If Siachen and Sir Creek are resolved, it could pave the way for Manmohan Singh's visit to Pakistan.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Havana on Saturday surpassed expectations. That the leaders would decide to resume dialogue was expected. But the resolve to set up a joint mechanism to fight terror, addressing India’s concerns, was a bonus.
Without such decisions, it would have been difficult for Singh, who returns home tonight, to revive the peace process, considering the flak he received from the opposition after the Mumbai blasts.
Coming as it did after a near freeze in relations the meeting was a contrast to the disastrous dinner meeting the last time the two leaders met, in New York last year on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
This time, the issue of a joint statement is a clear indication that the two leaders share the desire to continue peace efforts.
They also discussed the need to end the stalemate in Kashmir. The two foreign secretaries have been asked to find solutions to Siachen and Sir Creek, issues that could be solved easily with political will. If Riaz Khan and Shiv Shankar Menon, who was the high commissioner in Islamabad and knows the Pakistani system, can break the deadlock that persists despite three rounds of composite dialogue, it could pave the way for Singh’s long-pending visit to Pakistan.
But the main agenda of the meeting was to secure Pakistan’s cooperation in fighting terror. India learnt a hard lesson after the Mumbai blasts: accusations without evidence can backfire. Now the strategy is to seek Pakistan’s co-operation and see if this works.
Mistrust between the two countries remains, however, and even in official circles some are cynical about the joint mechanism to combat terror. All the same, most are willing to go along and see if the effort yields results.
“The proof of the pudding is in eating,” said a senior Indian official, who asked not to be identified. “A joint mechanism to fight terror at a time when both India and Afghanistan are charging Pakistan with helping terror groups is just what General Musharraf needs to convince the Bush administration.”
Jasjit Singh, former director of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses and a respected strategic analyst, said, “It will help the general to take the high moral ground and say that despite India pointing accusing fingers at him without backing the charges with hard evidence, he is willing to join hands and fight terror.
“But I believe India will have to continue making attempts to co-operate with Pakistan. In that sense this is a positive step forward. It will also reassure senators who have to vote on the India-US nuclear deal.”
Naresh Chandra, former ambassador to the US, agreed. “This is a good beginning,” he said, “but with the level of trust between the two sides so low, the going may be tough. It is a good idea for India to place its suspicions on record and ask Pakistan to retrace the links. However, there is also the dilemma of how much the other side can be told.”
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