Former foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri has urged Pakistan and India to show restraint since both are nuclear powers and equally capable of destabilizing one another. He makes this point in his forthcoming book ‘Neither a hawk, nor a dove’ to be published by the end of January.
Kasuri is of the view that India and Pakistan have no option but to opt for a peaceful solution to not only Jammu and Kashmir, but also all the other issues that plague the two countries. They have no other recourse but to act responsibly since the fate of around 1.5 billion people from the two nations hangs in the balance.
Interestingly, the title of Kasuri’s book ‘Neither a hawk, nor a dove’ is based on the first line written in Musharraf’s book where he has quoted his first meeting with Kasuri, who was the newly appointed foreign minister back then, and asked him pointedly, “Are you a hawk or a dove in India, Kasuri Sahib?”
The book contains the first ever insider account on the backchannel negotiations on Kashmir, and the peace process during the 2000s. The ‘backchannel process’ during Kasuri’s tenure, along with the peace process during the same time, is acknowledged as the most successful the two countries have ever enjoyed. Both Musharraf and Manmohan Singh have gone on record to confirm this. These efforts increased the quantum of trade between the two nations. They also helped usher in a period of cease fire on the LoC which lasted for almost 10 years, which is in great contrast when compared with the current state of hostility.
Kasuri has updated the book to contain information till November 2014 including the advent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the current policies of the new Indian government. He has analysed the situation regarding the latest developments in India and Afghanistan, and has commented on Pak-US relations based on his experience of dealing with these countries as foreign minister.
The book is being published worldwide by the Oxford University Press and by Penguin in India.