Window of opportunity?
What Siachen needs is a thaw. Not literally, God forbid, but for the dispute itself.
Generally a waning in hostilities between the two nations are few and far between to begin with. But to find a thaw in a theatre of action where men have lost lives is near impossible. Yet, it has taken no less than an avalanche to find a thaw in Siachen. For the ANP or the PPP to extend an olive branch would have been nothing way out of the ordinary. For the PML(N), the party of the hawkish constituency, to do the same is rarer still, but not unheard of, really, from the architect of the Lahore peace process. But if Nawaz Sharif’s overture sets the peaceniks’ hearts aflutter, the army chief’s statements to the effect have left many positively ecstatic.
So, now there is a thaw. What next? They started it, the hawks within Pakistan would say. If we let that slide and made some concessions, surely the Indians will have to meet us halfway.
That, unfortunately, has been far from the case. On Thursday, India tested a ballistic missile capable of carrying a one-tonne warhead. Shanghai, Beijing, and the like may be the buzzwords the Indians are angling around the test but this was just about the worst “buzzkill” as far as the peace prospects between Pakistan and India.
The Indian hawks would argue that there are scarcely any reasons for backing down if the Pakistanis have faced a crisis. True, but this argument would have had some weight had Gyaari been the only tragedy to be seen in the sector. The elements don’t differentiate between Indian and Pakistani soldiers. The Indians have lost more men to the cold than the Pakistanis.
If circumstances have forced some introspection on the Pakistani side, perhaps the doves on the Indian side could make some noise and rally up support on the front. It could start with civil society types and lead on to the politicians. The BJP might make some noise but in its relatively truncated present form, just how much could that be?
Let us not let this opportunity slip by.
