Justpeace Blog

Wednesday, January 7, 2004

Feuding nations make giant leap

MASEEH RAHMAN and ASSOCIATED PRESS in Islamabad
India and Pakistan took a giant leap towards putting more than a half-century of animosity and bloodshed behind them yesterday, agreeing to start talks next month on the issues that have taken the nuclear-armed nations into three wars.

The surprise agreement came after two days of meetings between Indian and Pakistani leaders under the cover of a major South Asian regional summit that provided the impetus for Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to the Pakistani capital.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf gave credit to Mr Vajpayee's "vision" and "statesmanship" which made the deal possible and to the flexibility shown by the negotiating teams on both sides.

"History has been made," General Musharraf said. "This is a beginning. This statement is not an end in itself, obviously, but a good beginning has been made," he said, adding that decades of animosity between Pakistan and India had hampered economic prosperity for South Asia.

"The region is home to one-fifth of humanity, but it is out of the loop of economic co-operation. Peace between India and Pakistan is essential for the future emancipation of the people of South Asia," he said

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri had described the agreement as a "victory for common sense". He said: "It is a victory for the people of India and Pakistan. It is a victory, particularly, for the poor people of South Asia."

Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said details, including the location of the talks, were still to be worked out, but negotiations would continue. He was optimistic that talks would lead to a lasting peace agreement, including on the Kashmir issue. The Himalayan region, divided between the two countries, is claimed by both nations and the dispute has claimed at least 65,000 lives since 1989.

"The two leaders are confident that the resumption of the composite dialogue will lead to the peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides," Mr Sinha said, reading from the joint declaration.

A high-ranking Indian official said the talks would centre on eight points, including Kashmir and two other territorial spats, fighting terrorism, trade and confidence-building measures.

The meetings between Mr Vajpayee, General Musharraf and the predominantly Muslim country's prime minister, Zafarullah Khan Jamali, on Sunday and Monday were the first between the feuding countries' leaders in more than two years. They occurred in an atmosphere of optimism after months of tit-for-tat steps to improve relations.

The two nations have called a ceasefire between their troops in Kashmir, resumed high-level diplomatic ties and restored transportation links.

There had been no indications that such a breakthrough was possible and the neighbours had sought to dampen expectations ahead of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation summit, which concluded yesterday.

Both sides had said discussion of bilateral issues had no place at the summit.

The deal came on the heels of two attempts to assassinate General Musharraf last month, with one believed to be carried out by militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamic militant group involved in the Kashmir fighting.

To push the dialogue forward, Mr Vajpayee demanded that any Pakistani link to violence, hostility and terrorism in Kashmir must stop, Mr Sinha said. General Musharraf assured him that he would not permit territory under Pakistan's control to be used to support terrorism.

India has maintained that Islamabad has supported a slew of Islamic militant groups fighting against its control of part of Kashmir. Pakistan has denied the claims, saying its support is strictly political and diplomatic.

The South Asian giants fought wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971. More than 1 million people are believed to have died during the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan after the subcontinent gained independence from Britain.

SCMP - Monday, January 5, 2004

After years of feuding, leaders of regional rivals meet at summit

MASEEH RAHMAN in Islamabad
After days of speculation, the prime ministers of feuding neighbours India and Pakistan held their first meeting in more than two years on the sidelines of a regional summit of South Asian nations that opened in Islamabad yesterday.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee remained at the heavily guarded Jinnah Convention Centre after the opening of the seven-nation summit for discussions with his Pakistani counterpart, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

"He is a visionary, a poet, a prolific writer and an able politician, which are the qualities of a true leader," Mr Jamali said of the Indian prime minister.

The meeting between the two leaders, which Indian officials insisted on describing as a "courtesy call", lasted half an hour, with the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries of both nations attending.

Mr Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf are to meet today for their first official meeting since their nuclear-armed militaries came to the brink of war in 2002.

"The meeting will take place," foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said late last night, after Mr Vajpayee issued a request to meet the Pakistani president.

Mr Vajpayee's National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, was also present at yesterday's meeting.

Mr Mishra's arrival in the Pakistani capital two days ahead of India's prime minister fuelled speculation that the nuclear-armed neighbours would use the three-day meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) to explore the framework for beginning a top-level bilateral dialogue.

The two sides had suspended talks after the abortive Agra summit between Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf two years ago.

In the past, Mr Mishra has played a key role in dealing with opposition at home to Mr Vajpayee's dream of making peace with Pakistan and settling the long-running Kashmir dispute.

Even before his arrival in Islamabad, Mr Mishra had discussions with Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, a hardliner who remains hostile towards Pakistan.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Mian Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said of yesterday's development: "It was a good meeting."

Pakistan television repeatedly showed shots of the two prime ministers engaged in dialogue.

Mr Vajpayee also attended a state banquet hosted by General Musharraf, shaking hands with Pakistan's leader.

The two last met at the Saarc summit in Nepal in January 2002, when India, angry at an attack on its parliament by Pakistan-based Islamic terrorists, had ruled out any bilateral exchanges.


"It is a positive development and if we can move forward from here to a composite dialogue on everything, including Kashmir, it will crown the achievements of the Saarc summit," said Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

While Islamabad appears eager to begin dialogue on the future of the divided territory of Kashmir, New Delhi insists economic co-operation will have to precede any breakthrough in the political sphere.

India lobbied for the adoption of a regional free-trade agreement at the Saarc summit, and has also proposed the creation of a South Asian economic union, a common currency and a development bank to fund anti-poverty projects.

Mr Vajpayee proposed a fund be set up for poverty alleviation in the region.

He said India would make an initial contribution of US$100 million.