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| India and Pakistan talk peace once again | | J&K, Siachen issues remain unresolved | |
B L KAK
NEW DELHI, Nov 15
The much-awaited--indeed, much-publicised--talks between India and Pakistan at the Foreign Secretary-level have just concluded in New Delhi. Understandably, there was a whiff of mild optimism on the first day of the revived talks on November 14 with both sides reporting a good discussion on all key issues in a constructive and positive atmosphere.
Similarly, on the concluding day of the talks, a good discussion also tok place on the issues raised by the two sides. And Although the Siachen issue was discussed in more detail on November 15, no agreement was reached on the dispute between the two countries. It was decided that further discussions on the Siachen issue would take place later in Islamabad.
Both sides appeared to be pleased that the talks were infused with the "Havana spirit", euphemism for an agreement between their leaders on Sept 16, that enjoins them "to build on convergences and narrow down divergences" in their bilateral disputes, not the least over Kashmir. Pakistani officials said that the main topic of discussion had centred on Kashmir, while the Indian side stressed on terrorism as the key issue that was discussed. The delegations did discuss Jammu and Kashmir which, according to India's Foreeign Office, is normally discussed when Foreign Secretaries meet as part of the composite dialogue. As part of that, they discussed the confidence-building measures, in particular the cross-LoC confidence-building measures that had been proposed and were partially implemented.
Pakistani officials acknowledged that the Indian side had handed them a 12-page dossier of terror crimes but declined to give details. But going by the overall reluctance to discuss the details the dossier could be anything -- a first beginning in the bilateral quest to jointly combat terror or it could mean nothing at all.
However, both sides agreed in principle to set up a two-way joint mechanism to fight terrorism and to investigate related crimes. Pakistan's FIA and India's CBI, the main investigating agencies, would be brought in to track money laundering and human trafficking cases. In terror probes, police and intelligence officials from both sides would be taken on board.
The composite dialogue that began in 2003 thanks to the bold initiative by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee and and Pakistan President, Gen. Parvez Musharraf, has lately lost its steam due to a number of factors. While India has blamed militant groups on the other side of the border for the breakdown of the peace process, Pakistan has been unhappy with New Delhi's apparent lack of interest in talking Kashmir and other issues with the neighbour.
The South Asian dialogue was dealt a serious blow with the terror strikes on the local train network in Mumbai in July. Indian officials saw the hand of Pakistan-based militants. Islamabad has angrily rejected the charges with Gen. Musharraf offering to jointly investigate the attacks. It is possible that both sides are speaking the truth. And it is also possible that vested interests in the two countries are trying to derail the peace process that took years of elaborate and patient effort to build. But except for an extremist fringe, the people on either side of the divide - more than a billion - crave for peace and normal relations - if not fraternal - between the two countries that had been not long ago were one.
Even after the Partition that divided their countries, Indians and Pakistanis continue to share a great deal: Religion, language, culture, music, cinema and sports of course. Despite having suffered three pointless wars, the factors that unite Indians and Pakistanis outnumber those that divide them. And this is not limited to cricket! Of course, all this may make little sense to the politicians who are not exactly comfortable with this extraordinary bonhomie between the two people. But even the politicians and extremists despite their nuisance value cannot forever keep two people apart that bond in a myriad ways.
However, India and Pakistan are yet to make serious progress on the one question that has been the constant source of friction in their relations, that is, Kashmir. This is not possible without taking some path-breaking steps on both sides. While Pakistan must do all it can to address India's genuine concerns on the issue of continuing support to extremist groups, India cannot keep the K question in the cold storage forever. India and Pakistan must sit down with the Kashmiri leadership to bring lasting peace to South Asia
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