The declaration issued at the end of the sixth Heart of Asia ministerial conference, hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Amritsar, stresses increased cooperation among member countries to play their due role in tackling the common threat of terrorism. Ironically, key speeches during the moot portray an opposing view of the very declaration that calls for joint action against terrorism.
In his opening remarks, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took the opportunity to lash out at Pakistan by snubbing a $500 million pledge from Islamabad, saying the amount could be ‘spent to fight terrorism’. His remarks were aimed at Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, who was representing Pakistan at the moot.
Host Narendra Modi, who has launched a campaign to isolate Pakistan globally after the Uri attack, also took a dig at Islamabad, saying ‘inaction on terror issue would strengthen terrorist activities’. The Indian prime minister also announced plans to connect his country with Afghanistan via an air link.
On his part, Sartaj Aziz called for collaboration among member countries to achieve an ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace’. He also slammed the remarks made by the leadership of India and Afghanistan, calling for an end to ‘blame game’. The adviser also reiterated Pakistan’s desire for a ‘structured dialogue’ with India, provided New Delhi wants the same.
Before the conference, media was rife with speculations on the possibility of a one-on-one meeting between Sartaj and Modi. The cancellation of the November Saarc summit in Islamabad meant that Heart of Asia was the only major forum, as far as 2016 goes, left for Pakistan and India to engage in a dialogue process. But only a smile accompanied by a handshake took place between the two.
Sartaj, however, had two separate meetings with Ashraf Ghani and India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
Stuck in crisis at home; a power struggle between him and Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani has found a nationalist ally in Modi as Kabul drifts away from Pakistan. The growing influence of the Taliban, who now control more territory in Afghanistan since their ouster in 2001, has also created a rift between Ghani and his security aides; some of them see homegrown insurgency as more a greater threat than outside forces.
For Pakistan, however, Heart of Asia wasn’t all about India and Afghanistan pinning Islamabad on terrorism as Russia welcomed Sartaj’s statement. Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, condemned earlier statements by Modi and Ghani, in which the two had criticised Islamabad’s approach towards dealing with terrorism.
It still remains to be seen whether Heart of Asia would lead to a renewed dialogue process between Pakistan and India. Relations are still cold between the nuclear-armed neighbours since the Uri attack. Islamabad’s desire to bring New Delhi to the negotiating table, on Kashmir and other issues, have been marred by terrorism itself.
The very crux of Heart of Asia and other regional and international moots lies in mutual cooperation and dialogue, in this century of advanced weapons that are capable of wiping out the entire human race, is perhaps the only possible solution to all outstanding disputes.
The world is witnessing a shift in diplomatic alliances and Heart of Asia is just a precursor of what’s more in store.