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NEIGHBOURS:
PAKISTAN
Going
Beyond Square One
India
and Pakistan make subtle shifts in their positions on Kashmir, raising
hopes of a renewed dialogue and restoration of peace
By
Harinder Baweja in
Delhi and
Zahid Hussain in
Islamabad
In
the great game for ideological supremacy between Midnight's brothers,
Kashmir has always been used as a bloody chess board. But major moves
by India and Pakistan in the past fortnight have seen a significant shift
in the way the game is being played. The guns are falling silent and for
the first time in over a decade, Kashmir is talking of peace. Also, for
the first time since the war in Kargil, when relations between India and
Pakistan froze on the forbidding snow-clad heights, there are some signs
of a thaw. The big question: Will India agree to resume talks with Pakistan?
 |
| Vajpayee's
Lahore visit broke the ice but Kargil derailed the peace move |
The new chapter
of tentative steps towards peace was formally opened on November 19 when
Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee announced that the security forces would
not initiate operations against militants in Jammu and Kashmir during
the holy month of Ramzan. Simultaneously, he expressed the hope that infiltration
would cease along the Line of Control (loc). Pakistan's reaction was quite
unlike the one in July when the cease-fire called by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
was scuttled. Although it referred to the cease-fire as "India's
effort to impose a military solution" on November 20, Foreign Secretary
Inam-ul-Haq came out with a response that marked a substantial shift on
December2.
Offering
to observe maximum restraint along the loc in order to strengthen the
cease-fire, Pakistan appeared less rigid on tripartite talks, an issue
that had derailed the peace process in July. This time, in a written statement,
Haq said, "The Government of Pakistan calls upon the Government of
India to invite the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) during the current
month of Ramzan to prepare for the commencement of tripartite negotiations
between Pakistan, India and the APHC immediately after Ramzan."
The timing
of the Pakistani response is not without importance. Haq's statement came
three days after a financially bankrupt Pakistan received the first disbursement
of an IMF loan. Of a total of $538 million sanctioned by the IMF, $200
million was released in the last week of November. By the end of 2000,
Pakistan has also to worry about debt rescheduling when it has to go back
to the Paris Club. "It is under tremendous pressure and is making
a virtue out of necessity. They have no option but to go along,'' says
G. Parthasarathy, former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan.
A failing
economy is only one of Pakistan's many woes. Under tremendous international
pressure since Kargil and the subsequent coup, Pakistan finds itself totally
isolated. It has come under much criticism not just for its role in sponsoring
terrorism in Kashmir but also for its open support to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Its regulars have joined hands with the Taliban and are fighting alongside
jehadis linked to Saudi mercenary Osama bin Laden to drive out the Northern
Alliance led by Ahmed Shah Masood. Sanctions against the Taliban for the
suspected involvement of bin Laden in the USS Cole attack which killed
17 American sailors are on the anvil. Says former Indian foreign secretary
J.N. Dixit: "The screws are being tightened and its support for the
cease-fire is not surprising because there is hardly any infiltration
at this time of the year when passes along the loc are getting snowed
under."
Infiltration is one of the ways of judging whether Pakistan is able to
meet India's pre-condition of stopping cross-border terrorism for the
resumption of a dialogue. Though Vajpayee said his Government was willing
to extend the cease-fire beyond Ramzan if it was convinced of Pakistan's
co-operation, it has still not held out the promise of an early dialogue.
Pakistan wants the cease-fire to be "combined with a purposeful dialogue
for the peaceful settlement of Jammu and Kashmir" but as Parthasarthy
points out, "There has to be irrefutable evidence that ground realities
have indeed changed."
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METRO TODAY
Ayodhya
is an issue that is pre-determined. And it matters little in the present
fuss that the foremost casualty is the truth, writes INDIA TODAY Deputy
Editor Swapan Dasgupta in 