At a virtual meeting held recently by the Kolkata-based Centre for Peace and Progress, peace activists from both sides of the border discussed that normal ties between India and Pakistan would not be possible without resolving the Kashmir issue, and allowing unhindered people-to-people interaction to build trust between the two neighbours.
Former Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, and veteran Congress Party leader and former diplomat of India, Mani Shankar Aiyar, presented a 10-point formula that also included three points on the core issue of Kashmir.
Calling Kashmir an elephant in the room, which has led to four major wars between India and Pakistan, Kasuri said that finding a solution to Kashmir should be the top priority for establishing peace in the region. He said that it was after painstaking efforts, stretched over three years, that a four-point solution was reached at during President Pervez Musharraf’s tenure, where the priority was to resolve the Kashmir dispute. “While ceasefire on the Line of Control can be treated as small mercies, Pakistan continues to be a party to Kashmir and it cannot be simply wished away,” said Kasuri.
Aiyar and many others from India seconded Kasuri, urging both countries to show pragmatism. “Peace can be restored when Kashmiris are happy and India and Pakistan are satisfied; and wishing away Pakistan is not an option,” he said.
Restoring SAARC also remained a key area of concern in the consultation. After the attack on Indian military base in Uri in Kashmir in 2016, India backed out from participating in the SAARC summit to be hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad the same year. “SAARC should be re-conveyed. It represents our common South Asian identity, and by stalling it, we are only hurting ourselves,” added Kusari.
Aiyar went on to suggest that if the Indian delegation does not want to go to Pakistan to attend the SAARC meet, India can participate in virtual mode, the way it has been doing for several other conferences since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The need to liberalise the visa regime between the two countries held prominence at the virtual consultation. The participants agreed that it would help build people-to-people contact.
“Peace can be restored when Kashmiris are happy and India and Pakistan are satisfied; and wishing away Pakistan is not an option,” said Aiyar.
Currently, the visa policy remains largely restricted to religion and family affairs. Visas for journalists have been on hold for many years. Peace activists from time to time have raised the demand for allowing people-to-people contact as a part of Track II diplomacy that can strengthen the relationship between India and Pakistan.
A dialogue between journalists from the two countries to build confidence and positive atmosphere was also discussed. The two countries are not issuing visas to journalists. The panel agreed that engaging journalists from both sides in a constructive dialogue could be a positive step in the right direction.
Alongside Kasuri and Aiyar, other members on the panel, including Kashmir-based politician Muzaffar Shah and Nizamuddin Bhat, endorsed similar sentiments. “We can continue to harp about the past. We cannot continue to have blood all around us. Allowing people-to-people contact will only resolve the differences,” added Shah.
In the 1990s when militancy in Kashmir was at its peak, some 30 lac Kashmiri Muslims migrated to Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. About one lac Kashmiri pandits had to leave the valley and move to India. Both these communities have been waiting for the right to return with dignity.
Peace activist Om Prakash Shah whose organisation Centre for Peace and Progress has been trying to build a harmonious relationship for four decades agreed that peace and confidence cannot be restored overnight. “The need is to hear public opinions and then try and build trust and confidence among the people of both nations,” he added.
Shah hopes to hold a similar dialogue in Karachi or Islamabad in the next few months. “We need to hear and be heard to build a consensus and the visit will be a continuation of the same process,” he added.
Since the annexation of occupied Kashmir by India in August 2019, India has been refusing to accept Pakistan as a stakeholder in the Kashmir dispute — maintaining that Kashmir is India’s internal matter. After the abrogation of article 370 of the constitution of India that granted limited autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, there has been insignificant engagement between the two countries to address the Kashmir issue.
Shah hopes to hold a similar dialogue in Karachi or Islamabad in the next few months. “We need to hear and be heard to build a consensus and the visit will be a continuation of the same process,” he added.
However, the February 2021 ceasefire between the militaries of India and Pakistan eased some tensions. While there appears to be a lull along the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC), there has been no further build-up on this important confidence-building measure away from the borders. It was expected that it would pave the way for the 20th South Asian Association for Regional Conference (SAARC) summit in Islamabad where prime ministers of two countries would meet face-to-face to ease out the strained relations.
Ten-Point Formula To Restore Peace Between India And Pakistan
Khurshid Kasuri and Mani Shankar Aiyar’s formula for the resumption of India-Pakistan peace process:
1- No progress can be made until the atmosphere improves
2- Human rights are a concern to everyone
3- No alternative to peace
4- We must be realistic, neither country is going to disintegrate
5- For Kashmir, three conditions need to be fulfilled
a) Kashmiris must be happy
b) India-Pakistan must be satisfied
c) Pakistan cannot be wished away; it is a party to Kashmir.
6- The ceasefire is holding. The language used in the ceasefire is political and diplomatic, and is therefore likely to represent the views of the two governments. It is a purely military statement. There is a need to build on it
7- SAARC should be revived in virtual mode if Indian leaders don’t want to visit Pakistan
8- The visa regime needs to be liberalised. This is the crux of the matter
9- People-to-people contact is the ultimate CBM to move toward a solution
10- The role of the media is of utmost importance and media persons should be associated with Track II discussions.
