It146;s a deal, general

It is in this context that we must consider what General Musharraf said this week. It is true that there is nothing new in what he said. But we must judge each and every move by Pakistan from the criteria of how it serves our interests, and how far this can be relied upon to obtain progress in, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, 8220;capping, reducing and eliminating8221; terrorism. We must keep testing Musharraf8217;s resolve and promises rather than bury ourselves under the burden of our own negativity 8212; a trait that is normally the hallmark of Pakistani policy toward India and peace in the region. We know that Musharraf calls the shots in Pakistan, and the army intends to stay in the driving seat for the foreseeable future. But we obviously cannot accept to go along with, or reject, everything he says. What we need, therefore, is a more discerning approach in crafting our responses to what he is offering.

We should, therefore, take up Musharraf on his offer of a ceasefire on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Official India has been asserting that Pakistan initiates the firing across the line mostly to provide cover for pushing in terrorists. Silencing the guns would deny the terrorists this umbrella while consolidating the peace process now initiated. At the minimum, ending such firing would ease the pressure of casualties and damage to civilian life and property. A ceasefire agreement would also send a strong message to terrorists in the entire region that Pakistan is reducing support to them, however tardy that may be from our perspective. Not doing so would be justifiable only if such a commitment does not serve our interests, or cannot be reversed by us if needed. If this is only a tactical ploy by the general, then we can treat it as such. But if it produces desirable results, then this can be another building block for the future.