What Do Pakistanis
Think About the Indian CBMs
By
Mir Jamilur Rahman
HAVING
RECITED their respective mantra of one-upmanship, India and Pakistan
now should start giving shape to their Confidence Building Measures
(CBMs). The two countries have wasted enough time in floating
proposals and counter-proposals; people now expect some results
and not mere diplomatic brinkmanship.
The
relations between the two countries are like walking in a labyrinth,
a complicated irregular network of passages. The foreign policy-makers
of the two countries are overly fond of making labyrinths to trap
each other but in the process they themselves get lost in it with
no exit point in sight. Examine the latest CBMs proposed by India.
They are mostly meant to retract the steps that India had wrongly
taken in a moment of anger. However, it is easy to put a wrong
foot forward but difficult and complicated to retract it.
The
terrorist attack on the Indian parliament was despicable and condemnable.
But the Indian anger though justified was misplaced. It instantly
but unjustly accused Pakistan for the attack and went on a spree
of punishing measures to teach a lesson to Pakistan. Apart from
amassing its troops at the borders, it took the following measures
unilaterally that destroyed whatever little trust existed between
the two countries.
The
Confidence Demolition Measures (CDM) taken by India included:
1. Suspension of air, road and railway links. 2. Suspension of
over flights. 3. Withdrawal of its High Commissioner. Pakistan
did not recall its High Commissioner but the Indian government
forced him to leave New Delhi. 4. Substantial reduction in the
diplomatic staff. 5. Suspension of visas. 6. Snapping of sports
ties. In fact, India had banned its cricket team to visit Pakistan
10 years ago citing cross border terrorism as the reason.
India
took nearly 9 months to withdraw its troops from the borders.
After a lapse of another 9 months the high commissioners were
exchanged and an agreement was reached to raise the strength of
their respective diplomatic missions. India has now offered a
package of CBMs, which Pakistan has accepted in principle and
counter offered its own set of CBMs.
The
logic demands that India implement those CBMs unilaterally that
it had demolished unilaterally. India had not negotiated their
demolition with Pakistan, then why should it need to negotiate
their resurrection. Such CBMs include: (1) Resumption of sports
ties, which Pakistan had never snapped. (2) Renewal of permission
to Pakistani aircraft to fly over India. Pakistan too had banned
Indian aircraft from flying over its territory but only in retaliation.
Once India removes this restriction unilaterally, Pakistan would
surely follow. (3) Renewal of landing rights to PIA commercial
flights to Indian cities. India had placed this restriction unilaterally
and should now lift it unilaterally; Pakistan would certainly
reciprocate. (4) India can also implement its offer of allowing
senior citizens, 65 and over, to cross Wagah on foot without waiting
for Pakistan’s concurrence. However, this offer should first
be made practical to cater for the case when husband is over 65
and the spouse is under 65. (5) The offer to provide free treatment
to 20 seriously sick Pakistani children has been added in the
package as a public relations exercise. To be sure, Pakistani
needy children are already enjoying free treatment thanks to the
philanthropy of many Indian hospitals. Pakistan in response to
this CBM has doubled the offer to 40 Indian children. It would
be advisable if the two governments leave this matter to the NGOs
or the respective hospitals. The government involvement would
only add red tape to a very laudable and humane cause.
Some
CBMs are conspicuous by their absence in the two respective packages.
Concern has been shown to the plight of the fishermen and a remedy
has been suggested. On the other hand, the plight of the high
commission staff, diplomats and non-diplomats, for some reason
has been overlooked. Could the two governments agree not to harass
or beat up the staff members of each other’s high commissions?
This tit-for-tat game should stop so the two countries could be
counted as civilised and respectable. Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee
while visiting Lahore had bemoaned this trend and had vowed to
put an end to it, but it continued at both ends.
The
future of the subcontinent lies in the hands of the youth. But
regrettably there is no interaction between the young of Pakistan
and India except for the occasional sports events. The youth of
the two countries has no idea how its counterpart is living, what
are its aspirations and problems, and how it is viewed by the
other. To encourage youth interaction, the educational institutions
of the two countries should open up their doors to each other’s
young. In the long run it would prove the best and the most rewarding
CBM that India and Pakistan could ever think of.
This
is the age of information but the two countries of a billion and
quarter, with over a 1000 miles of common border, speaking the
same language, and eating the same sort of food are most misinformed
about each other. The two peoples are misinformed to the extent
of ignorance. Every house in Pakistan watches Indian movies, listens
to Indian music, but there is no intellectual exchanges between
the two countries. The Indian newspapers are verboten here and
Pakistani newspapers cannot be distributed in India. India publishes
many titles every year that are priced to suit every pocket. But
their import is negligible. Pakistani bookshops are flooded with
costly American and British books but the Indian low cost books
cannot be found. We do need a comprehensive CBM to narrow the
information gulf that exists between the two countries and continues
widening unabated.
Pakistan’s
proposal to operate bus shuttles between Lahore and Amritsar if
accepted would prove a great confidence builder. The number of
travellers would increase tremendously, which at present amounts
to measly 300 per week. The bus ride between Lahore and Delhi
is intimidating. The bus is escorted all the way to the destination
and passengers are not allowed to break journey anywhere. India
should shed its security concerns because a few busloads of passengers,
thoroughly screened for visa, could not possibly pose a security
danger to it. After all Pakistan is too small to be afraid of
as Indian Defence Minister Mr George Fernandes has put it so aptly.
The
writer is a freelance columnist Email: mirjrahman@hotmail.com
