Quake diplomacy may ease Indo-Pakistan tension

Quake diplomacy may ease Indo-Pakistan tension

By M.V. Balaji

NEW DELHI (DPA): It took a devastating earthquake before
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani Chief
Executive Gen. Pervez Musharraf spoke to each other on the
telephone for the first time.

According to officials, the conversation centered mainly on
the plight of the Gujarat earthquake victims. Musharraf expressed
sympathy for them and Vajpayee thanked him for providing relief
materials.

Press reports said Musharraf later praised Vajpayee as a "dove
among hawks" and said he hoped he would help resolve differences
between the two South Asian countries which have fought three
wars, two of them over Kashmir. The territory remains the chief
bone of contention between the two countries.

The nuclear tests conducted by the two states in May 1998 have
further heightened tensions in the south Asian region.

Both of them continue beefing up their arms requirement. India
plans to induct into its armed forces the Agni series of
intermediate ballistic missiles which could deliver a nuclear
warhead over a distance of more than 2,000 kilometres. Both
Pakistan and China, with whom India also fought a border war, are
within its reach.

The telephone conversation between Vajpayee and Musharraf, the
first top-level contact between the two countries since the
border conflict between the two countries in the Kargil region of
Kashmir in 1999, led to hopes of an "earthquake diplomacy" to
ease the tension between the two countries.

Visiting Greek Premier Konstantinos Simitis mooted the idea of
earthquake diplomacy and urged both the countries to profit by
it. "Earthquake diplomacy is of great use. It can help ease
tensions," he said.

But remarks by Musharraf within days of the telephone
conversation showed that Kashmir remained an insurmountable
obstacle.

The general said while his telephone talk with Vajpayee has
broken the ice, the peace process between the two nations will
lose its momentum if the Indian government delayed in granting
permission to leaders of the Kashmir separatist All Party
Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to visit Pakistan for talk with Muslim
militants and government leaders.

Addressing a "Kashmir Solidarity Day" meeting at Muzaffarabad
in part of Kashmir under Pakistan's control on Monday Musharraf
said New Delhi and Islamabad should open official level talks
without delay.

The APHC leaders offered to visit Pakistan to capitalize on
the ceasefire declared in Indian-administered Kashmir against the
Muslim militants at the end of November to coincide with the
Muslim holy month of Ramadhan.

But the Indian government has so far not issued them passports
and is reportedly piqued over the presence of pro-Pakistani
leader Ahmed Ali Shah Geelani in the APHC team for Pakistan.

The ceasefire was extended up to Jan. 26 by Prime Minister
Vajpayee and later by a further month despite reported opposition
from his senior cabinet colleagues, including Home Minister Lal
Krishna Advani and Defense Minister George Fernandes.

Pakistan gave a guarded welcome to the extension but said
India should follow it up with other measures, including a three-
way dialogue between Islamabad, New Delhi and the Kashmiri
separatist leaders to resolve the problem. But Kashmiri
separatist insurgents have rejected the ceasefire as a
"propaganda ploy".

New Delhi has been insisting it will talk to Pakistan only if
Islamabad stops supporting "cross-border terrorism", meaning the
infiltration of armed secessionist insurgents into Indian
Kashmir.

It is also averse to tripartite dialogue and its negotiations
with pro-Pakistan Muslim militant group Hizbul Mujahideen
foundered last year over this issue.

But Islamabad denies arming and training the Kashmiri
insurgents and says it only provides them with political support.

The Asian Age newspaper reported Thursday that Vajpayee faced
strong opposition over talking with Pakistan especially from his
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh who, like him, has a
liberal reputation.

Singh who has the backing of Home Minister Advani, a known
hardliner, reportedly argued that talks would be meaningless
against the background of continuing violence in Kashmir.

Asian Age said the hands of Vajpayee and his security adviser
Brajesh Mishra, who wanted to initiate negotiations with
Islamabad, were tied due to cabinet opposition.

But opposition groups, including the main opposition Congress
Party and the two communist parties, have urged the government
not to get struck in the "cross border terrorism groove" and get
ready to talk to Pakistan, the paper said.

They pointed out talks between the two countries had been held
in the past even when the violence in Kashmir was much higher
than what was prevalent now, it said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat said
it was necessary for New Delhi and Islamabad to begin talks as
India has rejected any third party intervention in Kashmir.

Observers said the situation required a little more
flexibility from both the sides.

Otherwise they would not be able to capitalize on either the
ceasefire in Kashmir or the goodwill generated by Pakistan's help
and sympathy for the victims of the quake on Jan. 26 which left
up to 100,000 people dead.