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Zardari hopes to recast ties with India

ISLAMABAD: In a much awaited speech to Pakistan’s Parliament, President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday outlined that the government wants trade-driven relations with India, but also took care to reassure Kashmiris that they are not forgotten.

Mr. Zardari, who is to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meet next week, called for ties with India to be “creatively reinvented” and expressed the government’s commitment to “peace and friendship.” Mr. Zardari is seen as having made history with his address to a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate within two weeks of taking office.

One of the criticisms against the former President, Pervez Musharraf, was he never addressed Parliament as advised by the Constitution after a disastrous first-and-last time in January 2004, when opposition members constantly tried to disrupt the proceedings.

In a sign of the new “democratic atmosphere” in the country, the opposition Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif sat in the visitor’s gallery — he is not a member of the National Assembly — and the two leaders embraced warmly after Mr. Zardari’s speech.

Security was tight. With the policy statement anticipated as much by the international community as Pakistan, Mr. Zardari chose to make his speech in English from a prepared text. Much of what he said had already been stated before by various political actors, including the government’s famous “three-pronged strategy” for dealing with terrorism and extremism — peace with those who drop arms and are willing to talk peace, social and economic development in the tribal areas and stick for those who continue on the militant path.

In his short speech, Mr. Zardari did not go into the details of how the government would deal with the delicately poised relations with the U.S. But he reiterated more forcefully that Pakistan would not allow a violation of its sovereignty by “any power” in the name of combating terrorism.

He also asked the government to be “firm in its resolve not to allow the use of its soil for carrying out terrorist activities” against any other country.

Mr. Zardari also asked Parliament to hold an in-camera national security briefing so that all “stakeholders” had the opportunity to make an “informed judgement” about the risks to Pakistan and the policy to adopt “with responsibility and clarity of vision”. “With India, the government believes that the relations between the two countries can and should be creatively reinvented,” said Mr. Zardari, setting forth the first detailed statement of the government on the difficult ties with New Delhi. Quoting from his assassinated wife Benazir Bhutto that it was time for “new ideas” and “bold commitment,” Mr. Zardari said the PPP was once labelled a national security risk for espousing peace with India and the region.

He spoke of the decision to launch cross-Line of Control trade in Kashmir, and said Pakistan had “decided to resume” the Composite Dialogue process, which has stalled since the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul. New Delhi has not yet agreed to dates for the meetings as it awaits assurances from Islamabad for a terror-free atmosphere.

It also wants assurances on Pakistan’s commitment to the 2003 ceasefire. Both sides are hoping that the Singh–Zardari meeting can help start it off again.

The Indian side would be encouraged that Mr. Zardari has given formal expression in a major policy speech to his oft-reiterated emphasis on the importance of trade in the bilateral relationship. “Driving out relations through enhanced trade, we express our complete commitment to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle for their fundamental rights,” said Mr. Zardari, leaving some disappointed that he made no mention of Pakistan’s traditional commitment to the Kashmiri right to “self determination.”

Saad Rafique, a PML (N) leader, later declared his concern that while Mr. Zardari had gone a long way to emphasise friendship with India, “Kashmiri blood is flowing.”

Mr. Zardari said Pakistan would “continue to seek the settlement of all outstanding disputes, including the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir so that the main hurdle in the way towards peace and full normalization of relations between Pakistan and India is removed.”

Calling for a more liberal visa regime and the establishment of new facilities in Pakistan for Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, he also urged Parliament to form an all-party caucus on the Kashmir and the Indus waters issues — apparently different from the parliamentary committee of Kashmir — so that “the nation is united in resolving this key issue and draws strength from speaking in one voice.”

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