Guest Column | Through the Dusty Looking Glass

General Jehangir Karamat (retd)

Whenever Indians and Pakistanis get together at ‘think tank’-sponsored seminars they invariably present perceptions that they have of each other. Since these participants are all well-informed and thinking individuals their perceptions have to be taken as representative of the public as well as the establishment. These perceptions do matter and have to be taken into consideration if there is ever going to be meaningful and progressive interaction between the two countries. Right now the scenario again looks bleak after a brief interlude of hope. From India there are statements about ‘85 Pakistani-run training camps’ in Kashmir and from Pakistan we have reports of ’18 Indian-run terrorist training camps’ in Afghanistan. We seem to be moving in familiar and predictable directions oblivious of the opportunities that may lie ahead.

Much, of course, depends on how we see the evolving situation. Do we perceive Afghanistan as an area for possible future co-operation or will we have a conflict of interest there and a continuation of rivalry and hostility? The foundation of interaction there will be laid on the basis of how we answer this question. Is there ever going to be reciprocity in the steps to move away from the conflict in Kashmir and towards dialogue and a peace process, or will there be insistence on a ‘you first’ approach? Umpteen well funded think tanks are reaching the same set of conclusions — conclusions that are not new for us and that we can easily arrive at bilaterally. These conclusions generally are:

• The starting point has to be a dialogue
• Dialogue should be comprehensive and should be preceded by good homework.
• We should not look for an immediate resolution of disputes – options that look impossible will start looking feasible once the dialogue turns into an established peace process.
• There must be reciprocity to bring down the level of violence and eliminate it
• Kashmiris should be participants.
• Nuclear weapons in the sub-continent are a very real danger and we m