Jaw-jaw on J&K

President Pervez Musharraf has always been quick off the block when it comes to making comments on the exact state of Indo-Pak relations. Some time back he let the world know that there was light at the end of this tunnel. Now, he hints that India is attempting to put that light off and that the “vibes” are not quite right between India and Pakistan. We would state that there is a certain virtue in not being importunate in such matters because their very complexity makes for moments of uncertainty and moments of optimism, periods of breakthrough and periods of near breakdown. Responding live to each twist and turn of this tortuous process would not be productive.

New Delhi, admittedly, has been more conservative in its comments on the peace process than Islamabad but it has so far not been intransigent. Minister of External Affairs Natwar Singh has stated unequivocally that he is willing to look at the president’s proposal of demilitarisation of contiguous zones in Kashmir and the setting up of an administration that is acceptable to all, once it is presented as a formal proposal. Remember, too, that Manmohan Singh did not rule out “other options” in solving the Kashmir dispute. What India seems to be telling Pakistan is this: follow the format and we will keep pace. There is a reason why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot afford to make the subjective pronouncements that President Musharraf does in so masterly a fashion. It goes beyond the fact that their personalities are different, with one tending towards ebullience and the other, towards reticence. Manmohan Singh is accountable to Parliament while President Musharraf — wearing the hats of head of government and head of the army — is more or less his own man. So their approaches will necessarily be different. But to conclude from this that India is not committed to the peace process would be a serious mistake.

It is important to reiterate this in a week in which Pakistan’s prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, will be visiting New Delhi. The process of normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan have, we believe, gone past the stage where it can be held hostage to the occasional hiccup or misperception. There have been very real gains over the last few weeks, whether it has been President Musharraf’s dropping of the plebiscite-word, or New Delhi’s withdrawal of a significant proportion of troops from J&K. Both nations should now soldier on. Not in a battle of words but in a battle of ideas.