In the backdrop of the RAND report prepared by Ashley J. Tellis, C. Christine Fair and Jamison Jo Medby warning of yet another “Kargil-type military crisis” between India and Pakistan if all outstanding issues between the neighbors were not settled in the near future, a series of confidence building measures initiated from both sides encompassing the government and private domain appear reassuring. Even as the report “Lesions Learned Form The Kargil Crisis”, found “no end to the persistence of unconventional conflicts”, the emerging bonhomie between the two countries can be the basis for building the foundations for peace in the subcontinent. [i] The Pakistan High Commissioner-designate to India, Aziz Ahmed Khan’s arrival in New Delhi coincided with both India and Pakistan exchanging visas to their bus crew as a prelude to the resumption of the Lahore-New Delhi service. The group of Members of the Indian Parliament that just returned from a visit from Pakistan disclosed that plans are afoot to send and receive delegations of artistes, judges, women, students and journalists in the near future. Pakistan’s cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan disclosed his plans to lead a parliamentary team in September as part of efforts to enhance people-to-people contacts. There were proposals from the Pakistan Press Club to extend an invitation to Press Club of India. There was considerable progress in matters relating to restoration of air links and over-flight facilities. A fifteen member student delegation went on a private visit to Pakistan to participate in a youth festival, Youth Without Borders and Peace Through Art, Film and Dialogue." organized by Youth Initiative for Peace (YIP) in the city of Karachi and to jointly make a documentary about the cultural richness of the two countries.[ii] Indians about 2000 of them held in Pakistan were released The three-day visit by Indian tea producers to Pakistan ended on a positive note with the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Chairmen of Indian Tea Association (ITA) and the Pakistan Tea Association (PTA).[iii]. A 58-member Pakistani trade delegation crossed over into India from the International Border There was hope in the air that the small step it took across the border would, apart from improving bilateral trade, go a long way in strengthening ties between the two nations.[iv] Close on the heels a 20-member FICCI women's business delegation slated to be in Pakistan from August 3 to explore and enhance business and cultural ties between India and Pakistan. Trade, as India’s External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha said in his address to the chambers of commerce of the two countries could play a dominant role in India-Pakistan bilateral interaction so that the two countries could meet the challenge of living together as good neighbours.[v] And then the news that the deferred South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit will now be held in Islamabad from January 4 next year which the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, hope could pave the way for a "composite dialogue" between India and Pakistan. would contribute a great deal in reducing tensions in the region.[vi] A delegation of India-Pak Soldiers Initiative for Peace, consisting of retired defence personnel, initiative of the common group of Indian and Pakistani retired Defence personnel, who have fought against each other in three major wars visited Pakistan to hold deliberations with their Pakistani counterparts and other organizations. President General Pervez Musharraf offered India cut in troops

These small initiatives promised to ensure what Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali pleaded for, peace be given a reasonable chance to survive. Jamali said the sub-continent had witnessed hostilities and prolonged tension over half a century, which was neither in the interests of the two countries nor conducive to the welfare of their citizens.[vii]

On the face of it, the restoration of the Bus service, which heralded in 1998 what has come to be known as Bus Diplomacy in the subcontinent may appear to be a small low key affair. But deep inside the gesture holds deeper meaning and significance. Artificial borders drawn on a piece of a map or political hype that seeks to build up mutual hatred can never stop people craving for means to maintain social ties and fulfil religious obligations. what matters is not so much the fact of a boundary as its nature. A friendly, peaceful, soft boundary would admit of easy and simple access to either side for social and cultural exchange, tourism, commerce and investment and collaboration in various fields.[viii] For Mahmood Masood, who arrived with his wife and three children, the journey in his own words was a memorable and historic one which would go a long way in improving the India-Pakistan ties. For baby two-year-old Noor Fatima, with a severe heart problem it was a question of life.[ix] Little Noor’s example offers the hope that the depredations of terrorists did not succeed in wiping out the humane urge that fundamentally exists between the people of our two countries. But taking a cue from Noor’s story it’s time to consider that India and Pakistan can institutionalize exchanges in fields such as health and education, even if other areas of mutuality continue to remain elusive of grasp for now.[x] As Pamela Philipose wrote, the Noor story is special. First, it is an early portent of ordinary people in the region in search of better life choices taking their destinies into their hands regardless of external realities. Two, it indicates that people today are linked by new forms of communication; that information technology has the power to dramatically alter the way individuals interact with each other across geographic and political divides. Three, it highlights once again the potential of cooperation between nations in the South Asian region. Finally, it is an instance of a civil society initiative influencing government policy, rather than the other way around.

Another milestone in the road to peace was the visit of the four-member delegation of the Mutahida-e-Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, secretary-general of the Jamat Ulema Islami (Fazlur). On the eve of their departure from Pakistan Rehman told Reuters in an interview on July 14 that "We are going there with a message of goodwill on behalf of Pakistani people, on behalf of all the religious circles of Pakistan and on behalf of the political parties. We want to assure them that we support peaceful resolution of all issues, including Kashmir."[xi] In the first ever visit of Ulemas (religious leaders) of Pakistan to India country, the first time that leaders of a radical party of Pakistan sought to resolve issues between the two countries without the intervention of third party, particularly America. Mulana came out a surprising announcement that The Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue as envisaged under the Shimla Agreement though the United Nations resolutions and all agreements between India and Pakistan from the Nehru-Liaqat pact to the July 2001 discussions in Agra, could, however, guide the process of dialogue.[xii] Rahman went beyond the Shimla Agreement, spoke of the February 1999 Lahore accord and cited the discussions in Agra, spoke of the changed geopolitical reality — that the Soviet Union was no more and there was none to maintain the political balance in the world. Thus, India and Pakistan could play a stellar role in providing some sense of balance. "We have to think afresh.” He talked about the need to "open hearts'' in the changed circumstances. The Agra summit of 2001, Maulana said was not a "failure'', but remained "incomplete.”[xiii] Significantly too, Rahman said his party would have no objection to the conversion of the Line of Control (LoC) into an international border provided it was accepted by both India and Pakistan and the people of Kashmir. "If both the countries agree to it and it is also accepted by the people of Kashmir, we will not have any objection."[xiv]

There can be debates about the efficacy of track two diplomacy in bring about the improvement in the situation in Kashmir or normalizing relations between two countries at war since birth. But peace is not a one-way street. It has to be achieved through joint efforts for which a change of heart and of mind are inevitable. Compulsive competitiveness quite often exists between countries when they share an international border and has to be balanced.[xv] Peace activists and groups in both India and Pakistan have to accept the "responsibility" of strengthening the recent initiatives for building people-to-people contacts between the two countries. This is sure to strengthen the hands of those in the administration who seek peace beyond the politics of elections or military dictatorship. It’s, as the Indian Express editorial put, time to wake up and feel the winds of change. In the world outside, nations are rapidly learning to trade in a past of hostility and prejudice for a future of prosperity and change, especially as both India and Pakistan rank No 127 and No 144 in the recent Human Development Report, with dismal development indices to match.[xvi]

[i] US think-tank warns of another Kargil, The Tribune, 14 July 2003

[ii]Lahore bus, Imran Khan to come soon, The Times of India, 1 July 2003 ; 'Pak. ready to resume over-flights, air links', The Hindu, 3 July 2003; Indian students arrive in Pak on goodwill visit, The Hindustan 3 July 2003

[iii] Pak body signs MoU to hike tea purchase, Business Line, 3 July 2003

[iv] Pak. trade team hopes ties will improve The Hindu, 5 July 2003

[v] Economics must play dominant role in Indo-Pak, The Hindu, 8 July 2003

[vi] A welcome development, The Hindu, 11 July 2003; PM may go to Pak. for SAARC meet, The Hindu, 11 July 2003

[vii] Give peace initiative a chance, The Hindu, 6 July 2003

[viii] B G VERGHESE, Bury the Baggage: Abandon Absolutist Positions on J&K, The Times of India, 10 July 2003

[ix] Bus came as a boon for baby Noor, the Hindu, 12 July 2003

[x] Anand K Sahay, Will Noor show the way? Hindustan Times, 19 July 2003 )

[xi] Hindustan Times, 14 July 2003

[xii] Shimla pact still relevant, The Hindu, 18 July 2003

[xiii] The Hindu, 19 July 2003

[xiv] Hindustan Times, 19 July 2003

[xv] Imtiaz Ahmad, The India-Pakistan odyssey, The Hindu, 3 July 2003

[xvi] Song of the road, The Indian Express, 14 July 2003

Compiled from media sources

By

Arabinda Acharya