Fluid Political Scene In India Could Hit Talks, Feels Pak

Pakistani officials, still analysing the results of the Indo-Pak summit in Male, feel that the fragile nature of the coalition that Prime Minister I K Gujral is heading, may impede any dramatic breakthrough in bilateral ties.

But official circles are happy that by agreeing on the setting up of the working groups, India has finally been persuaded to accept the existence of the Kashmir dispute.

Gujral is a well-meaning but politically weak leader and fearful of the collapse of his fragile coalition if he takes any major decision for normalisation of Indo-Pak relations, a senior official, who accompanied Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Maldives, said.

 

Worrying the Pakistan side is Gujral's weak position and political uncertainty, which they feel may throw a damper on the normalisation process.

Sharif is a doer, who wants to solve domestic and external problems without any delay. But Gujral's position may not help keep pace with the speed Sharif wants to adopt, the senior official said, speaking strictly on conditions of anonymity.

However, a general perception among government officials is that there will be no instant results from the Sharif-Gujral meeting.

It will be a long-drawn process before it produces results. But the mere fact that the meeting took place in a cordial and congenial manner can be termed as a good beginning of a long journey, another official said.

The official said that when a joint working group on Kashmir, like similar forums on other issues like easing of visa restrictions, release of civilians and fishermen and Siachen etc. were established, it would show that the core issue of Kashmir has clearly been accepted by India as a dispute.

Khan Abdul Wali Khan's Awami National Party (ANP), which is Sharif's coalition partner, described the Kurumba island meeting as a move to create cordial atmosphere.

One Prime Minister said in the meeting, time has come to bury bitterness of the past. The other said his country is ready for full cooperation, ANP president Ajmal Khattak said. On his return, Sharif briefed his coalition partners and parliamentary party about his talks with Gujral.

Amanullah Khan, chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), said that the Sharif-Gujral meeting could change the course of history of the sub-continent if leaders, political parties and media of the two countries demonstrated broad-mindedness, farsightedness, rationality, patience and determination to put an end to the continuous strain between the two states.

Commenting on the Sharif-Gujral meeting, prominent columnist Mir Jamilur Rehman said that a popularly elected leader [Sharif] would under no circumstances choose to act against national interests. It will be his political death and he will be hounded forever if there was even a suspicion of a sellout. Sharif has no reason to abandon Pakistan's historic stand on Kashmir, he said.

Rehman said at the same time Sharif did not need and would not be tempted to put up a show of rough and tough language vis-a-vis India to gain cheap popularity. The Prime Minister may be polite in demeanor, but when he sits on the negotiating table he is tough and down-to-earth without being discourteous. He is serious in his approach to bring down tensions so that the two neighbouring people could progress and prosper, he said.

The Pakistani press' reaction to the Sharif-Gujral meeting ranged from extreme pessimism to cautious optimism. Some newspapers are of the firm view that Pakistan should not enter into talks with India unless the talks are about Kashmir.

Many others welcomed the meeting hoping that it would break the ice and make it possible to move forward in resolving outstanding issues, including Kashmir.

However, many analysts have cautioned that India and Pakistan have traveled the dialogue road many a times in the past. The talks have always taken off with great fanfare in both the countries, but have always faltered half-way without producing any results.

However, there is now virtual unanimity that there was no other way to resolve issues between the countries but to keep on talking.