The Hindu : National : McKinnon hopeful of progress in India-Pakistan talks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 31, 2004

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McKinnon hopeful of progress in India-Pakistan talks

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI, OCT. 30. The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, who met the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, and the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in the past week, was hopeful of progress in the India-Pakistan peace dialogue.

Mr. McKinnon said he was "left with the impression" that both Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Manmohan Singh wanted a resolution to issues of concern to them. "I think that they both recognised that this had gone on for 57 years now. They both recognise that there's been an extremely high cost to human life."

Referring to the possibility of resolving issues that divided India and Pakistan, the Secretary-General said it might mean that "each might have to give up a little bit of something" in the process. "We have to support that," he said in an interview to The Hindu on Friday evening.

On Gen. Musharraf's decision to hold on to the post of Army Chief even after the December 31 "deadline," Mr. McKinnon claimed that Commonwealth Ministers had been given the impression prior to the meeting — which lifted the suspension of Pakistan from the councils of the Commonwealth — that the 17th Amendment to the Constitution would not only invalidate the President wearing the uniform, but also split the roles of President and Army Chief.

Stressing that it was important for all Commonwealth countries to understand the supremacy of Parliament, he claimed that while the Commonwealth was not "endorsing" what Gen. Musharraf was doing, the grouping of former colonies was saying that he should stay within the Constitution.

According to Mr. McKinnon, the use of the Pakistani National Assembly must be appropriate and at some stage Commonwealth Ministers may like to address the Pakistan issue again.

The Secretary-General, referring to the "pre and post" September 11, 2001 situation as far as Pakistan and its engagement with the Western world was concerned, denied that they followed the United States and the United Kingdom in lifting the ban on Pakistan.

If their lead had been followed, the suspension of Pakistan from the councils of the Commonwealth would have been lifted 18 months ago. But, he claimed, that the Commonwealth was determined to see that the Pakistani President held elections. "We insisted that the National Security Council should have a preponderance of elected leaders ... "

Mr. McKinnon, who also visited the Maldives, said the Commonwealth had offered assistance to the Indian Ocean island State to help move along the path of democratic reform.

Political detainees

Admitting that the problem of political detainees still had to be resolved, the Secretary-General, however, seemed to take the Maldivian President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's stated position on the need for reforms seriously. He said there were judicial processes in the country and he would like to "see the back of this" (detentions) as quickly as possible.

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