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Monday, Sep 27, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

The next stage of peace process

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 26. When tracking diplomacy, microscopic reading of joint statements often leads to a suspension of political judgment. Critics of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf in New York last week might be committing that error.

All that the two leaders have done is to take the logic of the peace process unveiled by Gen. Musharraf and the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in January an important step forward.

The January 6 statement issued by the two sides had three elements— creation of a peaceful environment, negotiations on all subjects including Kashmir, and the implementation of confidence-building measures to normalise the relationship.

Since then violence has remained at reasonably low levels. The talks at the official and ministerial level have laid out a broad menu of potential CBMs.

Pakistan has only agreed to negotiate on these. It has held back on normalising bilateral relations pending an assurance from New Delhi that it is serious about resolving the Kashmir question. Dr. Singh and Gen. Musharraf have now come to an agreement that purposeful negotiations on finding a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue will take place amid a normalisation of bilateral relations. It is a win-win situation for India and Pakistan. Any negotiation has two sides and there can be no progress in the peace process unless both sides feel they are gaining.

Kashmir talks

The spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party and former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha has criticised the separate mention of Kashmir talks as amounting to giving special dispensation for the subject in the bilateral engagement.

Common sense tells us that there can be no peace process without discussing the Kashmir question. It should also remind us that resolving the Kashmir question is in India's long-term interest.

Mr. Vajpayee himself recognised this truth when he conduced a back channel negotiation with Pakistan on the subject. All that Dr. Singh is doing to formalise a serious negotiation on Kashmir in return for Pakistani commitment on a cooperative relationship.

The BJP, after initiating a bold political effort to restructure relations with Pakistan against great odds, will be unwise now to reject the logical consequence of Mr. Vajpayee's policies.

Playing the oppositional game just when popular support for the peace process is on the rise might not even be clever politics. The BJP should be taking credit for initiating the peace process rather than opposing it on technical grounds.

Punjab leads

The enthusiasm for the peace process is now the greatest in the divided parts of Punjab that were once the sources of hard line national security thinking in both the nations. Punjabi political classes are coming up with creative ideas on changing the grim Indo-Pak reality on the ground.

While politicians in New Delhi and Islamabad might quibble over the meaning of every word that has been said about Kashmir in New York, the establishments in Punjab are pressing for a rapid normalisation of Indo-Pak relations and demand trade, tourism and cultural interaction across the border.

Punjab, with its pragmatism, is not splitting hair over the finer nuances of Indo-Pak statements; it is just pressing forward. The first ever Punjab games since the Partition will be held in early December at Patiala. The organisers expect to hold these games every year alternatively in East and West Punjab.

The games will be preceded by the Eleventh World Punjabi Conference in Patiala. The Chief Minister of West Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi is expected to close the conference and inaugurate the games. Mr. Elahi will be returning the visit by the Chief Minister of East Punjab Capt. Amrinder Singh to Lahore earlier this year.

The games could just be the beginning of a much larger process unfolding in Punjab. At a conference this week in Chandigarh, businessmen and professionals from the two Punjabs will take part in a consultation on promoting trans-border cooperation.

The consultation, organised by South Asian Free Media Association, will focus on finding economic complementarities in the divided Punjab and build on the shared cultural history and heritage. A similar exercise was held in Lahore earlier this month.

One theme is about agricultural research and agro-industries. West Punjab farmers want to learn from their brethren in the East and improve their own productivity.

Another theme is about connectivity and easier movement of people. There is a strong demand for a bus service on the hour between the old twin cities of Lahore and Amritsar. There is also vigorous support to such schemes as "visa on arrival" and promotion of religious tourism as well as weekend travel between the two states.

As India and Pakistan normalise relations, there could be a groundswell of support to the peace process in the border regions that have suffered so much since the Partition. If Punjab cracks open the Indo-Pak border, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sindh would want the same. Smart politics, then, will stay with the peace process.

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