Three steps forward; three back

Just when it seems relations between Pakistan, India were warming and both were coming closer, LoC incident happened.

I have just returned from a meeting in Amritsar organised by the South Asia Free Media Association (Safma) as the first part of its conclave; the second of which was held in Lahore over the past three days. It was heartwarming to see the excellent work this body has done for amity among the Saarc nations under the able, sincere and courageous guidance of Imtiaz Alam and his team. Courageous because there are many ‘Paknationalist’ types e.g., Hazrat Zaid ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ Hamid who look upon Safma as a treasonous organisation, and we know just who they represent.

But wait, when it comes to India and Pakistan something seems to snap at exactly the wrong time, just when it seems relations between the two belligerently armed neighbours are warming and the two countries are coming closer. Just days before the new visa regime comes into effect on January 15, and ‘senior citizens’ (including yours truly, hehehe) can visit that fascinating country having their visas stamped at the border, comes extremely bad news.

Three steps forward, three back, seems to be the fate of Pakistan-India relations. If the warm and friendly words of the Indian foreign minister, Mr Salman Khurshid, and the Indian Punjab chief minister, Sardar Prakash Singh Badal, at the Amritsar Safma conference gave one heart on January 5, there were reports on January 6 that one Pakistani soldier was killed by Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC), and one badly wounded in a raid on a Pakistani post.

If the warm and friendly words of Punjab Chief Minister Mr Shahbaz Sharif on January 7, and by former prime minister Mr Nawaz Sharif on January 8 gave one renewed hope, Indian allegations on that same day that Pakistani troops had killed two Indian soldiers, one of whose head was cut off which was then carried off by his attackers, poured cold water on all feelings of warmth and friendship.

Before we go further, let me say that whilst the Pakistani TV channels can be as jingoistic as any, they are handling these matters with care; and very loud hype is being created by the Indian TV channels even though four days after the gory incident, no one on the Indian side was certain just how the poor Indian soldier had had his head cut off. In an appearance on one of the Indian channels, I had suggested that if the allegations were true, there were several ways in which the unthinkable could have happened. Indeed, while other senior retired Indian officers were recommending ‘unleashing’ the army, General S Roy Chowdhry, former Indian COAS, himself said a post-mortem had to be carried out before any conclusions can be made.

Let me here and now say that as a former soldier it is reprehensible to me to even countenance this kind of barbarity let alone accept it. This beastliness is simply not done by any honourable, disciplined body of men who proudly wear the uniform of their country’s army. I am merely making a point that whilst the Indians themselves are not sure of the circumstances of the soldier’s death and decapitation, India’s many news channels are making loud and ever louder allegations against Pakistan as if they know all.

Secondly, a Reuters news report quoted an Indian Army Northern Command spokesman as saying that the soldiers had not been beheaded.

I do think both countries need to bring sense to these horrible incidents by holding a joint inquiry by a commission of officers from both armies; study the post-mortem reports and then come to a conclusion. If there is hesitation then the UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan) can be entrusted with this inquiry.

Having said which, and considering the enormity of the allegations and counter allegations, both armies should conduct their own inquiries and, if people are found to be in violation of the rules of conduct, mete out appropriate punishments so that such incidents never happen again.

Enough of these sad, tragic and perfectly avoidable events. Back to Safma’s conference and what one saw. Apart from the excellent presentations and discussions, what stood out the most to a Pakistani was the perfectly civilised, friendly, respectful and dignified way in which foreign minister Khurshid and chief minister (CM) Badal conducted themselves. Recall that Sardar Badal fought an acrimonious election campaign with Congress’s Maharaja Captain Amarinder Singh of Patiala not too long ago.

Haider referred to the CM’s name and said he was proud to share the stage with a man whose name Prakash meant light when you needed the sun, and Badal meant clouds when you needed shade. The CM countered during his speech by saying he was honoured to be sitting with a man who was ‘the most respected and senior of India’s politicians’, going on to say that he would petition the ministry of foreign affairs to soften the visa regime for Pakistanis because his state had the most to gain from freer movement between the two countries.

Let me also inform my readers that even in the absence of Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, the border is chock-a-block with trucks (I counted above 150) carrying goods, from what I could see, mostly from India into Pakistan. Mainly tomatoes and bales of cotton, the import of the latter campaigned for by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) for years, specially under the stewardship of Gohar Ejaz.

A little of the culinary delights of Amritsar: the ‘thanday tandoor wali machhi’ (fish grilled in a cooling tandoor) was to die for, as was the sarson ka saag and makki ki roti (cooked mustard greens and maize bread). As, indeed, was the ras malai, just the right amount of sweetness and creaminess. Absolutely delicious.

Amritsar, India, see you soon!

P.S. Let me suggest to warmongers on both sides of the border to please read Confronting the bomb (Oxford) by the eminent Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy. The book contains the thoughts of other very respected academics, Indians too. It should make your blood run cold.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2013.