Sharif’s needs strong hand to ensure peace remains the agenda with India
On May 28, the day when Pakistan went nuclear in 1998, Pakistan and India have taken a step forward in diplomacy. With premier-in-waiting Nawaz Sharif already outlining his agenda of furthering “diplomatic relations with India,” observers on both sides of the borders were waiting for concrete steps. One of Sharif’s key wishes, in lieu of his promise to restore the Vajpaye era diplomacy, was to invite the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to his oath-taking ceremony. What was awaited was a formal invitation to be delivered to through an Indian diplomat. And so came Special Envoy to the Indian Prime Minister Satinder K. Lambah to meet Nawaz and chalk out some of the details of how the two traditional rivals are to move in a new direction.
With the PML-N chief and the Indian envoy discussing how to promote peace, friendship and cooperation between the two South Asian neighbours, there is a need for concrete steps to reduce tensions and promote a new air of friendship. Some of the agreements of under the previous PPP-government need to be met; including the relaxing of the visa regime and implementation of MFN status, but also more concretely, an agreement is needed to resolve border disputes. The fact that only recently officials from the Indian nuclear watchdog declared a dangerous nuclear doctrine also means confidence is needed that neither country will make the other a target of its nuclear arsenal.
People-to-people relations, expanding trade, doing away with non-tariff barriers are the critical steps required from both neighbours. On the Indian side, there is a need for openness to debate a number of disputes; including flexibility on issues such as the Siachin Glacier and Sir Creek. While an immediate breakthrough is not likely in these long-standing disputes, there is a need to develop goodwill, and there is no better way than following up talks with concrete measures. While one hopes that the Indian premier Manmohan Singh will grace the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it is hoped that both premiers shall get to work once the PML-N chief has his cabinet and foreign affairs team in place. After the Kargil fiasco, Nawaz Sharif is the first to be aware of the risks attacked with letting the security establishment run away with foreign affairs. The consequences are not pretty. And Sharif will have to assert a strong hand to ensure that his agenda of peace between the two neighbours is not thwarted by any adventurism of by either military or militant actors from inside Pakistan. This new round of diplomacy is an opportunity to resolve disputes and end enmities once and for all. It is hoped that the Indian side feels the same way and shall shake the hand of friendship Sharif has extended.
