South Asian peace: Singh sees improved ties as a feather in the cap

Indian PM Manmohan Singh says he would consider his job "well done" if ties between the two countries normalise.

NEW DEHLI:

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would consider his job “well done” if ties with Pakistan return to normal before he leaves office, local media quoted him as saying on Sunday, weeks after he made a dramatic diplomatic push at the cricket World Cup.

Singh, according to a recently released WikiLeaks cable, has been a lone peace builder, choosing to campaign for peace despite misgivings from members of his own administration, including the national security adviser.

“Well, if I can succeed in normalising relations between India and Pakistan as they should prevail between two normal states, I will consider my job well done,” Singh told reporters aboard a  plane returning from a visit to Kazakhstan, according to the Press Trust of India.

When asked about which five things he would want to focus on in terms of Pakistan-India ties, the prime minister said “The target of five is too big.”

Singh had invited his Pakis­tani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan semi-final of the cricket World Cup on March 30.

Blaming Pakistani militants for orchestrating the mayhem and massacre in Mumbai, India suspended composite dialogue with Islamabad after the 26/11 Mumbai attack that left 166 people dead.

Ahead of the match a string of confidence-building measures had been agreed by the officials of the countries, with Islamabad signalling its willingness to allow Indian investigators to travel to Pakistan to probe the Mumbai assault. The foreign ministers of the two countries are due to meet in July.

Media reports indicate that India and Pakistan may soon resume direct sporting ties. Indian cricketers are expected to tour Pakistan in the near future, although no dates have been agreed on.

Senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have thrown up the possibility but so far the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not issued any formal notification about the decision to resume cricketing ties.

“I’ve only read in the newspapers [about resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties],” said BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan. Meanwhile, Butt said details of the series would be finalised by June. “Getting positive signals on the resumption of a bilateral series is a good omen and Prime Minister Gilani has directed us to arrange the series as soon as possible,” he said.

No international cricket team has visited Pakistan since March 2009 when the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Lahore.

Some analysts put down Singh’s peace overtures as a ploy to regain the initiative and deflect attention away from his government battered by months of corruption scandals that could dent the ruling Congress party’s chances in state elections this year.

Pakistan has welcomed Prime Minister Singh’s statement, saying that dialogue was the only way to improve relations between the two countries.

In a television interview, spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said that Pakistan has always been interested in having better relations with India, noting President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s efforts to encourage good bilateral relations. She said Pakistan has always been trying to improve relations with the neighbouring country, so that peace and progress could be promoted in the country.

She said that Premier Gilani had told his Indian counterpart that talks were the only way of moving ahead.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM BBC URDU)

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th,  2011.