Mission Kashmir Having consolidated his position at home, the President of Pakistan is clear that any diplomatic advance in Agra will be measured against India's willingness to review its position on Kashmir. Can Prime Minister Vajpayee oblige his guest?

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A controversial sex-selection procedure widely available in India skirts the law and prevents the very conception of female babies.

COVER STORY: INDO-PAK SPECIAL

THROUGH DEEDS, NOT WORDS

By G. Parthasarathy

We are inclined to believe that every Pakistani ruler is different from his predecessor. But from Zia to Nawaz Sharif, all have pursued the same course.

It was a pleasant evening in 1983 in Karachi when I met Begum Nusrat Bhutto at one of those parties where liquor flowed freely, even as General Zia was vowing to make Pakistan a devoutly Islamic country. "Your husband was a consummate politician. What possessed him to overlook five generals and trust Zia-ul Haq to be his army chief?" I asked. She recounted that when her husband visited Multan in 1973, General Zia, then the corps commander, met him and claimed he was a devout Muslim. Zia added that he recognised that Bhutto had saved Pakistan from further disasters after 1971. He then went on to swear on the holy Koran that he would always remain loyal and faithful. Bhutto's trust was amply repaid when Zia ousted him in 1977 and then hanged him.

Before he died, P.N. Haksar acknowledged his mistake in advising Indira Gandhi to accept Bhutto's private assurances, especially on Kashmir, and not insist on incorporating these in writing. We are unfortunately inclined to believe that every Pakistani ruler is different from his predecessor, that we should forget the past and trust the new messiah. When Vajpayee took the bus to Lahore, few remembered it was Nawaz Sharif and his ISI chief Javed Nasir who masterminded the Mumbai blasts of 1993. Sharif found it expedient to welcome Vajpayee as he was then trying to seek a dialogue with India because of economic compulsions and the international pressure after the 1998 nuclear tests.

General Musharraf needs a dialogue with India. He will use his visit to establish his legitimacy internationally and among his own people. He will avoid any commitment on reducing cross-border terrorism till his demands, including the reduction of Indian forces in Kashmir, are met. He will try to create a situation where he can tell the world that India is "not sincere" in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The entire effort will be to undermine the primacy of the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, while seeking a new framework that focuses on Kashmir. It would be a grave folly to agree to any such proposal.

Pakistan is engaged in destabilisation throughout India. It is the home of criminals who masterminded the Mumbai blasts, terrorists who hijacked IC 814 and militants from the Babbar Khalsa. It openly proclaims support for jehad against us. It uses Nepal and Bangladesh to spread fundamentalism, terrorism and separatism in India.

The essence of good diplomacy lies in expanding cooperation while firmly making our concerns known. We should prepare to move ahead on people to people contacts, trade and nuclear and conventional confidence-building measures. We should tell Musharraf there can be no compromise on our territorial integrity and that progress can be made only when the ISI support for terrorism ends. We should judge Musharraf by what he does, not what he says.

(The author is former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan)

MetroScape

Frames Of Life
Nina Shivdasani Rovshen Sugati's Conceptual Art Imageographs, on show at NCPA's Piramal Gallery till July 14, attempts to capture the "essence of people and situations" as she lets her subjects "reveal themselves" to her.
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