An ominous outcome of Zardari-Singh talks
M Ashraf Mirza
According to the joint communiqué issued at the end of the meeting
between President Asif Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh in New York last week, Pakistan has agreed to provide transit
facilities for India ’s trade to Afghanistan. The two countries have
also agreed to revive their stalled composite dialogue to address their
outstanding issues including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The
agreement was reached between the two leaders at their meeting on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly annual session in New York . They
also decided to open some trade routes between the two countries and
across the Line of Control. The communiqué said that Pakistan will take
‘severe’ action against those involved in terrorist acts’ in India as
well as in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan will also probe the Indian
allegations about Pakistani intelligence agencies’ alleged involvement
in the bombing the Indian embassy in Kabul last July, the communiqué
said.
An objective analysis of the decisions taken at the Zardari-Manmohan
meeting reveals that Pakistan has gained nothing. Pakistan has, as a
matter fact, yielded almost on every count. Willingness to probe the
terrorist acts in India and occupied Kashmir, to take severe action
against those involved in such acts and to investigate the Indian
allegation about Pakistani intelligence agencies’ involvement in the
bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul clearly constitute self
indictment on the part of Pakistan. It amounts to accepting
responsibility for all terrorist acts that have taken place anywhere in
India . Pakistan ’s Foreign Office had repeatedly repudiated the Indian
allegations of Pakistan ’s involvement in the terrorist acts. True that
there is need for an atmosphere of cordiality, goodwill and
reconciliation between the two countries in view of the multifarious
challenges faced by the region, but there was certainly no justification
to succumb to self incrimination to mollify India . Mr Zardari was not
expected to show ‘dexterity and expertise’ in foreign affairs as well.
Interestingly, Mr Zardari had also not bothered to seek briefing from
the Foreign Office before embarking on the US trip for his maiden
meetings with President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh
as elected President of Pakistan. And Pakistan has conceded whatever
India had desired in utter disregard to the ground reality that New
Delhi is not only creating problems for Islamabad in Balochistan, but is
also providing funds and weapons to the militants and terrorists in
Tribal Areas to destabilize her. There exists unambiguous proof of
Indian involvement in the situation that Pakistan is confronted with
today at the hands of the terrorists and militants. NWFP Governor Owais
Ghani (who formerly held the office of Governor Balochistan) has
persistently pointed towards the Indian involvement in Pakistan ’s
predicaments in Balochistan and Tribal Areas. Former President Pervez
Musharraf handed over documentary evidence of Indian mischief in
Balochistan to US President George W. Bush during his visit to the
region in 2006. Yet we have opted to yield to New Delhi on matters of
vital national interests in pursuit of the policy of appeasement. While
India is bent upon undermining Pakistan ’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity, we are facilitating India to consolidate economically, which
in turn will help boost its military might.
The transit facility for Indian trade to Afghanistan has long remained a
controversial issue and Pakistan had resisted it by linking it with the
resolution of the Kashmir issue. The agreement to this effect between
Zardari and Manmohan Singh is, therefore, unwarranted and represents
outright violation of Pakistan ’s principled stand. The linkage of
transit trade to Kabul with the settlement of the Kashmir dispute had
provided Pakistan an edge to contain India ’s cherished plan to dominate
the region economically. After the Musharraf-Shaukat Aziz duo trampled
the nation’s resolve not to enter into trade with India before the
resolution of the Kashmir issue, Mr Zardari’s nod to provide transit
facility to New Delhi for trade with Afghanistan is certainly one up in
the process of compromises of the national interests. Cunning as it is,
India will obviously expand its trade to the Central Asian countries to
realize its long cherished dream to monopolise trade in the region. And
Kashmir dispute has obviously been thrown into the back burner.
The resumption of the Pak-India composite dialogue was hardly an issue
since the talks were never stalled or broken. The process was only in
abeyance due to the political situation in Pakistan . The two
governments had already announced that their foreign secretaries will
initiate the fifth round of the composite dialogue soon. The agreement
to resume the composite dialogue was, therefore, hardly an issue.
However, it’s quite pertinent that during the last four years, no
progress, whatsoever, has been made on any of the outstanding issues
between the two countries. The dialogue process is, in fact, India ’s
deliberate tactic to keep Pakistan silent on the Kashmir issue, as
Islamabad ’s moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris’
struggle for the restitution of their right to self determination
embarrasses New Delhi . It’s thus Indian strategy to keep Pakistan quiet
through the so-called dialogue process, which it remains determined not
to let it succeed. While not a single issue has been addressed since the
initiation of the dialogue process four years ago, New Delhi has created
more issues by taking in hand the construction of Kishenganga and
Baghlihar dams in violation of the Indus Basin Treaty. Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh’s assertion that India is bound by the Treaty is
not different from his so called ‘resolve’ to address the Kashmir issue
that persists between the two countries over the past six decades. Mr
Manmohan has a strange stance on the issue: He says he is ‘committed’ to
address the Kashmir issue, yet he is determined to see that borders are
changed. He is also not ready to reduce troops from occupied Kashmir or
to let the Kashmiri people have relief from the repression and
oppression at the hands of over seven hundred thousand troops. It’s
Indian trick to mislead the Pakistani leadership as well as the world
community. India is, in fact, not interested in the resolution of the
Kashmir issue, but only wants to keep Pakistan comforted with the
continuation of the dialogue process. India is convinced that there is
no military solution to the Kashmir issue and, therefore, its strategy
is to keep the issue in a limbo. India ought to be, however, mindful
that the strategy is not going to help her in the ultimate analysis.
India will have to recognize the ground reality that no nation can be
kept under subjugation indefinitely by dint of military might. |
