The Hindu : A welcome overture

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 21, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

A welcome overture

THE PRIME MINISTER'S declaration in Srinagar on Friday that India is ready to extend the hand of friendship to Pakistan and Islamabad's prompt response to it have not come a day too soon and are welcome developments. The tone and tenor of Mr. Vajpayee's overture to Pakistan signal an attempt to return to pragmatism and a readiness to move forward on bilateral relations, though he did appear to have qualified his offer somewhat on Saturday. The readiness to start talks is a departure from the rhetoric of Mr. Vajpayee's Cabinet colleagues, Yashwant Sinha and George Fernandes, who have talked with reckless abandon of India's case for a pre-emptive strike in imitation of the American logic in launching its war on Iraq. By inviting equally irresponsible responses from Pakistan, their loose talk only served to exacerbate tensions, which were already high following the tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats and charges of espionage that went flying between the two capitals. With the snows melting in the Himalayas, easing the passage for the militants to sneak across the Line of Control, bilateral relations appeared headed toward confrontation, in turn inducing expressions of concern by other nations. The Prime Minister's statement of Friday raises hopes of a reversal of this trend. Considering the many false starts in the past decade and the total absence of mutual trust between the two countries, a degree of caution may be in order. But in the changed and changing global situation, the two nuclearised neighbours must realise the dangers of continuing on the self-defeating path of hostility and the very real possibility it raises of motivated international intervention.

Mr. Vajpayee's overture comes even as New Delhi gets ready for some hectic diplomatic activity in the next few weeks. With its military involvement in Iraq winding down, the U.S. has given enough hints that its diplomatic activism will turn to other so-called hot spots. The American Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, will soon be in the region. It is perhaps no coincidence that around the time Mr. Vajpayee was visiting Srinagar — the rally he addressed on Friday was the first by a Prime Minister after militancy erupted in the Kashmir Valley in 1989 — a senior official of the Bush administration was giving public expression to a view that in major parts reflected New Delhi's position. Richard Haass of the State Department declared that the U.S. was "disappointed and frustrated" over Pakistan's failure to stop cross-border infiltration. Mr. Haass went on to warn Pakistan that its relations with the U.S. "will never improve beyond a certain point unless this issue (of cross-border terrorism) is adequately addressed". The message was as blunt as Washington has sent to Pakistan in recent times. Clearly, Pervez Musharraf and his civilian Government have not done enough to keep his promise of permanently ending the infiltration of terrorists into Kashmir from across Pakistani territory. The stepped-up violence in Jammu and Kashmir is evidence that the Government in Islamabad is unwilling to stop cross-border terrorism, the one issue which New Delhi says is blocking its engagement of Pakistan.

There is little doubt that the U.S. is weighing on both sides, its concerns heightened by the rhetoric in the region in the wake of its own war and its justification. While hoping that Washington will continue to press Islamabad to rein in the terrorists and close down the training camps, New Delhi must initiate steps to reopen the bilateral path by giving up its obduracy. If Mr. Vajpayee's Srinagar speech signals a sincere attempt to regain the diplomatic initiative with its estranged neighbour, the Government must take bold followup measures. Resumption of sporting contacts with Pakistan is a ready, non-controversial option. The two countries must show the wisdom and vision to grab the opportunities presented by the geopolitical situation to break the bilateral logjam.

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