Coming soon after the verdict delivered by the Supreme Court of India in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case, upholding the death sentence to Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani survivor in the dreadful terror attack, the agenda for the meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari had been set even before they met on the sidelines of the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in the Iranian capital on Thursday September 6. Expecting miracles from this meeting would mean to underestimate the ground realities.
Judging by the reports in Pakistani media, Islamabad is disappointed by Dr. Singh not making any announcement about his visit to Pakistan which it had been expecting to take place sometime in November. The invitation for the visit was extended to Dr. Singh when President Zardari met him in New Delhi on April 8. Zardari renewed his invitation to Dr. Singh and the Indian leader promised to visit Pakistan “at a suitable” time.
On more than one occasion, India has made it clear that a proper climate needed to be created for the visit and Indian expectations with regard to dealing with terror issue in all its dimensions must be met. Shorn of diplomatisque, and in plain words, New Delhi seeks speedy trial and conviction of the perpetrators of Mumbai mayhem who are presently roaming Pakistan. It is not a pre-condition for Dr Singh’s visit. It only means what the homework should be like if the visit were to bear fruits.
But as it is, that does not seem to be the case. There has not been much progress, in fact, any progress, in Islamabad acting against the culprits of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. It is stuck on the point, more out of convenience than anything else, that the case is in the court and it can do pretty little to expedite the proceedings. True, no civilian government in a truly democratic country has can interference in the judicial process; once the case goes to the court, it is for the Judge to decide its fate.
What Islamabad is conveniently overlooking is fact that unless the prosecution presents a strong case, the outcome can be anybody’s guess. This is where the differences between India and Pakistan lie as far as Mumbai attacks are concerned. Pakistan, so far, has not given any indication that it is genuinely interested in obtaining a punishment for Hafeez Sayeed and other culprits. As of now it is engaged in either washing its hands off the case or put on India the onus of proof of non-state actors of Pakistan who perpetrated the mayhem presenting proof. And when proof is presented by way of dossiers, the Pakistan interior ministry either obfuscates or ignore the dossiers.
Put differently, Islamabad is not cooperating with New Delhi in taking the 26/11 case to a logical end. It has consistently been refusing to provide the voice samples of Hafeez Sayeed to New Delhi to prove that the Mumbai attacks were planned and executed from Pakistan and the culprits are the very persons who are engaged in a public diatribe against India
In this backdrop one would like to draw the attention of Pakistani leadership to the comment made by Dawn, the daily founded by Quaid-e-Azam that Pakistan has to ‘dispel the impression that the procrastination of the Mumbai suspects’ trial is on purpose". Much of the trust deficit that exists between the two countries would be go away if Pakistan takes on this well meaning advice.
The Zardari-Singh meeting in Tehran was no one -to- one session. It is always not possible for a broad based discussion on bilateral issues on the sidelines of summits. More so when the leaders are hard-pressed for time as was the case in Tehran when even scheduling of the India-Pak bilateral demanded a Herculean effort. What is important is the dialogue is on between the two countries and the leadership on both sides is keen to see big ticket quick breakthrough. Since some doables have already identified like for instance, Sir Creek and trade it should be possible to focus on bigger issues that have become intractable. Sincerity of purpose is the need of the hour.
The two countries are set to double the present official turnover of $2.6 billion which in any case is much more than that, if we factor in the informal trade routed through Dubai, Singapore and other places. The commerce secretaries of the two countries are scheduled to meet soon to take this movement forward.
But the sticking point remains at the political level and there is a lot Pakistan can do on this front. India will continue to flag its concerns over the lack of action by Pakistan in bringing to book those responsible for Mumbai attacks. In the present situation it is only prudent for India to adopt what Dr. Singh described as a “step by step, graduated” approach in view of the complexity of bilateral relations.
India’s external affairs minister S.M.Krishna is due to visit Pakistan on Sept 3, Friday to review the progress of the second round of the peace dialogue that was resumed two years ago after the comprehensive dialogue process was derailed in the wake of Mumbai attacks. He and his Pakistani host, foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar will explore the areas where progress can be made. Will Krishna’s visit prove a turning point in taking the bilateral relations to new heights? His visit will see the signing of the long pending agreement on liberal visa regime. It will be only a small incremental forward movement. Much depends on how Islamabad decides to respond India’s sensitivities on the terrorism front?
– By a Guest Commentator
