Just talking

That there has been no media hype surrounding the third round of talks between the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries this week in itself marks the distance the two nations have covered since the peace process was launched in January 2004. Until very recently every encounter between senior Indian diplomats was seen by the government and the media as a gladiatorial contest. The joint statement issued at the end of the two-day talks claimed no breakthrough. Nor were there any worrying signs of a breakdown. Despite continuing differences over Kashmir and terrorism, India and Pakistan have expanded their bilateral agenda. Routine high level contacts and incremental advance have been the key ingredients of successful peace processes around the world. India and Pakistan appear to have discovered the importance of sustained engagement.

The one proposal that stood out was from India: extending the renewed rail link between Sindh and Rajasthan to Ajmer Sharif, which is an immensely popular destination for South Asian pilgrims. This is exactly the kind of access India and Pakistan have shamefully denied each other all these years. On the two issues that have cast a shadow over the peace process, Kashmir and terrorism, both the Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have sent clear messages to Pakistan. They rightly insisted that so long as terrorism 8212; of the type we saw in New Delhi and Bangalore in recent months and weeks 8212; continues, the political space for creative ideas would steadily shrink.

At the same time, India has signaled that it is prepared to discuss Pakistan8217;s thoughts on 8220;self-governance8221; for Kashmir, if and when Islamabad is ready to provide some real detail. Typically, while Pakistan8217;s President Pervez Musharraf has been demanding an Indian response to his ideas on 8220;self-governance8221; and 8220;demilitarisation8221; for Kashmir, Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan, did not suggest any negotiation on these concepts. Pakistan, which has hardly known the political virtues of federalism, should have bigger problems talking about self-governance for ethnic minorities.