The Hindu : A FAIR BEGINNING

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

A FAIR BEGINNING

THE CONSTRUCTIVE AND sober manner in which India and Pakistan re-started discussions at the official level offers hope that they will move steadily towards a resolution of outstanding issues. The two countries appear to have struck a fine balance between speed and caution when they decided to hold the first round of the composite dialogue on substantive issues in May or June. They have given themselves enough time to prepare for the negotiations so that they do not repeat the blunders of past bilateral exchanges, which were conducted without adequate forethought. They have also wisely decided not to postpone unduly the recommencement of talks and have indeed resolved to move swiftly in areas where speed is feasible and necessary; the decisions to consider a strengthening of the contacts between the Directors General of Military Operations and to hold talks in March or April between the Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers fall within this category. The two sides also displayed a commendable willingness to tackle the most contentious issues upfront with discussions on the subjects of peace and security, including confidence building measures, and Kashmir to be held before the rest of the dialogue gets under way. India has tried to go some way in accommodating Pakistan's proposal that negotiations on these subjects be held at the political level by agreeing that the Foreign Ministers will meet in August for a review of the overall progress.

While there is merit in Pakistan's argument that the upgradation of talks to the political level will facilitate swifter decision-making, India could not have accepted the proposal in toto at this juncture. A government that is seeking a fresh mandate could not have agreed to anything more than a future meeting between Foreign Ministers. New Delhi also has no desire to be pulled deeper into the dialogue process until it is able to gauge that conditions will continue to be conducive and to confirm that Pakistan has put an end to cross-border terrorism. India sidestepped Pakistan's proposal that South Asia be brought under a nuclear restraint regime, arguing that its defence preparedness is not oriented to a threat from within the region alone. However, the danger posed by the nuclear weaponisation of the sub-continent appears to have been acknowledged in the agreement to hold expert-level talks on nuclear confidence building measures. As for the less contentious issues, the two countries will be essentially restarting a process that was suspended in 1998. In the initial round of discussion, the negotiators are likely to re-examine the progress made up to that point to see whether it provides sufficient material to build on. In-depth discussions were held in this period on three of the eight subjects to be covered in the composite dialogue — those pertaining to the Siachen Glacier, the Tulbul project, and Sir Creek — and the outlines of tentative agreements were also sketched. The two sides must move to apply closure on these subjects even if there is no forward movement on the tougher issues.

With the SAARC process having been revitalised, the discussions on economic and commercial cooperation can acquire a content and a salience that were lacking until now. The re-establishment and enhancement of people-to-people contacts has not been held back by the delay in restarting the official dialogue. However, there remain many bureaucratic hurdles to be addressed before the relations between the peoples of the two countries can be normalised. That technical-level discussions will be held soon on opening new routes indicates an intent to tackle these obstacles. The dialogue between officials and the exchanges between the peoples must operate as mutually supportive processes.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

A FAIR BEGINNING

OVER TO BANGALORE

Women and the law

The subsidy-tariff tangle

India determined to contribute to new nuclear order