Heart of Asia-Islamabad meet presents two distinctive paradigms. One is Pak Premier reiterating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and his call for non-interference in domestic and foreign affairs of that county. Second is rather unexpected thaw in India-Pakistan acrimony. It seems that stakeholders are assaying a new approach to the resolution of the Afghan and Indo-Pak logjam. Now it is clear that the two scenarios are mysteriously linked.
Did this new regional scenario appear just by sheer force of momentum or has there been an invisible hand moving behind the curtain. Last one month has unexpectedly thrown up new options of tackling the frozen logjam. Remember Nawaz Sharif met with President Obama in Washington only to be followed within two weeks by his COAS. The significant move is that ostensibly General Raheel was given red carpet reception in Washington. He met with the civil and military echelons, besides the Vice President, and also met and talked to two Congressional Committees, intelligence and security. This is rarely done by foreign army chiefs on visit to the US.
But beyond the public gaze and behind the liveried men offering guard of honour to him, he was called to listen to much plain talk by the Defence echelons. He was told to rein in the terrorists in Afghanistan especially the Haqqani Network, which has long-time links with ISI. He was told to distance from the home-bred jihadi legions in Pakistan and he was also told to come clean of his India-centric short range localized nuclear bombs. In other words, he was told to let democratic dispensation take its logical course in Pakistan. All this was said side by side with accolades for fighting the TTP in North Waziristan. Perhaps the catalyst for the US defence high ups to speak spade to General Raheel was the evidence before Washington of Pak army’s role in recent fall (and retake) of Kunduz In Afghanistan.
It appears that this time Washington is taking a holistic view of the entire South Asian region with Afghanistan and Kashmir as two visible flash points. The compulsion for the US could be the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and the anti-Muslim wave that has gripped entire Europe. France says she means business. Obama was on defensive even at the G-20 meet in Anatoly, Turkey.
India and Pakistan have been talking behind the curtain. Track II was never abandoned despite moments of heightened tension now and then. The first symptom of Pakistan’s realization of gravity of regional strategic scenario was reflected in her willingness to be positive and cooperative in the meeting between two National Security Advisers in Thailand. No doubt that meeting was the sequel to one-to-one brief meeting between the two Prime Ministers in Paris, yet the two sides deciding to continue their interaction after ironing out the basics of such meets is definitely a healthy sign. Pakistan has always craved for third party intervention in Kashmir dispute but India rejected it stubbornly. At long last, third party intervention and not mediation has come just by the march of history. New Delhi is satisfied that Pakistan has conceded the irrelevance of Hurriyat.
It is good that some sane and sensible words have come out from the mouths of responsible representatives on both sides. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met with Pakistan premier and his Adviser Sartaj Aziz. She offered hand of friendship and reiterated India’s long standing policy of establishing good relations with the neighbours. On the part of Pakistan, there were some positive indications. Pakistan repeated expediting court case against the perpetrators of Mumbai carnage, a demand which India has been persistently making on bilateral and multilateral forums. Pakistan has recognized that the threat from the terrorists is not only to the region but to the whole world and as such collective efforts have to be made and mechanisms devised to meet this threat. From what Nawaz Sharief and Sartaj said, it appears now Pakistan wants to tell the world to understand that she is a victim of terror and not a perpetrator of terror. Whereas this message is reassuring to us and Pak watchers, it sends cold down the spine of Pakistan-based fundamentalist organizations and their handlers who have been having a free hand hitherto.
Interestingly, Indian External Affairs Minister has gone beyond the “comprehensive” dialogue and thinks of including more irritants into the basket of bilateral talks that have hitherto remained outside the purview of Track II negotiations. This is a very healthy sign and speaks of confidence of the Indian side in what they imagine would be the course of relationship in immediate future. If we attach seriousness to what Sushma has said, then we may say with fair amount of confidence that the issues other than Kashmir, like Siachin, Sir Creek, Turlbul, cross border firing, infiltration and interference in each other’s internal affairs etc. have received due attention at the innumerable Track II meetings here and there.
The Heart of Asia-Islamabad is perhaps a rare meet in which India and Pakistan or Pakistan and Afghanistan have not traded accusations and counter-accusations. The fact that India and Pakistan have begun to understand each other’s constraints and compulsions, should become their motivating force to resolve bilateral issues in a spirit of give and take and thereby say goodbye to the rigidity and obstinacy that bedeviled their relations for last seven decades. The most encouraging message that has come out of the meeting between the leaders of the two countries on high level is that they realize what responsibility they are shouldering and how they should handle it.
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