For a meaningful dialogue

Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri

After the initial storm over the Indian PM's alleged 'concession' to Pakistan in the
Indian parliament seems to have receded, it is high time both the governments
pondered ways and means to not only resume stalled dialogue but also work out
modalities to keep it afloat. The very fact that the meeting between top chief
executives of both countries took place on the sidelines of the NAM Summit instead
of being a regular feature of the composite dialogue process is regrettable. The past 60
plus years of our collective history amply prove that war, being a policy solution to
the intractable issues between New Delhi and Islamabad, is not an option anymore
owing to the nuclear factor with massive potential destruction. Both countries ill-
afford to opt for this course of action.

The establishment on both sides of the border may resort to the talk of nuclear saber-
rattling but when it comes to actually 'getting involved', the very thought of it sends
shudders through everyone's spine. Both Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers were
bang on target during their speeches in their respective parliaments that dialogue was
the only way forward to find solution to the issues and its door should remain open
even during the worst of times. Since geography cannot be altered and both countries
are destined to live as neighbours, why is there lack of determination to resolve the
disputed issues through constructive engagement aimed at removing irritants in the
way of improvement of relations? Why are millions of impoverished and poverty-
stricken people being held hostage to mutual acrimony? At a time when the rest of the
world is moving forward towards formation of regional groupings through economic
and political integration, it is the South Asian region, which continues to remain in the
backwaters. So far, the composite dialogue framework that came into existence in
1997 has lacked luster, coherence, energy and determination to make it meaningful. It
has been more of a smokescreen which was put in place at the behest of Washington-
led international community that has been interested in seeing normaliszation of
relations between the South Asian rivals. The 'homegrown factor' has been missing in
the entire scheme of things. That is why the composite dialogue framework has often
come to a grinding halt at the first available test when even a single terrorist incident
of small proportions has had the potential to derail it off track. It has been due to
active engagement of international community that it is normally started but only to
be suspended by another such incident.

In the backdrop of this situation, the consensus of both countries to delink talks from
terrorism should be a welcome move in the right direction. There is a need to build
structures that should help dialogue process keep moving on despite any terrorist
incident. In this way both countries can defeat the nefarious designs of terrorists'
whose aim, otherwise, is to bring them into antagonistic mode. Terrorism is a
collective enemy of both nations, nay, of entire region. A proper response, which is
formed by institutional intelligence sharing and coordinated action, is need of the
hour. Until now, there has been disproportionate emphasis on the role of Confidence
Building Measures (CBMs) as the facilitator for the meaningful dialogue. Despite
Pakistan's urging to move beyond CBMs, India has been attaching further strings in
the forms of more CBMs from Pakistan. This only resulted in waste of time,
dissipation of energy and caused trust deficit. CBMs are no doubt important in
improving the atmospherics but things start going berserk when they become the end
in themselves instead of being means towards an end. It allows anti-dialogue
elements, who are in plenty on both sides, the opportunity to rear their head and start
trumpeting their anti-peace mantras.

Therefore, any future engagement between India and Pakistan should attend to this
problem. While the Pakistani establishment seems to have modified its strategic focus
and re-evaluated threat index posed to the national security, its Indian counterpart is
reluctant and is ill- prepared to follow suit. Internal terrorism and extremism have
figured prominently on the security calculus of Pakistan's powerful military. It is less
India centric now though New Delhi continues to worry the strategic policy makers in
Islamabad. President Zardari echoed similar sentiments during his address to a
Hindustan Times Summit 2008. India not only needs to acknowledge this shift in
Pakistan's policy but also respond in a proactive manner in the larger interest of peace
in the region. The Indian committal of 'water terrorism' against Pakistan only
strengthens the hands of extremist forces and dilutes the Pakistani position. Last but
not the least, media on both sides of the border should strengthen nor hinder the
resumption of peace process. There is a dire need for the media to design a code of
conduct for the cause of peace. Its role is very crucial in educating people about the
possible dividends issuing from the normalization of relations between both countries.
At the same time, it can also serve as a bridge for enhancing people-to-people contact
and exchange of views among the intellectual circles in both countries. For too long
have the South Asian region been beholden to the forces of anarchy, fear, poverty and
war. It is time to think out of box and take courageous decisions. The onus to deliver
remains on India. It can start by resolving water-related issues and less contentious
issues like Sir Creek etc.