Whether public mood is really changing for good, is a matter of public debate. May be, this is a period of transition in Pakistan. But it is noteworthy that the present lot of leadership under the Pakistan People’ s Party (PPP), has decided to give preference to burgeoning economic issues rather than to the contentious Kashmir problem, which has bedevilled relationship between the two countries since partition.

A good progress was made at the fourth round of the composite dialogue in Islamabad, where it was decided to resolve all outstanding issues with ‘self-respect and dignity’. The two sides also signed an agreement to provide consular access to the prisoners held in either country, besides activating the joint anti-terror mechanism and so on.

Be as it may; it is the quality of leadership which can mould public opinion by enunciating policies which can generate positive and peaceful atmosphere in Indo-Pak region. But it is a matter of consternation that while giving vent to aspirations like “grand reconciliation” and ‘significant progress’ in talks, Qureshi wanted to turn the needles of the clock back by harping on the outdated theme of plebiscite or the right of self-determination for the people of Kashmir.

The plebiscite is obsolete. Even President Pervez Musharraf has discarded it. If the people’s mood has really changed for securing rapprochement of good relations with India, Qureshi need not have made these out of tune observations at a time when the peace process is picking up again. It can have negative influence on the peace initiative. Qureshi has gone back to the UN resolution for the solution of the Kashmir tangle. Musharraf, while remaining engaged with India on the vexed issue had told his people to forget about U N resolution on Kashmir .The two countries had in fact crossed that barrier. But the Zardari Government has again harped on the UN resolution. Even Benazir Bhutto had termed the resolution as obsolete and of no use, to resolve what Pakistan says the ‘core’ issue. Perhaps it is the present government’s ploy to keep the Kashmir pot dangling in the air, while dealing with other issues of major consequence.

Ironically, the day when India and Pakistan were reviewing the peace talks, Pakistan signed a peace deal with the Taliban in Swat, in the troubled North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). This has obviously been resented to by both India and the United States for different reasons. It will impinge on India’s security interests. Now the militant outfits, like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohamad, nurtured by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, in league with the Talibans and Al Qaida, have a free hand to inflict thousand cuts on India recklessly.

Jaipur blasts, unprovoked firing in Tangdhar sector of Kashmir and massive infiltration bid on the international border in Samba sector of Jammu, followed just on the heels of Swat agreement. Pakistan’s denial of it and disowning the responsibility is sheer hypocrisy. Does it, therefore, mean that Pakistan’s civilian government has no hold on its Army or rangers, manning the LoC? To say that Pakistan was not in the picture so far Samba infiltration and violation of the ceasefire agreement is concerned, is preposterous.

Then Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev has revealed that he was kept in the dark when his Army ‘invaded’ Afghanistan in mid 80s. It is puzzling that head of a State, and that too of a super power, should be kept unawares about the ‘invasion’ of a country, and that he knew about it from newspapers. The end result was disintegration of the Soviet Union and subsequent upsurge of the radicals and ultra-rightwing forces in Afghanistan. The rest is history. Talibanisation followed soon after and there was a putsch. It can happen in Pakistan if the civilian government and the Army establishment continue to run parallel to each other.

Former Pakistan Premier, Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif has blamed Musharraf for keeping him misinformed and ignorant about the Army’s intrusion into Kargil heights, leading to war with India. The blame game continues. Pakistan had to face ignominious defeat and it later retreated from the Kargil mountains under U S pressure. Pakistan cannot shirk from its responsibilities. It needs to create a congenial atmosphere in real terms and not to violate the ceasefire agreement on the LoC, if meaningful talks are to happen. Mere rhetoric and hysteria will not do.

If Pakistan has vowed to fight terrorism, a common menace, the seeds of which were sown in Pakistan, ground reality indicates that it has percolated deep into India. The ISI has created a number of sleeper cells, which are being activated from time to time, when it suits Pakistan, which is responsible for ugly acts of ISI. Such acts are bound to be counter-productive. Army in Pakistan cannot act in isolation. It has to be made subservient to the civilian government there.

While India’s Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has struck a positive note by asserting that “ secure, stable and prosperous India and Pakistan are in our mutual interest…’, Qureshi has merely said that terrorism ‘should be fought jointly’---as if it is India’s baby—and that a joint Anti-Terror mechanism would meet soon so that terror incidents ‘do not affect our ties’. In fact, Pakistan is sulking. Being the epicentre of terrorism, it has to close down militants’ training camps and re-orient its educational institutions, including madrassas, the bane of Pakistan.

While seeking economic cooperation, Pakistan shall have to give utmost priority to the banishment of terrorism. Incidents like Jaipur and violation of the ceasefire agreement cannot go on endlessly, side-by-side with the peace dialogue. Whatever was achieved during peace dialogue so far should not be allowed to go haywire. Pakistan’s internal political stability is directly linked to terror-free atmosphere. It needs to checkmate the hydra-headed terror mills and disband ISI in its present form.

Printer-Friendly Version