No real headway
While several milestones have to be crossed to make Pak-India relations cordial, the two countries are stuck up on the very first one. The 40 minute talks between Zardari and Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit in Tehran did not move farther from the routine expressions of goodwill. Failure to bring to justice those in Pakistan who have been accused of masterminding, financing and executing the Mumbai terror attacks remains the sticking point.
The year 2012 has been characterized by rising hopes of improved ties between the two countries. In Pakistan, all major political parties supported the moves made in the direction. Pakistan agreed to give India the MFN status while India allowed Pakistanis to invest in the country. President Zardari’s meeting with Prime Minister Singh during a one day visit to Ajmer Sharif helped to accelerate the process and talks were held between the foreign, interior and defence secretaries of the two countries. While the parleys enhanced expectations, the progress on substantive issues remained either stalled or was marginal.
India continued to insist on bringing the Mumbai terror attacks suspects to book. The case against seven suspects arrested in Pakistan who are currently under trial however remains undecided in an Anti-Terrorism Court on account of lack of sufficient evidence. Pakistani investigation agencies are notorious for leaving loopholes while preparing cases against terrorists leading to frequent complaints, among others from the army, of letting the killers get away scot-free. Whatever evidence was produced before the ATC was challenged by the defense lawyers. Finally, in March this year, a commission comprising defense lawyers, prosecutors and a court official was sent to India to gather further evidence by interviewing the police officer who led the investigation in Mumbai and two doctors who conducted the autopsies of the terrorists and victims. The report was rejected by the ATC judge on the ground that the defense lawyers were not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses.
The issue of an expeditious conclusion of the trial of those involved in Mumbai attacks was taken up during the talks between President Zardari and PM Singh. Singh told Zardari that this would be a major confidence-building measure in bilateral relations. According to a report India is likely to allow the Pakistani judicial commission to cross-examine the three witnesses in India. Full cooperation between the two countries alone can put life into the peace process which is otherwise likely to lose steam.