Two events held in the last week both talked about the measures that India and Pakistan could take to bring meaningful peace to the region. The first event was a two-day workshop organised by STR (Strategic Technology Resources), a think-tank run by Dr Shireen Mazari. The workshop explored the possibilities, for the first time, of taking new security routes to cooperation which could act as stalemate breakers and as substantive SCBMs. Speakers from India and Pakistan felt that there should be no barrier to cooperation in the field of civil nuclear technology, with both countries sharing joint control of the relevant technology as both India and Pakistan are energy deficient States and could benefit from joint nuclear power generation. The cooperation in the civil nuclear power generation will eventually move to some agreement on nuclear restraint for a number of reasons - both military stability and economic viability. Dr Mazari felt that the dialogue process between the two countries will get an immense impetus and boost through adopting the security route to collaboration which, in turn, will lead to the real peace that is in the interest of the people of South Asia. Much more so than just people-to-people contacts that flounder at the first setback that happens.
The second event was a Policy Discussion Seminar titled India and Pakistan - Retrospect and Prospect organised by Jinnah Institute. Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, an Indian diplomat turned politician, was the keynote speaker. Mr Aiyar has also coined the phrase that is now frequently used “India and Pakistan peace process must be uninterruptible and uninterrupted.” As I listened to his analysis of our relationship for the past 60 years and the potential and fruits of moving together in peace and collaboration, I felt the passion that he feels for the subject and the power of his arguments. Our region with its resources and potential was always considered a soney ki chirya by the world centuries ago, he said, and can be perceived so again if only we pulled in the same direction.
“Pakistan is a modern nation State now under serious threat from armed religious fanatics, but is not about to succumb as a society or State to elements who, even in a moderate garb, have rarely managed to win more than a tiny handful of seats in any election. Any strategy that is built on the presumption that Pakistan cannot survive is misconceived, misplaced and dangerously misleading,” said Aiyar. He regretted the widely held view in Indian circles that Pakistan was a failed or failing State and said such views need to be countered and engagement with Pakistan should be on the basis that the country will last and is not “on its last legs” as it were. In Mr Aiyar’s opinion the prospects for a positive outcome for the peace process have never been as bright as they are today. The mindsets and narratives of hate have to be countered as what used to be communal animosity has now become national hostility. In his view, India needed consistent peace with Pakistan for its own compulsions too which were hindered by the world perception of India being at loggerheads with a neighbouring country all the time. He also spoke about the IPI gas pipeline project and how essential it was for the region.
Aiyar went on to talk about an uninterruptable dialogue that needed to be held along the following lines. The venue could be the Wagah border where each side could technically remain on its own soil for the talks. The timing had to be fixed, fortnightly or monthly or whatever convenient and the talks must never be abandoned. A senior ministerial level person should head the talks on both sides with advisors for different subjects. If ever this were to happen, India would not have to think twice about who to appoint the leader from its side, as it could not be better represented than Mr Aiyar
Mr Aiyar was eloquent, persuasive and charming, and as the Executive Director of Jinnah Institute summed it up, “What do you do with a person like Mani Shankar, except to convert to his way of thinking.”
Postscript: The Supreme Court (SC) has stood its ground and if the government thought Aitzaz was the answer to its contentions with it, it miscalculated. Aitzaz has, probably, advised the PM well on presenting himself and refraining from histrionics, but the fact remains that the honourable judges did not buy any of the reasoning presented by the PM’s lawyer. Particularly interesting was the reply of a judge when he said, “hamay sharminda honey dain”, in reply to the argument that writing of the letter may embarrass the SC as the Swiss authorities might not oblige.
The only feel good in this episode is that we are inching towards the goal of respecting and protecting democratic processes. It may well take a while for ironing out the difficulties completely, but we will get there as that is a decision taken and we are placed on that road. It is the dreamer in all of us, on both sides of the border, who must continue to dream. Even if today, the ideas of democracy, peace and collective progress are aborted by those who are not interested, they will succeed in the ultimate eventuality as that is our destination - a region that is the soney ki chirya!
    The writer is a public relations and event management professional based in Islamabad.
    Email: tallatazim@yahoo.com