HVK Archives: Till we meet again - and a response
Till we meet again - and a response - The Asian Age
Editorial
()
1 April 1997
Title : Till we meet again - and a response
Author : Editorial
Publication : The Asian Age
Date : April 1, 1997
The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan have got up from the talks
on a more positive note than. expected. They have decided to meet again
in Islamabad for another round of discussions. This is in sharp contrast
to the 1993 scenario when the talks broke on a dismal note. Differences
over Kashmir persist bolt the officials have tried to pinpoint areas of
bilateral interest which they hope can come under the scope of
discussion. This is more than could have been anticipated, considering
the rather grim note on which the talks began and the belligerent
statements from Pakistan's President Farooq Leghari find his Army Chief
General Jahangir Karamat. The two officials negotiating the contentious
issues for their respective countries took a hard posture on the first
day, with Pakistan insisting that it could not keep the issue of
self-determination outside the talks and the Indians being equally firm
that Kashmir was an integral part of this country. Once the waters were
tested, both sides softened. This alone is indication that a continuing
dialogue is in the interest of both India and Pakistan. The governments
in power on both sides of the border seem to have realised this, at
least for the moment, in that they have exhibited an interest in
continuing the guftugu. But a word of caution is necessary. The talks
were eclipsed by domestic concerns in India. The withdrawal of support
by the Congress to the United Front government completely took the focus
away from the foreign secretary level talks. It has put a question mark
over the dialogue, not just at the official level but on the meeting of
the two foreign ministers scheduled for early April in New Delhi.
Pakistan's foreign minister Gohar Ayub is reported to have accepted his
Indian counterpart I.K. Gujral's invitation. In case there is a change
in government, will the invitation stand? Will the talks continue? The
point to be emphasised is that this aspect of India's foreign policy
should not be dependent on personalities. The dialogue, although
initiated by Mr Gujral and the United Front government, must not be
allowed to become a victim of domestic politics. It will be a major
tragedy if the cautious, but fairly positive, initiative is allowed to
be lost in the turmoil of domestic politics. But this of course, in the
context of both India and Pakistan, is easier said than done. New
governments, in their anxiety to strike out, end up closing chapters
begun by their predecessors. The merits are rarely considered in this
game of oneupmanship and often excellent schemes and policies are
discarded simply because they were introduced by an opposing political
dispensation. One can only hope that the Indo-Pakistan dialogue does not
meet with a similar fate in. case the government changes in India. Or
for that matter in Pakistan. These are not issues belonging to the
narrow realm of personalised politics, but matters of state import which
have a beginning and end quite outside political boundaries. The two
countries have come together after three long years of animosity. It is
not the time nor the place to speculate as to how long the apparent
bonhomie will Fast. The fact is that an effort is being made to break
the deadlock. This effort alone is a major achievement given the
strained relations between the two neighbours, the deep-rooted suspicion
and the domestic pressures. The effort should not be lost in the
convoluted hazy mire of what passes for politics today.
Title : What Kashmir is to us - response
Author : Syed I Hussain (Umrongso, Assam)
Publication : The Asian Age
Date : April 13, 1997
Sir, I thank you for you thought-provoking editorial published on April
1. Though Pakistani political leaders continue to claim Kashmir as
essential for their survival, the fact applies more so for India and
especially Indian Muslims.
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