India will not walk away from peace process

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, AUG. 10. India is ready for a sustained engagement with Pakistan, but wants Islamabad to create the right conditions for the resolution of the differences between the two nations by ending cross-border terrorism.

After a series of mixed signals on how it would deal with Pakistan after the disappointing summit-level encounter at Agra, the Government is defining the contours of its policy towards Islamabad.

Despite the sharp criticism at home on its handling of the Agra summit and a resurgence of hawkish sentiments within the ruling party, the Government today insisted that it will not walk away from the peace process initiated at Agra.

At the same time India is also affirming that the success of this engagement would depend entirely on Pakistan's readiness to address India's main concern - cross-border terrorism. The External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, informed the Rajya Sabha today India will not allow Pakistan to use cross-border violence as a ``negotiating tactic''.

Even as the Rajya Sabha today debated the reasons for the perceived political debacle at Agra, the Indian Foreign Secretary, Ms. Chokila Iyer, met her Pakistani counterpart, Mr. Inamul Haq, at Colombo on the margins of a conference of senior South Asian officials.

The very fact that the meeting between the two Foreign Secretaries took place, diplomatic observers here say, is proof of the Indian willingness to pick up the threads from the unfinished conversation at Agra.

But the first meeting between Indian and Pakistani officials since Agra was also an occasion to communicate in no uncertain terms India's strong concerns on the rising levels of violence supported from across the border. In Colombo, Ms. Iyer told Mr. Haq that the spurt in cross-border violence since the Agra talks has ``created extremely negative sentiments both at the public and political level''.

While not linking future talks with Pakistan to a cessation of cross-border terrorism, India is emphasising that such violence casts a shadow over the peace process.

Pointing out that cross-border terrorism ``violates'' the Shimla and Lahore agreements as well as the accepted norms of international conduct, India is calling for the creation of a climate ``conducive to the resolution of our differences''.

India has also signalled its readiness to proceed with the implementation of the various unilateral initiatives announced by India in the run up to the Agra summit.

India made a special reference to the importance of moving forward on nuclear risk reduction and implementing various conventional confidence building measures.

Unlike Pakistan which is linking movement on these issues to progress in talks on Kashmir, India is hinting its readiness to move forward separately in addressing the threat of an accidental or unintended nuclear conflict in the region.

The clarification of the Indian line on talks with Pakistan today is bound to send reassuring signals to the international community that is concerned about the dangers of war that could eventually turn nuclear.

India today reaffirmed its position that it is ready to negotiate across the broad front of bilateral relations and not hold the conversation hostage to any one issue.

Reiterating its readiness to discuss Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan, India today rejected the notion that it is ``central'' to the normalisation of bilateral relations.

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Section  : National
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