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Tuesday, Jul 27, 2004

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India and Pakistan at SAARC

By K.K. Katyal

Despite the posturing by the two neighbours during the recent SAARC meet, the bilateral dialogue goes on.

BEFORE HE left for Islamabad earlier this month, the External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, made known — during informal discussions — his strong feelings against letting India-Pakistan problems overshadow the review of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) activities, the main purpose of the visit.

Mr. Singh was keen that SAARC discussions remain on centre-stage.

In practice, it did not work that way. On all the four days that he was in Islamabad, discussions by India and Pakistan on bilateral problems, rather than SAARC activities, grabbed the headlines.

True to the uneven pattern of the bilateral dealings after the January 6 joint statement, the outcome of Mr. Singh's talks with the leaders of the host country — President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri — was a mix of the positive and the negative. The negative was clearly reflected in the official press release issued after Mr. Singh's talks with Gen. Musharraf. What stood out in the Press release was Gen. Musharraf's stress on "simultaneous" progress on all issues, especially Jammu and Kashmir, and the need for its final settlement within a "reasonable" time frame.

Going by insider accounts of Mr. Singh's talks with Gen. Musharraf, the positive elements were not altogether absent. The very comprehensive nature of the discussion was one, and the evidence of flexibility about the "reasonable time frame" was the other. Pakistan, according to the General, was doing all that it could do to counter acts of terrorists . The criticism of India by Pakistan was ascribed to the sense of hurt, caused by "human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr. Singh drew attention to India's democratic set-up, the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and the steps to initiate dialogue with the State's leaders.

Obviously not convinced by Pakistan's version, he made a case for concrete steps to check infiltration, which, in July, had exceeded the level of the corresponding period last year.

Why this dissonance between the actual discussions and the account given in the press release? Why was the normal practice of giving an identical version by the spokesmen of the two sides not followed?

There are various theories. One, Pakistan sought to reassure the domestic constituency that there had been no let-up in the advocacy of the "core issue." Two, it reflected an intense debate in the ruling establishment on dealings with India, with different sections in the army and the political set-up taking positions suiting their respective narrow concerns. Three, the fundamental differences on Kashmir have come to the surface now that the two sides have begun to address the substantive aspect. India's stress is on confidence-building measures, like starting a bus services between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in the Pakistan-held part, steps for peace and tranquillity along the Line of Control. Pakistan, on the hand, seeks to focus on the "final settlement." Gen. Musharraf wanted the two sides to zero in on this point. New Delhi was "disappointed" by the tone and substance of the press release but limited its reaction to a one-liner. Informally, it made no secret of its unhappiness on various counts. One, the Islamabad statement did not reflect the importance of the Indian stand on the need to end terrorism. Two, it talked of the "comfort" of the Kashmir people but in actual practice, was instrumental in subverting it. Three, it referred to their "legitimate aspirations" but had subverted the electoral processes in PoK.

The SAARC platform, too, witnessed a mild clash. At one stage, it looked ominous, with a revived controversy threatening to introduce a jarring note in the dialogue. Later, however, Islamabad toned down the rhetoric, even seeking to underplay its conduct.

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India and Pakistan at SAARC