India, Pakistan Take One Step Forward to Normalize Relations

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 16, 2003

India, Pakistan Take One Step Forward to Normalize Relations

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Indian newly-designated high commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon Tuesday evening arrived in Islamabad, indicating the two arch rivals have restored their ambassadorial diplomatic ties after 19 months.

Menon, who formally relinquished his previous post as the ambassador to China on July 7, traveled by land via the Wagah checkpoint on the Indo-Pak border. Pakistani new high commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan went to New Delhi on June 30 to take up his assignment along the same and only land route linking the two countries.

Indo-Pak diplomatic ties were downgraded from the ambassadoriallevel to the level of charge d'affaires and both sides scaled downtheir diplomatic presence in each other's capital soon after a terrorist attack on the India parliament on Dec. 13, 2001. And their relations deteriorated suddenly with more than one million troops from both sides staying eyeball to eyeball on the border.

New Delhi accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack andrecalled its high commissioner. Islamabad denied the allegation and called back its envoy later.

The exchange of high commissioners came after Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee extended his "hand of friendship" toPakistan. On April 18, Vajpayee made a surprise offer for talks with Islamabad during his visit to the India-held Kashmir.

Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali did not hesitate to wave an olive branch to his Indian counterpart. He went one step further on April 28 to invite Vajpayee to visit Islamabad, ending the nearly 17-month impasse between the two nuclear neighbors.

In the following two months, India and Pakistan interacted hectically. Vajpayee told the Indian parliament on May 2 that India will reestablish full diplomatic ties with Pakistan and restore air links between the two countries.

He promised to try one last time for peace in his lifetime, raising hopes on both sides for a breakthrough. "The third attemptwill be decisive and will be the last in my lifetime," said the 78-year-old Indian leader, who has already held two failed summits with Pakistani leaders in Lahore in 1999 and Agra in 2001.

During his visit to Berlin at the end of May, Vajpayee again expressed his determination, saying he will retire if he fails to make peace with Pakistan over Kashmir.

Reciprocating India's peace gesture, Jamali on May 6 announced seven confidence-building measures including restoration of air and land links, full diplomatic ties, sports linkage and also expressed willingness to start negotiations to observe restraint and safety as far as strategic and nuclear arms are concerned.

The two sides made several concrete follow-ups such as release of prisoners and resumption of the Delhi-Lahore bus service on July 11.

However, the pace to normalize relations is slower than expected. The two sides have been approaching to each other gingerly and they have different "road maps" to normalize their relations and to restart the long-awaited dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir.

They differ with each other on a wide range of issues. India wants to begin with trade ties and air links and insists there will be no talks unless Islamabad puts an end to the alleged "cross-border terrorism", while Pakistan argues the sports linkage should be given the first priority and the outstanding dispute of Kashmir can not be sidelined.

Analysts here said the resumption of full diplomatic ties will no doubt help India and Pakistan to move further for achieving theobjective of normal relations that might pave the way for restarting the dialogue process to settle their disputes, but theyhave a long way to go before they can normalize their comprehensive relations and reach a consensus on the dialogue process itself.

Fahmida Ashraf, a well-known expert of the Islamabad-based Institute of Strategic Studies, said gradual resumption of diplomatic ties can ease the tension between the two countries butcan not necessarily bring about composite and sustained dialogue.

"The steps to resume relations are one thing and the restoration of dialogue is quite another. Vajpayee is not in a position to do anything more than the offer of talks. The priorityof his agenda is to win the elections for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party," said Fahmida, stressing India is not keen to restart a "serious" dialogue before its 2004 general elections.

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