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More friendly in tone

WHILE THE SEVERE strains that afflicted the relations between Teheran and Islamabad till the recent past have eased, they have not been completely erased and as much can be construed from the lacklustre visit that Iran's President, Syed Mohammed Khatami, has just made to Pakistan. The two sides have not been able to resolve the differences in their approach to several key issues but they can draw comfort from the fact that they are now able to hold discussions without the carefully suppressed yet clearly perceptible hostility that they once bore towards each other. The state of the bilateral relations that each country has with India is a matter of concern to the other and this is an issue on which Iran and Pakistan do not see eye to eye. For instance, prior to Mr. Khatami's visit Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf, had strenuously urged Teheran to factor in Islamabad's sensitivities in respect of India in the course of developing its ties with New Delhi. But Mr. Khatami scrupulously stayed clear of India-Pakistan controversies and prudently urged both sides to resolve their disputes in a just and reasonable manner. Although Teheran appears as eager as Islamabad is to begin work on the Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline, Mr. Khatami did not share his host's perspective that New Delhi's concerns over the security dimensions of the project were exaggerated. On the contrary, Mr. Khatami appears to have suggested that Pakistan must indeed address these concerns while reminding everyone involved (India included) that the project would be of great economic benefit to the region.

An issue that once had the potential to take Iran-Pakistan relations to the breaking point did come up during the visit, perhaps more out of inadvertence, during an interaction which Mr. Khatami had with the Pakistan media. In pointing out that sectarian conflict was prominent among the problems bedevilling the region, Mr. Khatami revived memories of the Sunni-Shia clashes that have claimed a number of lives — including that of Iranians in Pakistan — over the years. What could have been particularly galling to his audience was that Mr. Khatami's reference to the Shia-Sunni strife was made in response to a query intended to make him reveal his thoughts on developments in Gujarat. But if the Iranian President's reference to sectarian strife within Pakistan was a pointer to that which had remained unchanged in the relations between the two countries, the marked difference in tone with which both sides addressed the issue of Afghanistan was revelatory of the improvements that have been made to the relationship.

From a situation where they were indirectly at war with each other through their proxies in Afghanistan (the Taliban in Pakistan's case and the Northern Alliance in Iran's), the relations between the two countries have now reached a stage where they can seriously talk about cooperating in the reconstruction of their war-ravaged neighbour. In talking about the potential and prospects of their cooperation in Afghanistan, both sides appear to have skirted the controversies that arise on account of their divergent views in respect of the U.S. and of the role that Washington is playing in the region.

Although Mr. Khatami was accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen, thus signifying the scope that both sides perceive exists for bilateral trade, hardly any boost was given to their economic ties. Gen. Musharraf, while referring to the substantial increment in imports of Iranian oil that Pakistan had made, had expressed the desire that Iran would reciprocate by purchasing more wheat and rice from his country. Such a boost in economic ties between the countries of South and South West Asia will apparently, just like the pipeline, have to wait on a more substantial improvement of political ties.

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