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Journalism of Courage
The peace bomb had exploded in Pakistan in the shape of a joint statement. The devastation of hard-liners was nearly complete. In Lahore and Islamabad this time, the people I talked to spoke about travel and trade, not jehad or jung war. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf had given words to their silent prayers. They had become so tired of terrorism and so pessimistic about their country8217;s future that they had only to be nudged to give expression to their hope and relief.
This does not mean that there is no dissonant note in the music of conciliation. A few religious groups and the remaining hawks use strong language to criticise the India-Pakistan joint statement. For them, 8216;8216;anti-Indianism8217;8217; represents the ethos of Pakistan. But their number is small and they look increasingly isolated. The desire to make up with India is building into an avalanche of opinion that threatens to wash away every impediment on the path to normalisation.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif rang up a Pakistani editor last week to complain that the Lahore Declaration he signed with Vajpayee was no different in content from the joint statement. He is probably right. The Jamiat-i-Islami, which has welcomed the joint statement too, had at that time shown its anger by aiming brickbats at diplomats and others who travelled to the banquet in honour of Vajpayee at Lahore.
Indeed, the mood in Pakistan has completely changed. Partly, it is because of the 9/11 attacks and America8217;s ultimatum to Islamabad to come on board the fight against terrorism. In part, it is the fallout from people-to-people contact and visits by delegations of parliamentarians to each other8217;s country. When I led the Indian parliamentarians8217; delegation to Pakistan six months ago, I could sense a discernible change in the attitudes of the people, a determination to have peace at last. There is growing acknowledgement that the past 55 years have been a waste.
The people in India are still somewhat niggardly in their response. True, those who made fun of the 8216;8216;mombattiwallahs8217;8217; lighting candles at the border look sheepish. The BJP that traditionally followed an anti-Pakistan line is cautious because it realises Vajpayee has too many stakes in peace. Pro-party scribes are embarrassingly vociferous in their support. Still, the mood across the border is more upbeat, more gushing, though tinged with suspicion.
The biggest change has come about in Musharraf himself. He is unrecognisable from the Agra days. The petulance is gone and he has learnt patience. Some attribute it to the attempts made on his life. Others think it is Washington twisting his arm. These may be contributory factors. But what really seems to have counted is Vajpayee8217;s assurance and his own conviction that India and Pakistan could solve the problems, including Kashmir, through a composite dialogue.
At one stage during the talks in Islamabad, Vajpayee8217;s insistence on a particular phraseology on terrorism made Musharraf retort that they could drop the joint statement. The atmosphere became tense. But then both leaders changed the tone and tenor of the discussion and covered the remaining distance together.
It is not only Musharraf but Pakistanis on the whole who have reposed their faith in Vajpayee despite their dislike for the party he leads. Their expectations from him have soared and they await something concrete, howsoever small, in the next few weeks. The mere beginning of talks will not satisfy them; something else must come along. At several meetings of intellectuals, journalists and legislators in Pakistan, I posed the question: what would they like India to do? One suggestion that came up at every meeting was that visas be made available across the window without the condition to report to the police I was shadowed by the Pakistani police even this time. People pointed out that spies did not require a visa to travel; they had their own ways of getting in. Another suggestion was to reserve seats for Pakistani students in our technical and management institutes. At all the meetings, the resumption of trade was proposed without waiting for the operationalising of SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Agreement two years hence.
On Kashmir, I was surprised to find the absence of strident rhetoric or even the demand for its integration with Pakistan. A solution should be found, howsoever long it took, was the general opinion. True, people are willing to wait but it would be folly on our part to believe that without a solution on Kashmir or with the mere continuance of the status quo, relations could fully normalise.
One who knows the mind of Musharraf warned me that he might wait for a year for the solution of Kashmir. If it did not take place by then, he might go back to his 8216;8216;old ways8217;8217;. I hope not. But some equation on Kashmir, if not a solution, should come about before Musharraf gives up his uniform as the chief of army staff at the end of this year. An army chief in Pakistan becomes a point of parallel authority the moment he steps into office.
Maybe, some steps should be taken to institutionalise what has been proposed in the joint statement. Our Parliament should endorse it. Once Parliament puts its seal of approval, the Pakistan National Assembly and the Senate would be forced to follow suit.
