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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JD who wrote (48318)	4/18/2005 3:09:55 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

No breakthroughs but a break away-Visit of General Pervez Musharraf to New Delhi would definitely be a turning point in Indo-Pak bilateral relations with the two sides finally agreeing to work on commonalities including better trade relations while placing Kashmir dispute in the core of the bilateral efforts towards peace-''That realisation was very clear when Musharraf on Monday morning acknowledged to senior editors from the Indian media that the change in his attitude from the time of Agra in 2001 was because the world had changed.'' People have taken exception of my optimism on this thread since 911, today joint decleration confrimed what we have been saying all along, the world has changed since 911 and so have the leaders. No breakthroughs but a break away JOSY JOSEPH INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2005 01:28:27 PM ] Sign into earnIndiatimes points NEW DELHI: For the long history, short memory and myopic vision of the future that South Asia is often accused of, the Indo-Pak joint statement of Monday could be a fitting reply. There are no grand breakthroughs in the statement issued at the end of General Pervez Musharraf's visit to India. But for those hopeful of a South Asian future, it probably is the first statement in recent memory which details a vision of future, without being caught in past's ghost-house so full of mistrust. Euphoria may not be a great virtue when looking at the Indo-Pak relations. But the visit of General Pervez Musharraf to New Delhi would definitely be a turning point in Indo-Pak bilateral relations with the two sides finally agreeing to work on commonalities including better trade relations while placing Kashmir dispute in the core of the bilateral efforts towards peace. Pakistan's readiness to work on commonalities to build a robust trade relations and India's readiness to admit Kashmir as the core issue, though not said in as many words, would be judged as the biggest leap in bilateral relations in recent memory. Four of the key 12 points in the joint statement deals with Jammu and Kashmir that too without any reference to Simla Agreement or history's tortuous compulsions. In Lahore in 1999, where bonhomie was the dominant spirit, the joint statement was still caught in the traps of the past than in the hope of future. There were more references to the fears of nuclear accidents and wars than about the specific plans for future. Similar have been other joint commitments of recent past. But New Delhi of 2005 is different. There is no hint of the nuclear fears, no precautions against a gloomy future. There is a definite realisation that they have no chance but to live together and seek a common future and an effort to work towards that. That realisation was very clear when Musharraf on Monday morning acknowledged to senior editors from the Indian media that the change in his attitude from the time of Agra in 2001 was because the world had changed. Terrorism has emerged as the biggest threat to the world, economic cooperation is the way forward and there are no military solutions to any dispute, he said. The two sides have thus agreed on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's vision of soft borders, of boundaries being unifying points than dividing ones. Thus the two sides agreed to increase the frequency of bus link between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, to allow trucks to ply on the historic road and open more bus links along the Line of Control. And to allow divided families to meet along the border at designated points. It is a decision, if implemented in full earnest, which would bring down the 740-kilometre border of distrust that runs through a difficult landscape and a lot of minds. Instead of infiltrating terrorists and aggressive militaries, it would be divided families, people hoping of peace and traders selling future who would be crossing the LOC. It could have deep impact on the situation in Kashmir, opinions on either side and it has the ability to shape up a solution to the dispute without much outside prompting. New Delhi visit did not see Musharraf giving up his stand on Kashmir, but dressing it up in evolved diplomatic realities, and admitting that its solution is a long way off. The General spoke about the need to analyse the issue of independence, self-governance, autonomy, and even joint control and joint management for Kashmir. The last of all-joint control and joint management-are expected to do rounds of New Delhi, Islamabad and Kashmir in great vigour in the coming days than ever. For a man used to commanding troops, it is a nightmare to sit through deft diplomatic negotiations. General Perez Musharraf proved that right four years back in Agra, as he kept harping back on Kashmir, providing no maneuvering rooms and creating a diplomatic fiasco. General Musharraf of 2005 is different. So is the Indian leadership. Dr Manmohan Singh is advocating a firm future of trade and friendship, standing on broader national political consensus. There are no fringe elements of his own political ideology nailing him. Atal Behari Vajpayee was forced into decisions that he may not have liked by right wing groups, and was tricked into others by a tough General Musharraf. While the former is not part of the ruling combination and struggling with its internal problems, the latter seems to have evolved. Geopolitics and regional realities, burden of running a country and the challenging future of a society with abysmal developmental indices, and a host of other factors seems to have conspired to mellow down General Musharraf.

To: JD who wrote (48318)	4/18/2005 3:15:00 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

-9/11 has changed the world and Mush,This is exactly what we have written on this pages for years..a belated recognition of facts by the media now TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2005 12:15:02 AM ] NEW DELHI: 9/11 didn't change just the world. It changed Pervez Musharraf. Displaying his characteristic candour, but shorn of the swagger that marked the Agra summit four years ago, he played out his transformation in full. The world has changed and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf recognises that. In his hour-long interaction with the Editors' Guild on Monday morning, he spoke 'out of the box,' quite popular phrase now in sub-continental diplomacy. He was, however, at pains to assert that the change had nothing to do with US promptings. Musharraf said: "I think the world has changed very much, especially after 9/11." He said, from a focus on geo-politics, the world was now more concerned with economic development. 9/11 showed that terrorism has emerged as a menace and stressed the need for resolution of conflicts, and not brushing them aside. The General added that the 10-month stand-off following the December 2002 attack on Parliament, had exposed the futility of seeking military solutions and resorting to coercive diplomacy. He also talked about the changed mindset of the leadership as one of the variables prompting the change. He said, "It's an exaggerated notion that when America sneezes, we catch a cold and that they keep sneezing." He added that... ...only when its vital national interests were concerned did the US sneeze. Irrespective of what has really led to Musharraf's metamorphosis, there was no mistaking the change. Nothing signalled it more than the General's acknowledgement that the J&K government does have a representative character. He said, "The government does represent some sections of the people of Kashmir" - a shift from the days when the Srinagar government was dismissed as part of 'Indian occupation force'. On Kashmir, he showed apparent sweet reasonableness. He said there couldn't be a "rigid time-frame" for its solution, nor could a solution be put off indefinitely. He also seemed influenced by Manmohan Singh's persuasive thesis on having a soft border between the two Kashmirs. He said there were three formulations on Kashmir - one, that borders can't be redrawn as Manmohan had said; two, that the LoC can't be made into the international border as Pakistan insisted; and three, that the borders are made irrelevant by making them soft - a position first espoused by Manmohan Singh but to which he had also come around to. The implication was clear: the General has finally acquiesced to the Indian position that Kashmir may be on the table but it shouldn't impede progress on the fronts. Only once did the General strike a note from the past. The conference had wound up and Musharraf had got up to leave, when an editor quizzed him one last time on Kashmir. The General said, "Unless you solve Kashmir, in 10-15 years god knows what will happen." There was an unmistakable you-ain't-seen-nothin'-yet ring to it. On other points of difference, Musharraf insisted that these - Sir Creek, Siachen, Baglihar and Wullar Barrage - were of mere technical nature and could be sorted out in one sitting. "But Kashmir is different." He insisted that once the requisite levels of confidence was generated on both sides, the "sky is the limit" for cooperation. He showed flashes of his wry humour. Asked whether there could be a sea route between Mumbai and Karachi, Musharraf said he saw no problem. "If people can go by road and rail, why not by sea? At least once on sea they would not stray into undesirable directions." Talking about a perennial source of discord between the two sides - as well as an engagement for the diplomats - Musharraf said fishermen straying into each other's waters shouldn't be caught at all.