The writer is a consulting editor with The Statesman and writes for several newspapers in India
So presuming that the politics the good doctor believes in supports such a visit, what then holds him back? The stridency of the BJP that then pressures the ruling Congress to stop all high level visits between India and Pakistan? The hysteria of sections of the media that insists hostility and war are the only determinants of the India-Pakistan relationship? The disdain of the bureaucracy that feeds into the conflict lobby and dismisses all efforts for peace? But then, the ‘desire’ that Prime Minister Singh so often speaks of is just an illusion, pedalled out to establish himself as a man of peace and not war, with no real commitment to follow through.
For 10 years, India and Pakistan, which should have worked over time to push through high-level visits and meetings to bring down levels of tension, and establish new and more effective channels of communication, have refused to meet. Ten years is a long time without prime ministerial level visits, and makes the politicians even more dependent on the vested interests of both countries, who are bent upon preventing direct political dialogue so that conflict can become the permanent status defining bilateral relations between the two countries. The stakeholders on both sides are well known, and have worked in tandem to prevent peace lobbies from dominating the India-Pakistan discourse.
Since the ball for a visit has been in the Indian court for a while now, and Prime Minister Singh has always managed to stir unnecessary debate with his rather frequent references to the ‘desire’ to visit Pakistan, he should, at the end of his tenure, at least enlighten us as to why he did not follow his ‘heart’. And what heavens would have fallen had he done so? Pakistan’s espousal of terrorism was cited as a reason each time, but any strategist conversant with the region and its politics, knows that a great deal has changed in this past decade. For one, Pakistan has become a direct victim of the terrorism, with the people reaching a zero-tolerance level.
A wise Indian government should have used the current public and political opinion in Pakistan to sharpen the larger campaign against terrorism, and the outfits working against India. By stopping dialogue, or reducing it to the level of officials, 10 valuable years have been lost with the clock of India-Pakistan relations moving backwards, rather than forward. This is absurd in this time and age.
Prime Minister Singh’s recent statement at his press conference in Delhi comes really as a non-starter. India is heading for the Lok Sabha elections and these last few weeks really represent a lame-duck tenure with the UPA government on its way out. A prime ministerial visit as such is of little consequence, and if made, will actually have little more than personal value. It will be a waste of taxpayer money as little will be achieved, and whatever is, will be negated almost immediately by the next government, in the game of political brinkmanship that we South Asian countries are famous for.
Meanwhile, those desiring peace as a strategic goal for India and Pakistan have no choice but to keep waiting. A new government has come to power in Islamabad, but the trust deficit between the neighbours persists. The result is that they do little more than sift the air, sometimes with disastrous results. A new government will be in power in Delhi, but clearly, given all the available choices, we will not see a dramatic shift in stance. People heading the governments, namely the prime ministers, need to show exemplary courage and work towards changing the strategic approach of both countries from terror and war to sustainable peace.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2014.
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@author: " ... For one, Pakistan has become a direct victim of the terrorism, with the people reaching a zero-tolerance level. ... "
The pain is self inflicted. And I am sure that Pakistanis will be perfectly fine with terrorism as long as they themselves are not the victims.
I think still long time to fill the trust deficit. Pakistan has to first fix terrorism inside itself. Even no country in the world trust Pakistan as far as security is concern. No cricket team goes to Pakistan to play the cricket given the security concerns.
No action against Mumbai attacks and genocide of minorities. Aren't those reasons enough?
Manmohan has proven himself to be a hollow man. It would appear rude to say so but the gentleman ranks among the politicians who love to shoot their mouths off without having anything to say. That unfortunate reality has become evident not only in Indo-Pak mutual relations but also in his statements on internal matters. His tenure as PM began with great hope but has ended with great disappointment for everyone. He will not be missed by anyone.
I'm still at odds as to what Pakistan means when the people of Pakistan say they seek "peace". How is this so when they expunged NonMuslims from their soil, absolved their responsibility for minorities, and took actions which made India the bearer of responsibility for the refugees that took shelter in India from both Pakistan and Bangladesh?
Pakistan always says that if Kashmir goes to them, there will be peace. I'm not sure what Pakistan therefore is losing or compromising. They are not happy with Partition, but at the same time, neither are Hindus who don't get to live in Pakistan anymore. Where is Pakistan's skin in the game? Are they willing to cede land and pay reparations to Hindus from both Pakistan and Bangladesh? If the only way towards peace is granting Pakistan, which has proven to be an exclusionist and incredibly irresponsible country, additional territory, then I'm not interested.
May be the author needs some reminder on what happened in the last 10 years. During the most of first term Pakistan was busy trying to get rid of Musharraf and would not have made sense to visit Pakistan then. Then we had Mumbai incident in 2008. Should the Prime Minister have visited Pakistan a week after Mumbai incident to show our friendship? Most of us in India are more upset about the decade lost due to lack of Governance and leadership under this Highly Educated Economist Clean Image Prime Minister. Of course Ms.Seema would like Congress to be back in power because of their so called secular credentials.
But we in India are generally at peace...
Infiltration from Pakistan in recent years except 2013 has been on the low side. Pakistan has lost credibility internationally and can no longer punch above its own weight. Jammu & Kashmir is no longer on the boil. Paranoid that Pakistan may be abandoned by the US again in 2014, there are now numerous Pakistani defence analysts who are hoping (dreaming?) that the US may replace itself with Pakistan in Afghanistan and channel all Afghan funds through Pakistan the same way it was at the time of Charlie Wilson.
Pakistan has taken no action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks. Only once Pakistan punishes them can India respond meaningfully. Also Pakistan is a fledgling democracy and the dynamic between its civil and military establishment is not yet fully established. I doubt Manmohan Singh will commit hara-kiri by visiting Pakistan between now and April. Perhaps if conditions improve in the next decade, he can play some role between the two countries as a native son of Gah in Pakistani Punjab.