Meanwhile Kashmir bleeds
Until and unless both sides put something on the table that is negotiable, then there is nothing to talk about
Parents comfort their son whom they say was injured by pellets shot by security forces in Srinagar following weeks of violence in Kashmir. PHOTO: REUTERS
The latest exchange of unpleasantries between India and Pakistan consequent upon the Pakistan invitation for dialogue delivered on August 15 contains no surprises. The Indian High Commissioner, Gautam Bambawale, has expressed “willingness” for talks on the resolution of the Kashmir dispute, a position somewhat negated by a statement from Indian sources that it “rejects in their entirety the self-serving allegations regarding the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India”. And there is the smallest of nutshells is the nub. Both sides are more than happy to talk to each other so long as the other side agrees to abide by the conditionality imposed by the other. This is of course inconceivable and was written in blood on the back of the notes that passed to and fro in the diplomatic bags.
The Americans have in the last week stood back — not that they have been particularly forward of late — and declared the matter one for Pakistan and India to resolve entirely between themselves — something they have proved to be utterly incompetent to do since the day after Partition. Three wars later as well as innumerable changes of government on both sides, a slew of UN resolutions that might as well have been written in invisible ink for all their impact — and the respective positions are unaltered. Nobody has budged an inch and the Siachen imbroglio has been added to the complexity.
Until and unless both sides put something on the table that is negotiable, then there is nothing to talk about. The diplomatic gavotte is danced as much to keep diplomats on both sides in gainful employment as to actually craft a problem-solving formula. Managed instability is the model that has come to prevail as normative. Matters periodically — as now — reach something of a crescendo only to fall back without anything other than ritual blows being struck along the Line of Control. Viewed pragmatically this is a sustainable position for both countries and can be maintained ad infinitum to the developmental detriment of both. We expect no early change in the position of either party. Neutered sterility continues to rule.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2016.
The Americans have in the last week stood back — not that they have been particularly forward of late — and declared the matter one for Pakistan and India to resolve entirely between themselves — something they have proved to be utterly incompetent to do since the day after Partition. Three wars later as well as innumerable changes of government on both sides, a slew of UN resolutions that might as well have been written in invisible ink for all their impact — and the respective positions are unaltered. Nobody has budged an inch and the Siachen imbroglio has been added to the complexity.
Until and unless both sides put something on the table that is negotiable, then there is nothing to talk about. The diplomatic gavotte is danced as much to keep diplomats on both sides in gainful employment as to actually craft a problem-solving formula. Managed instability is the model that has come to prevail as normative. Matters periodically — as now — reach something of a crescendo only to fall back without anything other than ritual blows being struck along the Line of Control. Viewed pragmatically this is a sustainable position for both countries and can be maintained ad infinitum to the developmental detriment of both. We expect no early change in the position of either party. Neutered sterility continues to rule.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2016.