On the invitation of my old colleague from Gordon College, Rawalpindi (1972-1973), and dear friend Raoof Hasan, I joined the Regional Peace Institute’s delegation to New Delhi where for two days (November 20 and 21, 2014), we discussed with our Indian counterparts the hurdles and challenges that exist in the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan, a prerequisite to lasting peace between these two rivals. Given the fact that a new government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman Narendra Modi is in power in India and, in recent days, relations between India and Pakistan have plummeted in the wake of the firing on the Line of Control (LoC), our visit acquired a more than usual relevance as a Track II diplomatic initiative to keep the doors open to dialogue and understanding.
Supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Pakistan, 16 of us, led by former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, went to New Delhi to attend the second round of the Pakistan-India bilateral dialogue. The Indian side was led by former Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. Former Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid was also part of the Indian delegation. Members of parliament, senior diplomats, academics, journalists and peace, human and women’s rights activists comprised the two delegations. Understandably, whilst the official stance of the Modi government is tough vis-à-vis Pakistan, its tacit approval of Track II overtures is an indication of its recognition of the need to continue dialogue.
Both Khurshid Kasuri and Mani Shankar Aiyar are outspoken proponents of peace and friendship. They delivered eloquent opening speeches to underscore that even in the most adverse circumstances, both sides should talk to each other. Both were visibly optimistic about a resolution of the outstanding issues and problems, including Kashmir and terrorism. The general impression we have of both countries being on the verge of reaching a settlement on outstanding issues and adverse developments taking place with formal deals not being closed, was persuasively argued by Mr Kasuri and Mr Aiyar confirmed that. The message both gave was that in spite of the pessimism and despair that recent events have generated, it was imperative we should under no circumstances abandon the hope that on both sides the realisation is growing that the future cannot forever be held captive to the suffocating legacy of bitter and wasteful disputes and the conflicts that ensued because of them.
Such a message had a cheerful effect on the subsequent discussions that followed. In a frank but cordial atmosphere, discussion sessions took place structured around four main themes: political and security dimensions, trade, investment and economic cooperation. This included constructive cooperation on issues of social and human development, and soft power pertaining to media, films, tourism and people-to-people contact. Irrespective of which theme we took up, the ultimate problem identified was the will to take bold and daring decisions. Of course, even more serious was the lack of a vision that could think of the greater good of the South Asian region; nationalism, narrow and combative, and sheer petty-mindedness on the parts of bureaucrats and officialdom override idealistic pragmatism.
As Dr Farzana Bari has noted in her article, ‘Searching for new constituencies’ (Daily Times, November 28, 2014), the meanness and inflexibility of officialdom not to extend a visa by one or two days can suffice to discourage the building of deeper trust and confidence in each other. Of course, only Indian colleagues can tell us how our foreign office treats their simple pleas for some extension of a visa or to visit a place. We all agreed that the most important thing for both states to agree on was to liberalise their visa policies. As long as people do not meet and get to know each other, stereotyping of each other in negative terms will always subvert the search for lasting peace and friendship between the Indian and Pakistani nations.
Fortunately, being a Swedish citizen I am not subjected to the same rigorous controls and restrictions as a regular Pakistani citizen is when it comes to the visa, but even for me things have only become worse. An Indian diplomat in Stockholm once gave me a five-year multiple entry visa but that was before the Mumbai terrorist attack of November 26, 2008 and the infamous case of David Headley (a Pakistani-origin US citizen) who exploited his visa to move around freely in India to carry out terrorist activities. Since then, collective punishment has been imposed on all Pakistani-origin nationals of other states. Ostensibly, from the bureaucratic point of view, this is the most effective way to ensure that a similar outrage does not take place again, but I am sure both in India and Pakistan there is a realisation that such measures cannot suffice to root out the scourge of terrorism. So, what really is the point in humiliating those who can help in some way facilitate the reconciliation process and the trust needed to build bridges?
After the conference I had a long talk with Mr Kasuri at his residence in Lahore. He assured me that his forthcoming book, Neither Hawk nor Dove, which Oxford University Press is publishing soon would bring to light many facts that hitherto have remained in the dark. As Pakistan’s foreign minister when General Musharraf was in power, he was centrally involved in some extremely crucial foreign policy moves and decisions. The book will establish that his optimism about India-Pakistan peace is grounded in sound and rational calculation. I do hope he is right.
The writer is a visiting professor, LUMS, Pakistan, professor emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University, and honorary senior fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Latest publications: Winner of the Best Non-Fiction Book award at the Karachi Literature Festival: The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed, Oxford, 2012; and Pakistan: The Garrison State, Origins, Evolution, Consequences (1947-2011), Oxford, 2013. He can be reached at: [email protected]