Across the Line of Control

``If Modi and the BJP on one hand and the Islamic terrorists on the other can control their passion for bloody violence, India and Pakistan could actually overcome the impasse on Kashmir.``

huh? modi and bjp are effect and not cause of kashmir.

Zafar Choudhary, {``The sexagenarian, who is meeting his nephew’s family after 59 years, is particularly moved over the diverse and plural character of the local society...``}

Choudhary Sahib,
Very concise and very encouraging article. I think that my man Manmohan Singh is sincerely trying his best to show India as the logical, compassionate, and big neighbor that it really is. He has gone a long way in trying to negate the adverse effects of Gujarat that happened only four short years ago.

If Modi and the BJP on one hand and the Islamic terrorists on the other can control their passion for bloody violence, India and Pakistan could actually overcome the impasse on Kashmir.

If the sexagenrian can show such common sense, why can`t we get the octogneraian to open his eyes?

Ref#3

Dear rf786

Please give me some freedom to tease Manto jokingly.

Ref#5

Dear Checkmate

I fully appreciate your sentiments.

I am not a political analyst nor an expert on the Kashmir issue. I am just a hard working, tax paying Pakistani who is now sick of the Kashimir issue. I don`t know what Jinnah believed or if Gandhi was a saint or a devil. And I and the coming generatiosn will probably never know, because of the distorted history books taught in schools of both countries. The people of both countries have sufered long and hard because of this issue for more than half a century. I truly believe that if this set of Governments can not find a full and final solution to this issue, then millions of other Pakistani and Indian people will continue to see their taxes being wasted on gigantic and unreasonble defense budgets. I am keeping my fingers crossed but they are beginning to hurt now.

The following article appeared on Saturday May 13th, 2006 in dauly times.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006 05 13 story_13-5-2006_pg3_5

Why won’t India move on Kashmir? — Shaukat Qadir

This too was a question that I first came up with in a classroom discussion with students. But before I answer this question, let us put the issue in perspective.

We now have the Indian prime minister’s official timetable for the settlement of the Kashmir issue; he wants it resolved by 2008. But this leads to the question: why another two years? Official spokesmen from India have repeatedly said that there can be withdrawal of troops from the state until the insurgency ends. Occasionally, Indian officials have accepted that both the level of insurgency and cross-LOC infiltration has decreased considerably.

Back in 2000 I attended a conference organised by the US on India-Pakistan relations. The delegates were from India and Pakistan. I raised the following question: if Pakistan were to stop cross-LOC infiltration, would India reduce the number of security forces in IHK? I explained that in military parlance, the response is proportional to the threat; and therefore, a reduction in the threat should evoke a proportional reduction of the response. I added that India didn’t have to withdraw the forces farther than Gurdaspur, from where deployment would be easy if the threat escalated once again. I failed to evoke a positive response from my Indian counterparts.

Today Pakistan has put an end to cross-LOC infiltration. This is not to say that there is no movement across the porous border, but that it no longer enjoys the support of the state. The Indian government knows this. In private, senior spokesmen for the Indian government accept this though they are not prepared to say this publicly. But the Indian government refuses to reduce forces and its prime minister sets a deadline for 2008.

Let us be clear that Pakistan has moved from its original stated position on Kashmir. It is no longer talking about “the unfinished agenda of partition” or of UN resolutions. It now only demands a return to normalcy in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) — a tacit acceptance of the status quo. In fact I have heard top leaders from IHK expressing the view that Musharraf has given up so much that there is no room left for negotiation.

They also add that if the Indian government fails to avail this opportunity it would make things very difficult for the Pakistani leadership. Some of them claim that they have conveyed these views to the Indian PM.

But this leads to the strategic dilemma facing the Pakistani leadership. When Pakistan took the decision to side with the United States in the war on terror, a number of factors were at play. Apart from the international pressure to act on the war against terrorism, there was a recognition that the jihadi elements also needed to be reigned in for domestic peace. It was also not possible to stop the jihad in Afghanistan while continuing it in Kashmir, though the Pakistani establishment experimented with this policy for a while. However, those that opposed ending the official support to the Kashmiri struggle for freedom, argued that this would make Pakistan irrelevant to the solution, with good reason.

Consequently, when the Pakistani establishment reluctantly accepted that it no longer had an option but to stop supporting cross-LOC infiltration, it did so conscious of the risks involved. They pinned their hopes on what appeared to be a reasonable Indian leadership.

Some Indian political leaders expressed reservations that Musharraf’s steps may not be supported by the Pakistani political leadership. But in the past, the Lahore-Delhi bus service was an initiative taken by Nawaz Sharif. At present, members of the PPPP have just met the Indian leadership, reassuring them that the desire for peace with India is not limited to any particular group or party. Both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto have also stated publicly that they support the peace process with India.

We therefore once again, and for the last time return to the question this article seeks to address. If all the background that I have stated is correct and one also accepts that a reduction in the threat merits a reduced military response, why is the Indian establishment refusing to respond? I can only think of one reason.

After years of being on the receiving end in IHK, they are now in total control. They are conscious that by giving in to Musharraf’s demand for normalcy in IHK, they will have given Musharraf a quid pro quo; and apparently, they do not wish to do that.

I am not a supporter of the present political dispensation in Pakistan, but there is a slight risk for the Indians if they continue with their current policy — they might end up weakening Musharraf.

Musharraf himself is aware of his loss of popularity in recent times; for which there are innumerable reasons. However, there were three main reasons for his strong position — economic progress, American support, and normalisation of relations with India. But macro-economic progress has not eased the burden of the poor. Second, there are mixed signals from the US and his support in Washington seems to have waned. Now if he cannot show any meaningful gain in IHK, he will be precariously placed.

There is a view in India that destabilising Pakistan is in their interests. Others feel that an unstable Pakistan could be a problem for India. I hope that decision makers in India who have decided to drag their feet on Kashmir are aware of the possible consequences.

The author is a retired brigadier. He is also former vice president and founder of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)

Re: # 2
What does this have anything to do with Jinnah? How about the 50 odd years of uninterrupted hostilities between the two neighbours? By the way, Jinnah was an ardent supporter of united India till the very end and wanted a dominion status with equal share to both parties, which ofcourse did not suite the Nehru`s of Congress party.

Dear Manto

Where you are? Justify Jinnah`s actions.

Simple and well-described, thank you.

The day the rank-and-file ``common wo/man`` in Pakistan understand this basic truth, that India truly is making efforts to be all things for everyone, is the day the wall comes tumbling down.