India and Pakistan Should Go Beyond CBMs 

Naushad Shamimul Haque

Arab News

JEDDAH, 21 April 2005 — The nascent peace process seems to have taken hold. The most perilous journey in history has been undertaken. Undeterred by militants’ threats Kashmiris who undertook the cross-border bus journey told the world they long for peace. The bus journey generated a euphoria and gave a push to the peace process that saw Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf visiting India to “watch cricket”.

The president’s visit has been dubbed a success by both India and Pakistan. A number of accords were signed and the reconciliatory tone became more pronounced. But the known positions of the two countries on the issue of Kashmir remain unchanged. Discussions were held to set in motion the multibillion dollar gas pipeline project, to open consulates in Karachi and Bombay and to launch a rail service between Khokhrapar in Pakistan and Munnabao in India. A big headway indeed, given the frosty relations that the two countries have had since their creation in 1947.

The three wars that India and Pakistan fought, two of them over Kashmir, have raised the level of suspicion to the extent that even a goodwill gesture by one country is seen as an eyewash by the other. The Kargil event had further alienated the two countries and strengthened the forces opposed to any thaw between them.

Musharraf’s recent visit to India that can be described as “cricket diplomacy” has been more successful than expected. His visit made even hard-liners like L.K. Advani think about visiting Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has so far avoided making inflammatory statements against Pakistan — such statements being a commonplace in Indian and Pakistani politics — took a long time to offer a formal invitation to Musharraf. But nevertheless, he handled the situation with dexterity and statesmanship and saved it from being the replay of the Agra summit. Musharraf’s Agra visit foundered for many reasons, but the main one was the obstinacy of some hard-liners in then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Cabinet. The rapprochement bid was sabotaged and the peace process that was supposed to be taken forward was thrown into disarray.

The thaw in relations will again be put in reverse gear if the suspicion that has bogged down peace efforts for decades is allowed to take hold. And that is possible if the two countries continue to drag their feet on dealing with confidence-building measures (CBMs). The CBMs are no doubt an essential element to push the peace process forward and a catalyst to yield some tangible results, but they are not the ultimate factors to resolve an issue so complex as Kashmir.

The people of Kashmir have borne the brunt of the antagonistic policies of the two countries. They have suffered for no fault of theirs and some vested interests among the Kashmiris have exploited these people.

Such extremist elements who seek to thwart the peace moves should be reined in by both sides. Pakistan and India both should deal with such people with an iron hand. They will continue to vitiate the atmosphere and create suspicion. They are not the well-wishers of Kashmiris who are suffering at the hands of Indian troops. They want the two countries to remain at loggerheads because they thrive on militancy. Violence and militancy provide them fertile ground to flourish. Peace will spell disaster for them.

The real Kashmiris are those who braved the threats of terrorists and undertook the perilous cross-border bus journey.

These mostly old and frail but valiant people have proved that Kashmiris want peace even if it means confronting terrorists. They showed a way for the leaders of the two countries to follow. A journey for peace may have many stumbling blocks but perseverance and sincerity can surmount all odds.

Pakistan and India have come to a stage where the path ahead is tortuous and a journey fraught with dangers. But bold steps and flexibility can make a solution possible. The path of reconciliation and peace is the only one. All other routes will lead to perdition.