The Hindu : Benefits of restraint

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 02, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Benefits of restraint

THE PRIME MINISTER, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is showing both equipoise and insight in guiding the efforts for re-engagement with Pakistan. Mr. Vajpayee preferred a tone of sadness and pain to one of harshness when recent events forced him to comment on Pakistan's lack of sincerity in combating terrorism. He has restrained most of his ministerial colleagues from reacting in a strident fashion to the terrorist outrages perpetrated in Mumbai and Srinagar. The Deputy Prime Minister was the sole member of the Union Cabinet to use strong language; his intervention was evidently judged to be necessary as a subsidiary theme. Official Pakistan's nexus with terrorist groups is so well established that its prompt condemnation of the Mumbai outrage cannot persuade or satisfy India. Pakistan has so structured its linkages with terrorist groups that it believes that the disavowal of a connection will be credible. This makes it all the more imperative that incidents of terrorism be thoroughly investigated. Any evidence of the ties between the perpetrators and their alleged controllers across the border must be made public. At the same time, New Delhi must persist with its programme of engaging with Pakistan in a positive mode on measures that benefit the people of the two countries. Mr. Vajpayee's policy of appealing to Pakistan's civil society over the heads of die-hard India-baiters has begun to acquire momentum.

Positive initiatives taken in the recent past have been welcomed by the people on both sides of the border. Among the notable measures are the restoration of full diplomatic relations, the appointment of High Commissioners, the resumption of the New Delhi-Lahore bus service, and the reinvigoration of Track II interactions. Constituents of Pakistani society who want peace and good relations with India have become more vocal in expressing their feelings. The desire for a more normal relationship is also manifested in the demand made by Pakistan fans of Indian teleserials that their Government should lift the restrictions imposed on cable operators. A reaffirmation of the diverse links between the people of the two countries will not by itself persuade Pakistan to change its position on the core issues. But the development of people-to-people contacts in various spheres can lead to the correction of misconceptions and misperceptions that complicate efforts at normalisation. Such an attitudinal change must be effected so that the people of Pakistan will progressively open their minds to the long-term benefits of engaging with India. For its part, India should affirm on a consistent and reliable basis that it is interested in friendship, not merely co-existence, with Pakistan.

India's effort to break the deadlock on resuming direct flights between the two countries must be re-examined from this perspective. Too much need not be read into the `failure' of civil aviation experts to resolve the issue during the recent two-day meeting in Rawalpindi. They have agreed to meet again and it will be hoped the two countries will agree on a resumption of air links soon. Pakistan maintains that it will allow the restoration of air links only if India gives a commitment that it will never again resort to a unilateral suspension of over-flight facilities. Official Pakistan, it appears, is intent on making India pay for the `coercive diplomacy' it practised over much of 2002 and into this year. Pakistan also wants to delay the restoration of over-flight facilities since it resents the improvement of relations between India and Afghanistan. While India should not unthinkingly forgo any part of its sovereign right over its air space, it should not lock itself into a dispute over issues of secondary importance since its broad spectrum approach has begun to work.

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