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A Pakistani explains why India and Pakistan have stopped talking to one another again

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Mehr Tarar
Mehr TararNov 02, 2017 | 16:48

A Pakistani explains why India and Pakistan have stopped talking to one another again

1989 happened in the bloodied backdrop of wars that inflicted two-way damage, and despite the outcome that is now part of history, reams are written even today as to who defeated who, whose bravery halted further movement of the other side, whose strategies failed.

The freedom movement or what India termed as separatism in Jammu and Kashmir - the disputed land as per the UN Resolutions, “Maqbooza Kashmir” as per Pakistan, and the “integral part” as per India - was rebranded with an open aggression adrenalised by ammunition.

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After the 1987 election that was alleged to be so rigged, it changed the course of political discourse in J&K for the next two decades, some organisations decided to swap voting icons for symbols of jihad, political rallies for protest marches, and co-existence for freedom.

Pakistan’s support of the movement was couched in moral and diplomatic words, endorsing the UN-suggested referendum as the only solution for the conundrum that was Kashmir. To India, the insurgency was propelled by Pakistani munitions in the hands of militants trained in Pakistan.

Attacks on Indian bases occurred. Cross-firing happened at the LoC, the Working Boundary, and civilian and military deaths became a norm on both sides. The blame of unprovoked firing became the facade to camouflage plans of control while destroying lives of unarmed people living on the two sides of the border.

Bilateral meetings were planned and cancelled. And when they happened, they yielded nothing more than reluctant handshakes, fake bonhomie and false hopes.

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After I-can-do-it-better-than-you nuclear detonations, and before the very expensive debacle of Kargil when the two armies stood so close to one another on borders, the smell of hatred, anger and gunpowder permeated the air, there was the momentous trip of the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Lahore to move forward with the idea of peace - that five-letter word that is used like a ping pong ball in diplomatic overtures and theatrics between Pakistan and India - with his Pakistani counterpart prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

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The 1999 Lahore Declaration with a firm handshake and a reiteration of the 1972 Simla Accord - the last noteworthy accord between the two nations - became the latest breakthrough for peace, and many  Confidence-building measures (CBMs) were promised. The dream of peace seemed like a reality, but like all wishful dreams in which two estranged lovers come close to having the magic kiss, a loud crash destroyed the reverie jolting everyone back to the glaring reality of realpolitik.

Kargil happened.

The civilian and military leadership in Pakistan became entangled in a fight of their own, indifferently shoving to the side the idea of formation of a good relationship with India.

Things remained on an uncomfortable simmer. In 2001, the Assembly building in Srinagar was attacked, resulting in the death of 38 people, adding to the long list of statistics that are a casualty of the unrest in Kashmir, and complex games allegedly perpetuated by both Pakistan and India.

The next high-level meeting took place in Agra between Vajpayee and the new president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf - the man who’s said to have orchestrated the Kargil war and Nawaz Sharif's ouster from office. The two-day summit was a damp squib as the two sides disagreed on the machinations to resolve the only real issue between them: Kashmir. The beautiful Valley whose air is darkened with blood.

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The 2001 Delhi Parliament attack carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad - both allegedly masterminded and trained by the Pakistani establishment as per Indian investigations - worsened the situation. The LoC became the staging ground for assembly of armies of the two sides, until international intervention made them see the folly of an open war, and peaceniks heaved a sigh of relief in Pakistan and India.

In 2003, during a UNGA meeting, Musharraf spoke about the need to have a ceasefire; the two countries decided to behave and not shoot across borders. Peace was beckoned. And before anything untoward could hamper the process, Vajpayee flew to Pakistan again, this time to Islamabad. The occasion was the 12th SAARC summit, and direct meetings took place between Vajpayee and Musharraf followed by a meeting of the foreign secretaries, kick-starting what came to be known as the Composite Dialogue Process: consisting of governmental bilateral meetings between foreign ministers and secretaries, military officials, nuclear experts, border military officials and the anti-narcotics forces. Things changed while nothing really changed.

Then came the new prime minister, the unassuming Manmohan Singh, and he ordered "redeployment of 5,000 troops from J&K". This was 2006, and Pakistan was still under the bravado-filled rule of Musharraf. Along came the bilateral decision to implement an "institutional anti-terrorism mechanism".

Before the dialogue became the norm, in 2007, bombs boomed loud and fatal near Panipat, India, killing 68 people, mostly, Pakistani visitors, in a Pakistan-India friendship train ironically titled the Samjhauta Express.

A framework agreement of a 7.6-billion gas pipeline plan between Pakistan, India, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, and many Kashmir-related CBMs later, there was a new accusation: Pakistan’s ISI’s complicity in the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, fatalities 58. This was 2008.

The Musharraf-less Pakistan now had a democratic government headed by prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, and spearheaded by Asif Ali Zardari. One auspicious day in September 2008, Zardari and Manmohan Singh made the formal announcement of opening trade routes between Pakistan and India.

In November, it all changed. 26/11 became India’s 9/11 when 160 people were killed in a series of terror attacks in Mumbai. One terrorist was captured alive. Name: Ajmal Kasab. Nationality: Pakistani.

All dialogue between Pakistan and India came to an expected end.

In 2009, another meeting took place. Prime minister Gilani and Singh issued a joint statement for future talks. Talks, not a composite dialogue. This happened on the sidelines of a NAM Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The attempts at “friendship” continued. In March 2011, Pakistani PM Gillani and Indian PM Singh looked relaxed watching the semi-final of the cricket World Cup in Mohali. The optics looked optimistic, and India won the match.

During the 2013 UNGA, during a meeting on the sidelines (interesting, the vocabulary used to describe the “venue” of meetings), there is an agreement to end military tension on the LoC. But as they say an agreement is just what it is: a bunch of words if not put in action. Not much changed. Cross-border firing, killing of civilian and military folks, accusations of Pakistan’s involvement in fomenting terror in J&K, allegations of RAW’s involvement in unrest in Balochistan.

Then came Narendra Modi in 2014, and what happened was another shaking of hands and exchanging of noble words after Modi’s oath-taking ceremony in Delhi. For the third time, Pakistan’s prime minister was Nawaz Sharif.

The most noteworthy incident of December 2015 in this part of the world where hyphenations conceal complexities of issues - Af-Pak being one - the Indo-Pak saw Narendra Modi of big gestures visiting Nawaz Sharif for his birthday. Bear hugs, wide smiles, clasped-hand walking, attending an event of Sharif’s granddaughter’s wedding, much was said in Pakistan and India about the unexpected visit that had a few precedents in the history of any two countries that at any given day look at the other with more mistrust than a lion facing a spotted hyena.

Sharif and Modi, both focused on development of their countries, seemed to understand the significance of changing the status of blatant hostility, made a huge diplomatic leap, and it seemed to pay off for a while despite being derided as a mere stunt and bombast from naysayers on both sides.

In January 2016, the attack on the Pathankot base happened. Indian soldiers died. Jaish-e-Mohammad was blamed, and it was an eerie déjà vu. Pakistan’s complicity was declared, warmongering and chest-thumping roared in media, and the Christmas bonhomie seemed like a shattered dream. Of a wishful pacifist. In an uncharacteristic move, Pakistan offered full assistance, and even sent a team of investigators to Pathankot.

Not much changed.

The 2016 SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad was cancelled after India “boycotted” the event.

The 100-plus killed, 100s blinded, 1000s injured in J&K in 2016 became the focal point of things turning for worse. Pakistan blamed India for brutality. India blamed Pakistan for inciting chaos in J&K.

2017. Pakistan and India hurling allegations on one another amid soldiers and civilians dying at the LoC have stopped the bilateral dialogue.

While Germany and France, China and Taiwan, the USA and Japan moved forward past wars, issues of ownership and autonomy and nukes, Pakistan and India despite a shared history and borders have stopped talking to one another.

Again.

Last updated: November 02, 2017 | 17:53
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