Let dialogue begin

War was no longer an option, says Sushma Swaraj in the lower house of the Indian parliament

Ruling out war is as good a way as any to start a peace process. The long-stalled search for the solution to the many and complex problems that bedevil the relationship between India and Pakistan is beginning to gather pace and heft. Speaking in the lower house of the Indian parliament, the Lok Sabha, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that war was no longer an option. What started in Bangkok and continued in Islamabad continues to gain substance, and there is now a commitment to “uninterrupted” dialogue between the two nations. As Ms Swaraj also said in the Lok Sabha, a single meeting is not about to bring a solution and many meetings lie ahead. Having got a basket of issues finally all on the same table, we now need to make sure they stay there — which may not be as easy in practice as it is to say.

There will be those for whom the prospect of dialogue will not be welcome and there are going to be attempts to derail the process, in all probability emanating from elements in both countries. The Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue may well go silent once the way-paving process is complete, and that in itself may take several months. Both sides need to ensure that ‘hotheads’ are denied the floor at this delicate stage, before the baby dialogue gets to the toddler stage. Silence must not be mistaken for inactivity in this context as both sides have already acknowledged that much of what is to follow is going to be conducted via the backchannels.

For the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, this is a pledge in part redeemed, and for that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a shift to a position less focused on electoral rhetoric and more on the mutual and regional benefits to be drawn from productive dialogue. The next step along the way is foreign secretary-level talks at a yet-to-be-determined date in January 2016. Assuming that to be successfully accomplished, then the entire process may be considered ‘on track’. A win-win is not beyond the grasp of both countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2015.

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