The Hindu : Need now is for restraint

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Need now is for restraint

TWO STEPS FORWARD and one step back can make for very painful progress. The India-Pakistan relations, boosted by the Prime Minister's offer of the hand of friendship on April 18, saw some bold initiatives by both sides leading to the important decision to normalise diplomatic relations. But after the agreement on the choice of the High Commissioners and on resumption, in principle, of rail, road and air communications, there has been a worrisome pause. The ties appear in fact to be losing the momentum generated by Mr. Vajpayee's offer and Islamabad's hearty response which raised visions of a quick return to near normality. It must be easy to trace the drift to the need for the two Governments to address their domestic audiences and not appear to be yielding undue ground to the other. But there can be no rationale for the avalanche of unhelpful comments emanating from some of the leaders of the two countries. Pervez Musharraf's startling remarks on Pakistan's Kargil misadventure display a disregard for the delicate state of the bilateral relations and the initiative for peace. L.K. Advani's apparent singular obsession with Pakistan during his visit to the U.S. betrays a narrow vision even as he made remarks on the need for compromises on both the sides that are positive.

New Delhi has responded with caution and restraint to Gen. Musharraf's comments on the Kargil war during a television interview. His implied claim that but for Kargil, Kashmir would have remained a dead issue confirms the widely held suspicion that as Army Chief during the summer of 1999 he masterminded the Kargil operations behind the back of the civilian Government headed by Nawaz Sharif, just then pursuing peace following the Lahore bus initiative. Gen. Musharraf's response to the supplementary whether he could have another Kargil was even more shocking. "(It) depends on how we proceed on the peace track, on how things develop. One can't say," he replied in what, for the sake of the current peace initiative, can only be termed an apparently casual manner. If these and other remarks can be traced to the General's domestic compulsions in the context of the stalemate in the National Assembly and the continuing nexus between sections of the military intelligence and the religious extremists, they are most unwelcome. Also unhelpful were Mr. Advani's speeches to the audiences wherever he went during his weeklong visit to the U.S. The speeches had but one theme and one tone: the threat of terrorism came from the same source for India and the U.S. and they must fight it together. The villain was named at a few places and not in others. Mr. Advani, who made some amends by stressing the need for give-and-take over the Kashmir issue while addressing a gathering of NRIs during the fag end of his visit, chose to play out his domestic agenda.

Such rhetoric on both sides can inject acrimony into a roller coaster relationship that is just now slowly on the upswing. What the two countries should aim to do now is to ensure a continuous movement forward. The present drift will hopefully end when the High Commissioners assume their diplomatic responsibilities in Islamabad and Delhi and relations get a semblance of normality after a year and a half. As with India's suggestion on resumption of trade ties, which has revived apprehensions in some quarters in Pakistan, progress on all fronts will be slow. But essential humanitarian measures such as Pakistan's release of Indian prisoners and greater people-to-people contact can help overcome the huge backlog. For the atmospherics to improve markedly, it is essential that the leaders of the two countries exercise caution and restraint. The opportunities opened up by the peace initiative can then be exploited to mutual advantage.

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