The Hindu Business Line : Dawn of new era of Indo-Pak amity?

AN OLD advertisement of Tata Steel on its purported diversified achievements in several spheres unrelated to its main product used to end with the punch line, "We also make steel!". Similarly, it can be said of the visit of the Pakistan President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, that he also watched cricket, although that was originally the sole reason for the invitation extended to him by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

By a series of swift manoeuvres worthy of a former commando, he managed to convert what seemed a single-point agenda to a memorable political summit and a diplomatic tour de force taking in a substantial range of issues leading to a veritable entente cordiale between the two countries.

Apart from one-on-one talks with Dr Singh, the General left no civilities to chance, calling on the President, Mr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr L. K. Advani, and the President of the Congress and the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council, Ms Sonia Gandhi. He did not even forget to "pay his respects" to the former Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, although such a gesture of courtesy was not strictly part of the protocol.

Reportedly, the Foreign Office initially had its reservations about that particular meeting, and agreed to it only after the General's insistence and the Prime Minister's intervention. In short, Gen Musharraf said and did all the right things, and there is no doubt that he was determined to please and even propitiate the influential sections of the ruling and political establishments in this country. Apparently, Dr Singh and Gen Musharraf hit it off together quite nicely, holding the promise of continuing friendly contacts well into the future.

Not a commando's camouflage

There has been scepticism expressed in some quarters about the new statesman-like face of Gen Musharraf. One counter-terrorism expert cautions against the possibility of the General merely wearing one of the commando's camouflages. This distrust is unjustifiable since it does not take account of the fact that Gen Musharraf has actually exhibited great daring, by appearing to favour a policy of "appeasement" (as he put it) towards India.

Especially is the case in respect of his conceding not only that Jammu and Kashmir is a "complicated issue" needing a "step-by-step" approach and a considerable period of time to solve but also that the elected Government in that State had a representative status reflecting the views of a section of the people, implying that its wishes too deserved to be given importance.

If he was just masquerading as a peace-monger, he need not have pitted himself against rabid fundamentalists with these asseverations as also with his reaffirmation of continued fight against terrorism "in all its manifestations" and his commitment not to give quarters to it to operate from Pakistani soil.

Also, remember, by agreeing not to include the fears of a sizeable section of opinion in Pakistan over the Baglihar hydropower project in the formal joint statement, by seeming to give precedence to economic and trade issues and measures calculated to "soften" the line of control, and most of all, by declaring that the peace process was irreversible, he must have caused considerable resentment among hardliners in the armed forces and jihadi terrorists on the prowl in Pakistan baying for his blood. The General has thus stuck his neck out on several counts, and it may not be fair to attribute this to play-acting.

Undoubtedly, one of the reasons to weigh with him heavily was the "strategic partnership" struck between India and China during the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister, Mr Wen Jiabao, barely a week earlier. It could not have been lost on the General that China had extolled its "global and strategic" relations with India and expressed itself in favour of "qualitatively upgrading the bilateral relationship at all levels and in all areas".

Also, the General would have noted that India and China, in their agreement on the "Political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement of the boundary question", categorically laid down that "the differences on the boundary question should not be allowed to affect the overall development of bilateral relations". In other words, both countries have decided to strengthen their cooperative and collaborative efforts without making them hostage to any existing dispute.

In fact, this part of the agreement is born out of a clear understanding that resolution of differences in all other, conceivably less contentious, areas, along with people-to-people and businessperson-to-businessperson contacts, creates an atmosphere conducive to lessening of passions and generating greater trust and this, in turn, helps in handling more contentious disputes in an enlightened and accommodative spirit, without exciting suspicions.

It does not require much of an imagination to visualise the momentous difference a forward-looking joint strategic framework forged by India and China — including the boost to the two-way trade from the present $13.6 billion to $30 billion by 2010, if not earlier, and the possible admission of India to the UN Security Council — can make to the geopolitical, security, economic and technological profile of South and South-East Asia.

Significantly, a report suggests that Pakistan is greatly concerned about the avowed Chinese support to India playing an "active role" in the UN and international affairs.

Capitalising on openings

It cannot, therefore, be a coincidence that the Pakistani President, Gen Musharraf, was keen to invite himself to New Delhi, on some pretext or other, close on the heels of the visits of the US Secretary of State, Dr Condeleezza Rice, and the Chinese Premier, Mr Wen Jiabao, if for nothing else, at least for waving the flag to ensure that he is not left out in the cold, and Pakistan has a recognised place in the emerging Golden Quadrilateral of the four powers.

Now that the General has come and gone, what next? There is no question that India has so far played its cards in an extremely skilful fashion by balancing and maximising its interests with reference to the US, China and Pakistan.

A good part of the credit for Gen Musharraf's visit itself must certainly go to Dr Manmohan Singh: But for his overruling the mandarins of the External Affairs Ministry, there would not have been any such visit and all that it has meant for India by way of concrete and beneficial results.

He has been able, within the short time he has been in office, to command the respect of those coming into contact with him, both within India and abroad, for his sincerity, dedication to public weal and desire to do the right thing in the right manner by the right means. That is an incomparably precious asset that scores over all the transient ups and downs in the process of governance. He is best equipped to follow up on the openings afforded by the overtures of China, Pakistan and the US.

The general thrust of the policies and programmes this implies is already in the various statements and agreements. It is imperative for the Prime Minister to assume charge of pursuing them by setting for himself specific time-frames for the goals envisaged. He has already accepted the invitations of Pakistan, the US and China to visit those countries and the hammering out of the subjects and schedules must have begun.

He has it within his power to make these visits purposeful and capable of yielding solid results in line with the nature and scope of the synergistic partnership with each of those countries and in tune with national objectives. For what is at stake is his credibility and prestige, and the country's ability to usher in a new dawn of goodwill, harmony and peace with neighbours, growth and prosperity for itself commensurate with its skills and talents, and a position of moral leadership in the comity of nations akin to that enjoyed during the halcyon days of Jawaharlal Nehru but without the angularities and irritations.

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