The peace process stalled
Preparations to hand over power to the next generation in India begin at a time when Pak-India relations have touched a new nadir. It was therefore encouraging to find Rahul Gandhi, new Vice-President of the Indian Congress and proposed prime ministerial candidate ahead of next year’s polls speaks sense. Referring to the border incident on the LoC which has understandably inflamed public sentiment on the other side of the border, he told the charged party leaders and activists at the party’s Jaipur caucus that decisions on Pakistan cannot be based on emotion.
The current border incidents started with the killing of a Pakistani soldier in an attack launched by the Indian side. This was followed by an incident where two Indian soldiers were killed, one of them decapitated. This led to a strong reaction from India beginning with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who called it an inhuman act and maintained that relations between the neighbours were “no more business as usual”. The Indian army chief warned of India reserving the right to retaliate “at the time and place of its choosing”. It was not realised at the time that this was in fact a fourth incident of beheading of an Indian soldier and that Pakistan army was never found to be involved in earlier incidents. Soon after there was a wave of jingoism in India, and Pakistan hockey players there for the Indian Hockey League were sent back under public pressure. Demands were made that Pakistani singers should also be forced to go home. The process of easing of visa restrictions and enhancement of trade was put on hold by New Delhi.
Pakistan offered India an inquiry by the UN which was turned down. The BJP which had suggested recourse to the UN was persuaded to withdraw the statement. An offer by Hina Rabbani Khar to resolve the issue at the level of the two foreign ministers met with a cold response. The standoff has somewhat eased after the meeting between the DGMOs from both sides. The peace process moving apace prior to the incidents however remains suspended, which suits neither the Pakistani nor the Indian people. There is a danger of losing whatever gains have been made through bilateral talks between the two sides.
The barbaric incident does not bear the signature of Pakistan army, which is a disciplined force. The Indian establishment has to realise that the provocation might have been carried out by non-state actors, operating from either side of the LoC, averse to the normalisation of relations between the two neighbouring countries. Pakistan too has to earnestly conduct a thorough inquiry to uncover those behind the heinous act. This would produce the right atmospherics needed to move the peace process forward.
