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India
Must Not Stop Talking To Pak
Maya Mirchandani
 The year has begun on a bloody note for
Pakistan . The almost-daily cycle of violence didn’t stop long
enough for Pakistanis to wish each other a peaceful 2010. Terrorists
struck on New Year’s Day during a volleyball tournament, killing
over 90 people. And the spiral of death and terror continues into
the new decade, leaving ordinary Pakistanis beleaguered by violence,
just 2 years after an election that promised them relief from
dictatorship, and a return to the ideals of democracy, justice and
human rights. Today, as Pakistan readies to mark the second
anniversary of that election, perhaps the big plus is that the
government hasn’t fallen under the pressure of its own political
intrigue, a military that’s increasingly assertive and
Taliban-sponsored chaos. But in
the current climate its survival alone means little. As Pakistani
soldiers die fighting their own countrymen in the lawless
North West Frontier Province, the army and the government in
Islamabad
can’t shake off growing domestic criticism - of being seen as errand
boys fighting America’s war.
 A record number of Pakistani civilians have died in last year’s
fighting. A total of 12,600 people have died violent deaths in
Pakistan
last year according to
Pakistan’s
Institute for Peace Studies - over 3,000 of them in terrorist
attacks. These numbers will only rise. As casualties grow, and a
massive internal refugee crisis confronts Islamabad, it’s
increasingly clear that the military establishment in Rawalpindi is
looking for ways to divert attention to ageold , more uniting ideas
in this climate of conflict within its own borders. What better way
than raising the rhetoric, and the violence against
India?
As radicalisation takes root in the backdrop of the war in the
frontier, it has a large audience.
President Asif Ali Zardari kicked off the new year by abandoning his
own stated policy of focusing on improving trade ties with
India
rather than being bogged down by
Kashmir,
and adopted a sharper pitch. Pakistani media has begun reporting the
ongoing stalemate between India and Pakistan as a sign of “increased
hostility” from New Delhi - using comments made in a closed session
by Army chief General Deepak Kapoor of India’s need for military
preparedness on the western and eastern fronts as an indicator. Even
though, technically, General Kapoor, a military man, was stating
a
given.
As advocates of bilateral peace gathered in
Delhi last month, the challenge for them was to navigate through
this heightened pitch and a year-long deadlock. 2009 has seen a
concerted effort to bring diplomatic pressure upon Islamabad to
deliver justice against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks. The
result so far - Hafez Sayed may still be roaming free, making
incendiary sermons against India, but seven men are facing trial in
an antiterror court in Rawalpindi for their role in masterminding
the attacks.
New Delhi
is watching the trial keenly, and waiting for a guilty verdict that
will be delivered swiftly.
|
 Within
Pakistan, it’s the very
real possibility of democracy being subverted again that’s at stake.
As citizens of Pakistan’s civil society look to India’s progress and
stability in spite of all the pulls and pressures at play here - and
feel increasingly weighed under by Pakistan’s political and economic
chaos - they are reaching out. |
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Such an outcome will not only be seen as a positive development in
New Delhi,
but should also be a trigger to restart some kind of talks. The
other dilemma confronting New Delhi is the question of who to talk
to in
Islamabad.
The democratic government is weak, and the tussle for authority
between President Zardari – still unwilling to give up sweeping
presidential powers in spite of pledging to do so when he took
office – and Parliament, is there for all to see. In this atmosphere
within Pakistan, international pressure has clearlyachieved just
about all it can visa- vis the Mumbai investigations, and the law of
diminishing returns seems to have already set in.
But in all this, there could be reason for hope. The latest campaign
by The Times of India and the Jang Group,
Pakistan’s largest newspaper and TV outfit (the News, Jang, Geo TV)
is perhaps a sign of the times. While some might feel Aman Ki Asha,
or Desire for Peace, is a great marketing enterprise to launch on
New Year’s Day, it is as much a reflection of the fact that there
are constituencies for peace on both sides, waiting to break the ice
that has stayed frozen in spite of Ekaterinburg and Sharm al- Sheikh
. The challenge is to build on and expand this constituency across
the border so that attempts to deflect attention from the war
against the Taliban by raising the pitch against
India
are mitigated. With memories of Mumbai still raw, many may flinch at
this idea, arguing that the year-long stalemate hasn’t affected
India negatively in any way. Some even ask what is there to gain by
seeking peace. Many even point to Pakistan’s track record so far -
all
breakthroughs towards peace have been followed by increased
hostility (Kargil in 1999, the parliament attack in 2001, Mumbai
train attacks in 2006). But even so, given the internal situation in
Pakistan , with Afghanistan on the boil, and the very real threat of
the Taliban linking up with anti-India terror groups like the
Lashkar-e-Taiba , the dangers of conflict come with a heavy price
tag.
Within
Pakistan, it’s the very real possibility of democracy being
subverted again that’s at stake. As citizens of Pakistan’s civil
society look to
India’s
progress and stability in spite of all the pulls and pressures at
play here - and feel increasingly weighed under by Pakistan’s
political and economic chaos - they are reaching out. India must
realise that it is their hand that needs to be strengthened. Doing
this will yield its own returns, there lie the gains.
3
February 2010
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