The outcome of the meeting produced no surprises and is all the better for that. Both sides pledged to uphold the 2003 LoC ceasefire accords and there was a commitment to ensuring that the ceasefire held. The principal victim of the ceasefire violations was the nascent peace process that has been in the diplomatic equivalent of an intensive care unit and close to a diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state — not far removed from being dead. Cooling temperatures on the LoC is a necessary requisite for any reboot of the bilateral talks.
Having a set of protocols worked out that would prevent a flare-up in the event of an inadvertent crossing of the LoC by a wandering civilian is a step forward. Such incidents have in the past been inflated out of all proportion. The ‘hotline’ between the two sides will be ‘re-energised’ and there will be two flag meetings a year between brigade commanders to follow up on the DGMO meeting at Wagah. These may appear small advances in terms of the bigger picture, but the devil is in the detail. If the DGMO meeting can be parlayed into diplomatic activity, then we may look forward to a more peaceful 2014.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (8)
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@JSM:
Defeat is those 45K army men who refused to fight and surrendered meekly in Bangladesh! .. Instead of becoming martyrs. They should have been punished by Pakistan.
Pakistan has the support of China, Suadi Arabia, Turkey - India cannot sustain a two-front attack by China and Pakistan.
@Lala Gee: What defeats sir?J
@mohammed abbasi: And CGS should make a note that our big guy was not in proper uniform. He need to be pulled down for unbecoming and violating the uniform protocol.
Pakistan army must remember its defeats, to redeem its and Pakistan's honor - It must win a war against India. Until then, peace will remain elusive.
Excellent - now on a side note both of the senior officers need to eat healthy and keep fit, those bellies are unbecoming of professional officers!