The Hindu : Pak. to restore diplomatic ties; road, rail and air links

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 07, 2003

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Pak. to restore diplomatic ties; road, rail and air links

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD May 6. The Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali tonight unveiled the much-awaited confidence building measures (CBMs) to pave way for a dialogue with India by agreeing to the proposals made by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee last week. Among other things he has sought diplomatic status quo as it existed between India and Pakistan prior to the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack and dialogue on nuclear and security-related issues.

At a hurriedly-convened news conference here, Mr. Jamali read out from a carefully-drafted statement outlining the CBMs. These included six directly related to India and Pakistan and two in the field of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Mr. Jamali's announcement came hours before the U.S. Secretary of State, Richard Armitage along with the Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca's arrival to discuss bilateral and Indo-Pakistan issues.

The India-centric measures announced by Mr. Jamali are: immediate restoration of the snapped rail and road links on a reciprocal basis; restoration of air links as proposed by Mr. Vajpayee; release of all Indian fishermen in Pakistani jails, besides 20 Sikh youths and 14 members of the Rajhalaxmi cargo boat as a goodwill gesture; proposal for resumption of sporting ties to begin with in the fields of cricket and hockey and proposal for restoration of the staff strength of India and Pakistan missions to pre-December 2001 level and suggestion for dialogue between the two countries on nuclear security-related issues as agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding in the Lahore Declaration.

The SAARC-related CBMs which would have a bearing on India-Pakistan ties are the decision by Pakistan to add 78 more items on the list of items that could be imported from India; decision to approach the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu proposing dates for the SAARC Summit scheduled in Islamabad and the decision of Pakistan to hold the thrice-postponed South Asian Federation (SAF) games.

In his opening statement Mr. Jamali sought to address the two issues uppermost on the agenda of New Delhi — cross-border infiltration and dismantling of terrorism infrastructure. The Pakistan Prime Minister declared that his country was opposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and would not lag behind anyone in tackling the menace. However it came with a rider.

``Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and would continue to cooperate with the international community to eliminate this scourge. Of equal importance is the promotion of regional peace and security in regions of the world, suffering from tensions and unresolved conflicts'', he said in an obvious reference to Kashmir.

Mr. Jamali said he appreciated the recent moves of Prime Minister Vajpayee and said the measures sought to be taken by his Government were aimed at `setting the stage' for a meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including Kashmir. ``We should begin talks from where they were left off at Agra and work out an agenda for a tiered dialogue, including Summit-level interaction''.

He made it a point to refer to Kashmir as the `core issue' and had a `special message' for Kashmiris. ''I want to tell the Kashmiris and the people of Pakistan that at all stages, their interests would be supreme''. Mr. Jamali talked about his consultations with all parties and said he enjoyed the fullest support of the people and all major parties. ``With this national consensus we are ready to engage in a serious and substantive dialogue with India'', he said.

When a reporter wanted to know from Mr. Jamali if the omission of reference to the United Nations Resolutions on Kashmir signalled a shift in the traditional stand of Pakistan, he sought to make light of the question. ``It has figured so many times''. In response to another question if he apprehended that `hard-liners in India would sabotage the latest peace move like they did in Agra', he merely said that ``that would be bad luck''.

Answering another question whether he has had any contact with the Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani in recent days, Mr. Jamali replied in the negative. ``I would very much like to meet Mr. Advani. From my side there would be no problem''. In response to another question about whether he was hopeful of resolution of differences between India and Pakistan before the 2004 general elections, he quipped ``Well, they are Indian elections, not Pakistani elections''.

Mr. Jamali said he was hopeful that India would come forward to address all outstanding issues in a sincere and sustained dialogue. ``I hope we would be able to put aside the past acrimony and move towards resolution of all problems, including Jammu and Kashmir''. He said both the countries could pick up from where they had left off at Agra.

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