Signals from Colombo

THE most cheering news to emanate from Colombo is the decision of the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan to resume the dialogue between the two countries. The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan are supposed to work out the modalities of the proposed talks. This will not be an easy task if the Pakistanis maintain their rigid postures on certain key issues, including Kashmir. Bilateralism demands both flexibility and sincerity in dealing with difficult matters. To begin with, the frameworks of thoughts and action, and the perspectives which are crystallising, need critical attention at the highest level. Mr Nawaz Sharif and Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee will have to understand the changing global realities which demand pragmatic responses to break the deadlock. The unchanging status quoist ambience and the post-nuclear blast euphoria cannot take India and Pakistan very far. There is need for great maturity in tackling the critical issues clearly and firmly. We are not sure whether Islamabad is yet ready for a new positive line of thinking. Take the Kashmir issue. Why should Pakistan continue to insist on third party mediation? Mr Sharif knows that New Delhi is not averse to discussing Kashmir bilaterally within the Shimla Agreement but is dead set against internationalising the issue. So, no purpose will be served by inducting an outside element in Indo-Pakistan relations. True, there is a powerful confrontation lobby in Islamabad — which thrives on the Chagai blast. But an adventurist course will only be disastrous for Pakistan. Critical to the India-Pakistan dialogue is the need for a new package that accepts ground realities as they exist today, reviews the follies of the past to ease tensions and misunderstandings — distortions too — and tackle the outstanding issues objectively and dispassionately. The two countries must think on new lines with seriousness. For, they cannot afford to make more mistakes.

Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee seems to understand India’s compulsions. He also realises the importance of evolving a new order bilaterally as well as within the SAARC framework. In his speech at the 10th SAARC summit at Colombo on Wednesday, the Indian Prime Minister showed both maturity and sincerity in spelling out the parameters of regional cooperation in economic, social and technological fields, away from the present nuclear arms race. His suggestion for the setting up of a SAARC Economic Community on the lines of ASEAN and the European Union is sound and hence it should be pursued vigorously. “Strengthening the framework of economic cooperation must remain the focus of the SAARC agenda,” Mr Vajpayee said. And he has given enough evidence of India’s commitment in this regard by announcing a number of proposals to strengthen the bonds of economic ties in the region. He has offered bilateral free trade agreements, which await the formalisation of SAFTA by 2001. He has also unilaterally lifted restrictions on over 2000 Indian products to promote opportunities for SAARC countries to access the Indian market and increase their exports. These should be seen as a major step forward to create an ASEAN-type atmosphere in South Asia. Indeed, the SAARC nations must move to anchor themselves to the totality of human growth and consciously motivate the people in the region to abandon the aberrations of the past. Faith and passion will be required to develop a new SAARC order. The task is not easy. It demands hard, coordinated and practical application of the plans and ideas. India, Pakistan and other SAARC nations, therefore, must texture the 21st century very differently—in simple, uncomplicated and terrorism-free dignified living. It has to be done now, or else it may be too late. A lot depends on how the Pakistani leadership, especially the military establishment at Islamabad, responds to new challenges and priorities. A detenteist framework in India-Pakistan relations can go a long way to settle the bilateral issues, defuse tensions, ensure peace and regional viability and cut expenditures on confrontations. We see a ray of hope at Colombo. This should help in setting the tone for a meaningful dialogue.

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Courtesy: The Tribune: July 31, 1998