Opinion - Editorials

Semantics of war and peace

THE PAKISTAN PRESIDENT, Pervez Musharraf, seems to have decided to keep both India and the major powers unsure, at least for the present, about how he really intends to defuse the escalating crisis in Islamabad's relations with New Delhi. This might explain Gen. Musharraf's indifferent manner of addressing the latest concerns of India, no less than those of a global power like the U.S., without actually spelling out any decisive initiative at this critical stage. Known for his recent exercises in exuberant public diplomacy, the Pakistan President has certainly disappointed, if not also confounded, those looking for some clues to his current thinking on a subject of immense relevance to the present international order. Outwardly, Gen. Musharraf's latest televised address to his nation may even rank as a non-event but for the determined effort by him in urging the global community to "ask India to move towards normalisation of relations" with Pakistan. On balance, the importance of his speech lies in the sound bytes of semantics on war and peace involving New Delhi and Islamabad in the unresolved context of the latest terrorist strikes against the Indian psyche itself. Significant, therefore, is the timing of the Pakistan leader's latest public intervention as regards the ongoing international discourse on the explosive situation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Given Islamabad's historical estrangement with New Delhi, Gen. Musharraf has certainly not resiled from his country's entrenched political positions on issues such as anti-India terror and the status of Jammu and Kashmir. It was only a few days prior to his latest speech that his administration implicitly indicated that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as also the territory of Pakistan itself would be put out of bounds for those seeking to export terrorism to any part of the world. If this had appeared to signal a move by Pakistan towards the de-escalation of extraordinary tensions with India at this time, Gen. Musharraf has not followed up with any specific initiatives during the course of his new speech. However, two aspects of his reinforced "message to the world community" at this juncture need to be welcomed. He is emphatic in pledging that his country "does not want war" with India and that Islamabad "will never allow the export of terrorism (to) anywhere in the world from within Pakistan".

Noting that he had taken "very bold steps" since January 12 this year when he first spoke of his anti-terror credo, Gen. Musharraf has now asserted that "Pakistan is doing nothing across the Line of Control". India's response is that these statements amount to "mere verbal denials" about Pakistan's "lethal export of terrorism". Increasingly relevant to this perceptional dispute between India and Pakistan is a topical and specific comment by the U.S. President, George W. Bush, that "it is very important for President Musharraf to... stop the incursions across the Line of Control". It is equally important, in Mr. Bush's view, that "the Indians know that he (Gen. Musharraf) is going to fulfil that promise". These and other similar messages to Gen. Musharraf from Mr. Bush raise questions about Washington's real stakes in the fragile equation between New Delhi and Islamabad, irrespective of whether or not the U.S. might begin to see Pakistan's present India-centric activities as being critical to the success or failure of America's own anti-terror agenda. Not only that. Some major Western powers and Russia have joined the U.S. in expressing enormous concern over the widening gulf between India and Pakistan. Even as Gen. Musharraf wants them to exert pressure on New Delhi, he might himself come under increased pressure to address India's anguished concerns, if Mr. Bush's recent statements are any guide. Given these new realities, it is a good sign at this moment that New Delhi has kept its cool over Pakistan's latest series of ballistic missile tests.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Semantics of war and peace
• A happy Cannes
• Vajpayee as a wartime leader
• Dalit, OBC and Muslim relations
• Peace: a God-given birthright
• Return to talks
• Stop jingoistic cries
• Settle the issue
• Deal separately
• Involve Kashmiris
• Speech not new
• Rein in Pakistan
• Phasing out subsidies
• Banning plastics

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu