Men, Matters & Memories
M L Kotru
I am not even sure whether the venture I am about to embark upon is really worth it, given the stark reality that it may turn out to be a mere repetition of what might simply be dismissed as copyrighted verbiage, the copyright belonging not to just me but to scores of other reporters who have had the misfortune of filing mile upon mile of pointless reportage on an issue which experience tells is headed nowhere.
Of course, it about the great India-Pakistan tu tu, mein mein, a battle that has defied resolution even as the two countries have fielded known stalwarts ,among these Presidents,Prime Ministers, Military dictators, diplomats by the dozen and even seen foreign heads of governments giving it a try
No, Sir, there is no way the two will ever agree to sort their mess out. Not all Kings men, not all his horses will make two budge. And for all that negativity, let this also be said that it is not as if the issues are insoluble.Indeed on one recent occasion,less than a decade old,in fact, it had seemed quite on the cards that the great knot might be broken. Sadly, it did not and military dictator, Gen. Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee faltered at the last moment.
Another try by the Pakistani laid out in very broad terms the outline of what had seemed a promising opening but again without any luck.So, the two countries, except for one peaceful interregnum when Nehru and Liaquat Ali steered the two towards a peaceful settlement of the Indus waters dispute , the two have been virtually at each other’s throats since birth.
Wars have been fought, some declared ones, others undeclared as the continuing terror war that was expected to make India bleed from a thousand cuts.Currrently, as over the decades since the sub-continent was divided to give birth to the two independent nations, the two have continued to engage in an undeclared wars – sponsored terror from Pakistan being one arm of it and the ceaseless cease-fire violations along the line of control, born out of the last major military confrontation (not to be mistaken for the Kargil war), being the other,more recent one
. When Narendra Modi, the newly elected Prime Minister of India, invited his Pakistani counterpart to his swearing-in ceremony many had hoped that the two, one, then known as a hawkish Hindu and the other having earned his wings under the late Gen.Ziaul Haq, the log serving military dictator known for his Islamic fervour. The two seemed to have shared hopes of an optimistic upswing in bilateral relations, setting a date, among other things, for resumption of the broken dialogue between the two countries, as a frst step with a meeting between their Foreign Secretaries. It had looked too good to be true.
That’s until the dates for the meeting were close by; just then the Pakistan High Commission chose to invite the separatist leadership from the valley, including leaders of the two Hurriyets. And that was the end of the Secretary level talks.
A few months later the Indian Foreign Secretary took a tour of the SAARC countries ,including Pakistan .Cease-fire violations including two major terrorist intrusions in Samba,Gurdaspur and Udhampur, set the alarm bells ringing.
And grist to the consequent hysteria was the arrest of a Pakistani terrorist in Udhampur when he and his fellow terrorist intercepted a BSF bus. That was the high point of the current phase of tension in the region one that saw retaliatoy attacks on both sides of he LOC in Jammu and Kashmir.
The only silverlining on the darkening horizon was the Modi initiative offering a meeting at the National Security Advisors of he two countries. And this is the meeting scheduled to take place onAugust 23 in Delhi. Personally I had not put much store by the outcome of the talks between the two known hawks on matters Indo- Pak,the only hopeful thing, at a personal level, seemed to be the likelihood that the known hawks might be better able to appreciate the plot and the cost of hawkish pursuits
. And just as the odd for and against the possible outcome of the talks were being considered came the expected Pakistani manoeuvre : The Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi invited the separatist factions including the leaders of the two Hurriyets, to the reception he is hosting for Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistani National Security Advisor.
The Kashmir Government which had earlier put the separatist leadership under house arrest, has since withdrawn that order which many believe would ensure their presence at the Pakistani reception. Of course none dare queation Chief Minister Mufti’s credentials, for the fact is that he is committed to a peaceful relationship between India and Pakistan the key to which he believes lies in Kashmir.
Yet, I fail yo understand why the house arrest order was at all issued if it was to be revoked two hours later.
Why didn’t it occur to someone in Delhi or Srinagar to confront the fact that Pakistan only the other day refused to invite the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to a meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union. I don’t find the Pakistani fear that an invitation to the Kashmir Assembly Speaker would have undermined its case that Kashmir is a disputed territory at the CPU meeting or that it would have implied Pak acceptance of Kashmir as a part f India.
Kashmir, regardless of what New Delhi or Islamabad say, continues to be a disputed issue and has to be resolved through bilateral negotiations The Shimla accord bears testimony to that..
Be that as it may the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi, with the obvious blessings of its Foreign Office, has once again challenged the Modi government’s position that the separatists have no place in the bilateral context and that inviting them on the eve of an Indo-Pak meeting, at whatever level, is an affront to it. I am not quite sure whether tomorrow’s meeting between Sartaj Aziz and his Indian counterpart is on or not. If somehow it doesn’t come about it will be a pity. And, Pakistan must be squarely blamed for a no-show. If it does, be prepared for a no holds barred slugfest.
Wow! I seem to be woefully wrong, way,way off the mark. The order to arrest or put under house arrest separatist leaderhip emanated from the home ministry in New Delhi, conveyed directly to the State DGP and not the State government. The Mufti government was for reasons known only to Raj Nath Singh, the Union Home Minister . If the State Government of which the ruling dispensation in Delhi is a part was left in the dark it’s a matter of grave concern. It was indeed the DGP who informed his bosses in Srinagar after he had executed New Delhi’s direct orders to him. And not surprisingly the State was left little choice other than undoing the order if only to retain its credibility as a force committed to a peaceful end to the unending Indo-Pak ‘tu, tu” ‘mein, mein .it also raises many questions relating to Centre-State relations. Mind you, I am not at all bothered about whether Sartaj Aziz and A.K. Doval do at all meet.The talks have been a non-starter when the two sides are not agreed on the agenda they must address.
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