The Hindu : Conflicting viewpoints sans acrimony

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 21, 2003

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Conflicting viewpoints sans acrimony

By K.K. Katyal

"May Allah bless your efforts with success," these words, in one form or the other, were used by the public to greet us — the group of parliamentarians, journalists and experts — who visited Pakistan earlier this month.

The reference was to the conference on India-Pakistan amity that took us to Islamabad. "Will something concrete emerge out of it" was another remark, reflecting curiosity and expectation. Similar words were used earlier at the New Delhi railway station by some from the large crowd that gathered when we left by train to Amritsar on way to Wagah. These stray comments may or may not represent the overall mood, but could not be brushed aside either.

The conference, organised by the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA), needs to be seen as what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. If the tendency to belittle its significance is to be avoided, it would be unrealistic to pin great hopes on its outcome or to see it as larger than life. This was repeatedly stressed by the organisers and participants alike.

Here is the organisers' account right from the initial stage when a deep sense of uncertainty, the fear of imponderables assailed them. The break-up of the participants was to be as follows — 25 MPs, 15 journalists and five experts. The parliamentarians had to be from all the parties, would it be possible to get their support? The mainstream parties had kept aloof from the sponsors of other initiatives in the recent past.

In the reverse direction, not all the parties received the group of Pakistani MPs, visiting India barely a few days back.

In the case of the SAFMA, things worked wonderfully well. All the parties, big and small, readily agreed to participate in the dialogue, signifying — and this was important — their faith in the efforts to promote understanding with Pakistan, attempt confidence-building and conflict resolution. It was to be a non-official initiative and the group was to represent "India, not the Government of India".

There were to be no agreements, no declarations. The idea was to reach out to as large sections of the people in the two countries as possible. The magnitude of the obstacles was not under-estimated. The slow pace of the official efforts — the one-step-forward, one-step-backward syndrome — was noted. But also evident was the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's initiative, "extending the hand of friendship to Pakistan" and the welcome extended by his counterpart, Zaffarullah Khan Jamali. In this bewildering mix of the positive and the negative, it was decided to go ahead. If the conference helps strengthen, even in a small measure the peace constituencies on the two sides of the border, the SAFMA would feel amply rewarded — and encouraged to continue the mission. This was the dominant mood.

"The success has exceeded our expectations," according to a senior office-bearer. "The number of MPs from India was 33, representing almost all parties. The response from Pakistan was equally enthusiastic.

The coverage by the TV and the newspapers was unbelievably vast — especially in Pakistan where media persons vied with one another to have pictures and quotations of the visiting parliamentarians. And it was to the credit of the MPs that they chose not to discuss domestic controversies or to dabble in Pakistan's internal affairs. The focus, all the while, was on bilateral ties". Then there was the Laloo phenomenon.

Barring the opening and the closing ceremonies, conference discussions were not open to the press. This helped candid interaction. Who said what is not to be mentioned but one point could be made — that sharply conflicting viewpoints were conveyed without acrimony or rancour and without disturbing the even tenor of the two-day session.

Laypersons and watchers of the India-Pakistan scene are bound to be baffled, when they find the official rhetoric as harsh as before. They cannot reconcile it with the positive outcome of the conference. The explanation lies in the fact that officials and non-officials operate at different wavelengths. The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, the Indian side feels, could have made a better use of the opportunity — the presence in Awan-e-Sadre of 30 plus MPs from India.

It was no mean achievement by the participants to have agreed on the "sense" of the discussions. One key paragraph deserves to be quoted: "Conscious of the demands of realism and in consideration of the concerns of the two sides, the participants have taken note of the issues that have fuelled confrontation between India and Pakistan, such as Pakistan's keenness for an early settlement of the Kashmir issue and India's concerns of cross-border terrorism. They are convinced that while these issues need to be addressed on priority basis, no purpose will be served by ignoring possibilities of cooperation in various fields. This would create the goodwill and confidence necessary for the resolution of conflicts and issues that impede progress in other mutual beneficial areas''.

A realistic agenda for action that could form the basis for future initiatives.

(Concluded)

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