Keep dialogue going

At the very least, the Islamabad talks have established that the governments of India and Pakistan see the necessity of keeping the dialo...

At the very least, the Islamabad talks have established that the governments of India and Pakistan see the necessity of keeping the dialogue going. This is apparent from the generally restrained language of public statements after the talks and more especially from the agreement to hold another round of discussions on confidence building measures and on Kashmir in February 1999.

Continuing the process is of the essence at this stage. It has been more than a year since the two sides sat across a table and engaged in serious discussion. In the interim there have been dramatic changes in the security environment as a result of the nuclear tests at Pokharan and Chagai. Those events place enormous new responsibilities on both governments.

They must first find the means of minimising misperceptions before they can find ways of narrowing differences or specific areas of agreement. A sustained dialogue is of the utmost importance. There is simply no other way of avoiding misunderstandings or putting relations onan even keel. Nothing substantial was expected to come out of the Islamabad sessions and, as the joint communique suggests, nothing did.

But in so far as there appears to be a new willingness to engage each other on immediate security-related issues without letting long-standing disputes or political grandstanding get in the way, there is ground to believe progress can be made on more than one front in course of time. It will be a very long haul. Just keeping the talks going through periods when there is little to show for them will be tough enough. But it is important to remember that once committed to the process both sides will develop the urge to make it productive and therein lies hope.