawana. As far
the new development of agreement on evolving a joint mechanism by the
two countries to combat terrorism, there is obviously a shift from
India's earlier stand of Pakistan perpetrating terrorism on Indian
soil by assisting and abetting the Jehadis operating in Jammu and
Kashmir and other parts of India, including the triggering the serial
blasts in Mumbai, which had derail the peace process. The question on
the minds of people at large is whether India has absolved Pakistan of
its role lately in fresh spurt of terrorist strikes in J&K and other
parts of the country and whether Indian leaders take Pakistan on its
word of their taking concrete action against the terrorist operating
from their soil. In this regard Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
statement and later Foreign Secretary designate Shiv Shankar Menon
statement in a briefing to the media persons at Hawana after the joint
statement by Manmohan Singh and Parvez Musharraf that, Pakistan too
has been the victim of terrorism has further confounded the confusion
in this regard. This is a shift from India's stand so far that
Pakistan establishment is hand in globe with the terrorists. However,
there is no doubt that even one who engineers and assists terrorism
can at one stage become its victim, when its own misadventure recoils
on it, proving the common phrase that one who is riding the tiger is
always under fear of being pounced upon by the tiger. On his way to
Brazil last week, the Prime Minister had told the media persons on
board that Pakistan has not given ample evidence of fulfilling the
assurances given to India that the territory under their control will
not be allowed to be used by the terrorists to strike against India
and that Pakistan shall have to give concrete proof of dismantling
terrorist camps in their land. Has the Prime Minister now been
convinced of the sincerity of any such fresh assurance from Parvez
Musharraf, in this regard during their hour-long meeting at Hawana?
The litmus test of Pakistan's sincerity towards cooperating with India
in rooting out terrorism lies in conceding India's demand to hand over
Dawood Ibrahim, Azhar Masood, Salahudin and many other most wanted
persons by India who are involved in indulging in terrorist activities
in India and against whom there is a solid evidence of their criminal
activities. Failing fulfillment of this minimum requirement on the
part of Pakistan, the entering into an agreement for joint mechanism
against terrorism will have no meaning. The taste of pudding is in its
eating. The positive result of the joint agreement will only be known
when it starts functioning on the ground.
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