The Hindu : Another step forward

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 28, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Another step forward

ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT STEP has been taken in the cautious and calibrated exercise aimed, in the short term, at restoring civil relations between India and Pakistan and, in the longer run, at commencing a dialogue aimed at resolving a clutch of prickly bilateral issues. New Delhi's decisions to resume the suspended Delhi-Lahore bi-weekly bus service and release 130 Pakistan citizens who have been in custody on charges of trespassing are the latest overtures in the thaw that is evolving in an unhurried but definite manner. While the return of the prisoners is a reciprocal gesture for Islamabad's decision to free 20 Indian nationals who were languishing in Pakistani jails, the resumption of the bus service marks a tentative beginning towards the restoration of people-to-people contacts. Rail links have not been restored and while Pakistan has appreciated New Delhi's offer of opening air links, there has been no forward movement yet on this front. However, going by the official mood on both sides of the border, it would appear that a comprehensive resumption of transport links is now only a matter of time.

If the two countries have been able to proceed so far, it is principally because both have given up, or at least shifted some distance from, timeworn, rigid and unhelpful postures. Islamabad may continue to stress, for the sake of its domestic audience, that Kashmir remains the core dispute and that there can be no real rapprochement without its resolution, but its willingness to engage in a step-by-step process, that comprises a series of incremental confidence-building measures, is a practical repudiation of the Kashmir-before-anything-else stand. As for New Delhi, the Vajpayee Government has for all practical purposes abandoned the position that there can be no talks before the end of cross-border terrorism. The clearest expression of this subtle but significant shift in policy was contained in a recent interview to a British newspaper, where the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, has admitted as much by making a distinction between having dialogue with Pakistan and having successful dialogue with Pakistan. In other words, India would not lay down a halt to cross-border terrorism as a pre-condition to enter into talks, but such talks can be successful or meaningful only in the absence of cross-border incursions by militants.

With the exchange of envoys expected to take place shortly, with no obstacles for the resumption of road, train and air links and with the possible early resumption of sporting contacts, there is likely to be a considerable advance in the relationship at a people-to-people level in the days to come. The expansion of trading contacts should be actively pursued to widen the nature of the engagement between the two countries and to raise the economic stakes for the maintenance of the peace. But this is likely to be a somewhat difficult nut to crack. There is (and possibly understandably) serious opposition within Islamabad's economic ministries to granting India the most favoured nation (MFN) status, such reservations stemming from fears of the adverse impact that better-produced Indian goods could have on the Pakistani economy. Nevertheless, the fact that Islamabad has called the first of a series of inter-ministerial meetings to discuss this issue is a positive step. From India's perspective, the most significant confidence-building concession made recently by Pakistan is easily the announcement of curbs on the Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the largest and most powerful militant outfit in the Kashmir Valley. How sincerely these curbs are implemented may have a considerable bearing on the exact manner in which this process of rapprochement unfolds or develops. The road map towards an official dialogue is being very cautiously plotted and the two countries may still have to travel a considerable distance before they find themselves engaged in substantive discussions on the really key or outstanding issues. But the first steps they have taken towards this end have been definite, constructive and very encouraging.

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