Ramdas for incremental extension of ceasefire

By P. S. Suryanarayana

CHENNAI, JAN. 20. Significant proposals for new and concerted initiatives by Islamabad and New Delhi have been outlined by Adm. (Retd.) L. Ramdas, former Naval Chief and chairperson of the Indian Chapter of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy.

In an interview to The Hindu, he proposed here today that the Centre must incrementally extend the prevailing ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, thirty days at a time. In a matching gesture, Pakistan could also announce a moratorium on the movement of ``any personnel'' across the Line of Control (LoC) into the Indian side.

As an exponent of `Track II' diplomacy, he suggested that these qualitative signals aimed at building bilateral confidence be supplemented by other actions such as a decision by India to allow the ``entire Hurriyat team'', as might be chosen by its leadership, to travel to Pakistan for talks on the Kashmir issue.

According to the former Naval Chief, a meaningful goodwill package could include an invitation to Pakistan to participate in the prospective international fleet review being organised by India next month. India, he said, would not expose itself to any danger in the process.

As an active campaigner in the movement against nuclear weapons, Adm.(Rtd.) Ramdas said the least that India and Pakistan could do in the short term was to begin engaging each other to fashion mutually-acceptable safeguards against an accidental nuclear exchange by reducing the risks involved in sustaining their respective security postures. On the possibility of Pakistan test-firing Shaheen II ballistic missile in response to India's latest Agni II experiment, he said Islamabad might have ``nothing to gain'' either in ``military'' or ``strategic'' calculations by doing so at present. Pakistan had not only ``demonstrated it once'', and he pointed out how the diplomatic gains of holding its hand over this issue could outweigh the perceived advantages.

Making out a powerful case for extending the ceasefire or more precisely the suspension of combat operations against militants in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the initiative had already generated a positive momentum, despite the odds, both within the State and in relation to Pakistan.

Islamabad, in his reckoning, had already traversed ``three- fourths of the way'' in responding to the dynamics of the situation created by India's original announcement of a ceasefire. The credibility of Pakistan's first pledge of observing a ``maximum restraint'' along the LoC had so far not been questioned seriously by the Indian side, he noted.

On Islamabad's second step of announcing a partial pull-back of its troops from their forward deployment positions on its side of the LoC, he said this was essentially a ``diplomatic'' move. While it would make no great material difference to current Indian calculations, the statement in itself assumed importance as an aspect of Pakistan's response to India's original move.

Yet another signal from Pakistan was its renewal of interest in resuming a dialogue with India. Given the ground Pakistan had so far covered, it should now hold out an assurance to ``stop any illegal crossing of the LoC by any personnel''. Adm. (Retd.) Ramdas spelt out that a formulation of this magnitude could help Pakistan overcome the dilemma of specifying the categories of personnel, be they Kashmiri ``militants,'' terrorists or Afghan mercenaries or other avowed religious crusaders. Any such move by Pakistan would enhance its diplomatic standing and serve India's interests too, according to Adm. (Retd.) Ramdas, who had played a behind-the-scenes role in helping New Delhi shape its policy.

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