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A heartening course

THE WINDS OF reconciliation sweeping across the subcontinent are heartening, even if their breathtaking speed is somewhat surprising. The Prime Minister's announcement in Parliament on resumption of full diplomatic representation in Islamabad and the few other related measures should be deemed a categorical reaffirmation of the policy of peace and reconciliation that Mr. Vajpayee himself had unveiled in Srinagar last week. The decision on the return of the High Commissioner, which has come sooner perhaps than anticipated, should clear any uncertainty that had lingered over the policy initiative and end the year-long abnormality in diplomatic relations between the two neighbours. It was India which had recalled its High Commissioner as part of the policy of coercive diplomacy following the attack on Parliament in December 2001 and it is but logical that New Delhi should take the initiative to restore the representation in the Pakistani capital to facilitate reciprocal action by Islamabad. Resumption of civil aviation and possibly sporting links should help to create an atmosphere of trust and goodwill in which both countries can move forward and begin to address the more fundamental issues bedevilling their bilateral relations. The package that Mr. Vajpayee announced on Friday will remove the first hurdles on the road to reconciliation. While no one will question Mr. Vajpayee's optimism, there can be no denying that the journey ahead will be long and difficult.

The road map, however, needs only to be dusted up from the shelves and perhaps suitably redrawn in the comforting knowledge that there are no insurmountable obstacles. From Lahore and Agra, the path had been obscured by an atmosphere of suspicion and hostility and it will take sustained effort by both sides to reverse this. Mr. Vajpayee obviously addressed doubting Pakistanis and hardline opponents within his own Bharatiya Janata Party and some of its obscurantist allies when he declared that his Government was committed to improving relations with Pakistan and was "willing to grasp every opportunity for doing so". The hectic schedule of the past week should attest to the genuineness of his claim. His reiteration of the importance of economic cooperation, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts underlines a keenness to first traverse the route that is least contentious. His pointed reference to the importance of substantive progress on implementing the agreements arrived at in Kathmandu during the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation early last year reveals a concern over the failure of Pakistan to move towards trade liberalisation in the region. This is a concern that Pakistan must address without delay since forward movement on this front can lead to the holding of the long postponed summit of the SAARC. India has indicated that Mr. Vajpayee would be willing to travel to Pakistan for the summit if there are concrete economic agreements that the leaders could sign. In this age of globalisation, the failure of the South Asian region to agree on a preferential trade agreement among member-countries is inexplicable.

Trade certainly can heal where the other areas of the relationship continue to defy easy solution. Restoration of rail and road links should follow the resumption of civil aviation ties to facilitate the flow of people and commerce. These can ease the establishment of the back channels that are a valuable tool of bilateralism for serious and sustained dialogue. On Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister and an emerging peace partner, Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri, openly talked of these channels, confirming perhaps that what is being seen in the past week is a well-thought-out move to break the bilateral logjam, each step forward by one matched by the other. As both capitals reflect on their monumental failure to work bilateralism to their mutual advantage and prepare to receive the American Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, neither would fail to note that he has just described the situation in the subcontinent as "truly frightening".

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