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| Sunday, 24 April 2005 |
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Indo-Pak peace process irreversible Globescan by M.P. Muttiah Talks between Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf have made the conflict ridden continent more safe. Internally, the Communist Party of India,(Marxist) said the declaration of the on-going peace as irreversible was the biggest achievement of the Delhi summit. The Jammu Kashmir CPI (M) Secretary M.Y. Tarigami expressed satisfaction over the resolve of the two leaders to enhance interaction and cooperation across the Line of Control, including agreed meeting points of divided families, trade, cultural interaction and opening up of the Poonch-Rawakote road link. Externally, the great neighbour, China hailed the consensus reached between India and Pakistan and hoped the two nations could keep the momentum of bilateral relations so as to reach the aim and objective of peaceful co-existence and common development. The Indo-Pakistani Joint Statement said: "Conscious of the opportunity created by the imposed environment in relations and the overwhelming desire of the peoples of the two countries for durable peace and recognising their responsibility to continue to move forward towards that objective, the two leaders had substantive talks on all issues. They determined that the peace process was now irreversible." India and Pakistan agreed on a number of confidence-building measures that could pave way for close relations between people of both countries. They have agreed to establish rail links between Munabao in India's Rajasthan State and Khokhraper in Pakistan's Sindh Province by December. The two leaders also agreed to raise the frequency of Srinagar-Muzaffarfad bus service linking Pakistan-held Azad Kashmir and Indian-held Jammu Kashmir. They also agreed to set up a Joint Business Council to intensify contacts between the private sector of the countries and decided to move forward with technical discussion on a water dispute involving a dam in Bagliher. Both leaders also discussed the withdrawal of troops from Siachen Glacier and removal of sticking points in Sir Creek. On Kashmir, both sides differed in their positions. India said it would not accept a redrawing of boundaries, but Pakistan pointed out that the LoC cannot be made the permanent border. Indian position reflected the statement made by the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in 1995: "Independence no, autonomy, sky is the limit." Speaking in Indian Parliament last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that "all measures that could bring people together, including increased transportation linkages to facilitate greater traffic of people and trade across the border and the LoC would help create mutual trust and confidence." He said that India conveyed the importance it attached to enhanced bilateral economic and commercial cooperation and to the need to multiply beneficial linkages of trade and transit, including the proposed gas pipe line. Following the Joint Statement of Indian and Pakistani leaders, increased activities have been observed in both sides. The second bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarafad successfully launched on Thursday. Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar is preparing to visit Islamabad next month and push for diesel and petro-chemical exports to Pakistan. He will also discuss the 4.16 billion dollar Iran-India gas pipe line through Pakistan. Out of this 2,600 km on-land pipeline, 760 km would pass through Pakistan. In spite of the fact that the Bush Administration objected to the plan for an Iran-India pipeline India decided to pursue the project. The Iran-India gas pipe line would also extend to China. When the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited New Delhi fortnight ago India had proposed that the transcontinental pipeline from Iran which ends in Rajasthan State should cross the Indo-Gangetic plain and the Brahmaputra Valley, entering Myanmar and end in China's Yunnan Province. Commenting on the project, Aiyar drew a parallel with the founding of Europe's Coal and Steel Community in 1951. Analysts point out that the pipe line proposal reflected a shift away from a search for final political settlements in favour of an incremental approach of confidence-building measures and trade. In case of India, China and Pakistan, the pipe line would bind the three economically, logistically and strategically in spite of yet undemarcated borders, any has a concretely defined border with the other. Thus the results of the Delhi summit between India and Pakistan transcend the borders of the two countries. |
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