Indo-Pakistan dialogue raises hope

Agreements were made in some specific areas. The ostensible determination of the two sides to remove obstacles to progress in promoting their common objectives was regarded as a veritable precursor to further success and constitutes an important milestone on their road to success. The two adversaries showed much wisdom and pragmatism by addressing those issues, to start with, which were possible to solve without much acrimony, instead of trying to hold the bull by the horn and risk a debacle.

One must not forget that insistence of addressing the Kashmir dispute by Pervez Musharraf at the Agra Summit four years ago collapsed the peace process and brought the two countries to the brink of war the next year. The absence of reaction to the Indian Prime Minister's remarks about no change in the borders in Kashmir during the press conference following the last summit represented a welcome strategic move. A little success encourages further success and the momentum so generated is likely to lead the two sides closer to their cherished goal.

The decision to withdraw troops from the impassable blizzard-blasted Siachen terrain in Kashmir was viewed by political observers not merely as an exercise of moral boosting of troops and a cost-cutting operation of the governments, but an illustration worthy of emulation by the two nuclear countries about a possible reduction of deployment of massive troops and heavy war machines mounted on their long frontiers. This would not only improve the security situation but effect huge savings in military expenditures that could be better utilized for the benefit of the poor and the deprived of the two nations.

One may recall that the noble laureates for peace Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan made the epoch making decision in the late 80s to disband deployment of SRBM (short-range ballistic missiles) of the Nato and Warsaw Pact countries. Their main consideration was to evade the ever increasing danger of a nuclear warfare among nations facing one another in close proximity in a perennial state of preparedness or tension. One should always try to learn from history.

The method of establishing and promoting people to people contact and visiting one's kith and kin as a result of increasing frequency of travels by bus across the cease-fire line in Kashmir, along with allowing cargo trucks to ply, is a well-nigh measure of creating a congenial atmosphere, which is destined to pay good dividend in future. This applies to the proposal of introducing bus travel between Poonch in Indian Kashmir and Rawalkot on the Pakistani side and, finally, between the two major cities, Amritsar and Lahore. The decision of resumption of the rail route between Rajasthan of India and the Sindh province of Pakistan will also serve the same purpose of promotion of trade and popular contacts. The cricket diplomacy has proved to be a rightful method of attaining the desired goal. People and nations are elated at the outcome of these endeavours and repose their faith in speedy progress of this process.

The people of Bangladesh are, indeed, happy at these positive developments and ponder why they cannot develop such a process. No doubt, the history of relations between the two countries is a checkered one, with ebbs and flows, from the days of the liberation war and its immediate aftermath when the relations were at the zenith. The lack of trust and prevalent suspicion between each other has stood in the way. This applies more between the Indian administration and the BNP-led government in Bangladesh. It is futile to blame one party or the other. Both have to share the responsibility for the failure. The sense of pragmatism exhibited by both India and Pakistan was the key to their success and should be a lesson to learn by both India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party nurtures an inherent suspicion of the Indian administration, irrespective of party affiliation, showing preference to the opposition Awami League to do real business with. In the interest of promoting good relations, Indian government should deal with both the major political parties in a non-discriminatory nature. The words to that effect needs to be substantiated by deeds.

The recent cancellation of the Saarc Summit by India hurt the ruling BNP government and may be construed as a setback to the promotion of relations, despite protestations to the contrary. The Bangladesh government dismissed the perceived security threat during the aborted summit as unreal and found the cancellation of the summit helped Awami League by acceding to their demand. However, on the other hand, the great overture by the Tata Group to make massive investment in Bangladesh is viewed as a highly positive step in this matter. The most recent decision of the government of Bangladesh to allow, in principle, laying of gas pipeline through Bangladesh from Myanmar to India is another helpful development in this direction. For the people to people contact, one field has been heavily neglected and that is journalism. Frequent exchange of journalists would reduce cacophony of the media on both sides and help generate trust at the grass-root level. Border skirmishes may be controlled, given the will, by way of immediate meeting of commanders on both sides to settle matters amicably.

In addition to addressing the relatively less complicated issues like demarcation of six and a half kilometres of land boundary and exchange of already identified enclaves, one should make special efforts to boost up travel and trade between the two countries. Already Dhaka-Kolkata and Dhaka-Agartala bus services have been introduced. As we know, the best and the easiest way to travel in the South Asian region is railway, an extensive network of which had already been built by the British all over the land.

If Rajasthan and Sindh can be connected again by rail after 40 years, then why should we not re-open the traditional Kolkata-Dhaka rail-cum-steamer route, which has been lying dormant for the last 40 years. This route was built by the British over a century ago and is the shortest and time-tested route used by millions. This broad gauge railway can be re-opened by easily re-uniting the severed link at Darsana.

Furthermore, with the construction of the Jamuna bridge, traffic and goods can be transported directly between Kolkata and Joydevpur, which is on the outskirts of greater Dhaka. The cost benefit ratio of this venture would certainly be to our common advantage. Then what holds us from it? Our lethargy and lack of initiative, for sure. Will the authorities wake up?

M.M.Rezaul Karim, a former Ambassador, is a member of BNP's Advisory Council.