INDO PAK DOCUMENTATION

which the message seems to be specifically addressed, knows enough about what is going on in Kashmir as well as Pakistan to have misgivings about the move not to further extend the ceasefire. If anything, the decision to invite Pakistan`s Chief Executive has rather embarrassing implications for India. It means a total reversal of its stand that there
would be no talks with Pakistan until the latter called off its proxy war against this country waged through cross-border terrorism. The question will now arise as to whether India was sincere in citing the moral principle of not holding talks under duress, to justify its stand. For, the proxy war has not only not ended, its continuance is the main justification for not extending the ceasefire! Also questioned will be this country`s commitment to upholding democracy in the world and opposing dictatorial takeovers. For, its invitation to the General tends not only to legitimise his regime but also the coup of October 12, 1999, that brought it into existence and led to Pakistan`s suspension from the Commonwealth. Other countries of the Commonwealth like Nigeria and Bangladesh, which took a strong stand against Pakistan on the issue, can hardly be blamed for thinking that India`s strident rhetoric on the issue in various Commonwealth fora reflected nothing more that a desire to score a point over a traditional enemy.

The Government, however, has done well to call off its unilateral ceasefire in J&K, which was anyway a non-starter right from the beginning. Far from honouring it, Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, hard-pressed at the time of its promulgation by the security forces following a proactive approach, used it to regroup and consolidate their positions. Simultaneously, they regained the edge they had lost by launching suicide attacks on the security forces and their establishments. With summer opening up the snowbound passes through the higher mountain ranges, and thousands of trained terrorists waiting to cross over, the situation would have become very grave for India had the ceasefire continued. As it is, the security forces have a tough time ahead.

Op Ed, the Pioneer
LET`S START FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
Shobori Ganguli

Ever since Kargil exploded the myth of India-Pakistan bonhomie, emotively showcased in the Lahore bus in February 1999, New Delhi has consistently maintained that Pakistan must create a "conducive atmosphere" for talks to resume, and that "cessation of crossborder terrorism" in Kashmir was a prerequisite for any meaningful dialogue to take place. However, exactly two years since India first articulated its reservations about Pakistan`s support of terrorism in Kashmir and its blatant violation of the Line of Control during the Kargil conflict, the Vajpayee Government decided to spring a diplomatic surprise.

On Wednesday the Government effected a dramatic shift in policy by inviting the much-hated architect of Kargil for talks in New Delhi. This, without Islamabad even once admitting in the
past 24 months that it aids and abets militancy in Kashmir. A standing applause from the international community was audible almost from the moment the Government made its decision public. At home too the announcement found welcome takers across the board. It is another matter that the decision has left some of us wondering whether Pakistan has indeed created the conditional "conducive atmosphere" to merit Mr Vajpayee`s invitation in so sudden a manner; whether indeed it has fulfilled the "cessation of crossborder terrorism" clause; and, most importantly, whether the talks, if and when they take place, will erase 53 long years of betrayal and mutual suspicion.

Admittedly, on the face of it, the Government`s twin decision-to end the ceasefire and begin talks with Pakistan-is a package deal that cannot be faulted on logic. Indeed, the decision is a masterstroke as far as domestic opinion vis-a-vis Pakistan and Kashmir is concerned. This is evident in the fact that the invitation to Gen Pervez Musharraf lies buried in the penultimate paragraph of a seven-para statement that leads prominently with the Government`s decision to call off the six-month-long ceasefire in Kashmir and let its security forces loose on the militants.