Sharif strives for Indo-Pak talks—and trade—to save the economy
HE is the lone ranger who carries on his "Indian mission" in the face of wild ups and downs in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad. Paying no heed to the criticism from every conceivable quarter, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has continued looking across the border, losing no opportunity to remind his neighbour to bring the secretary-level talks back on to the diplomatic track.
If there were any doubts that the new government in New Delhi would not attach importance to a practical working relationship with Islamabad, then the hawks were disappointed. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's overtures towards Pakistan before he could take other major policy initiatives did not go unnoticed in Islamabad.
"It is in the fitness of things that Sharif has renewed to Vajpayee Pakistan's offer to engage in a purposeful dialogue. It is never too early to reaffirm a desire for settlement. In the ultimate analysis, security is inseparable from socio-economic development and a successful positioning of our countries in the global marketplace. This truism can provide the cornerstone of a durable edifice of peace," says former foreign secretary Tanvir Ahmad Khan.
This more than anything else explains Sharif's continuous efforts to restart the talks. Says a close Sharif aide, privy to several meetings the prime minister held with senior American politicians: "There have been external economic and political pressures on the Muslim League government since the time they came to power. This external agenda was spelt out to Sharif even before he could take his oath of office. But it is not something that has not appealed to him. In fact in his own stubborn manner... he is ensuring that it reaches its logical conclusion."
That Sharif is obdurate can be proved on other fronts—the Lahore-Islamabad motorway is one example of his stubborn ways. In the face of extreme opposition from former president Farooq Leghari, Sharif blithely went ahead with spending billions on the non-viable project while the country was close to an economic collapse.
In fact, Sharif's obsession with Indo-Pakistan talks even scared the military establishment last year when the chief of army staff, Gen Jehangir Karamat, had to make a public statement cautioning the prime minister to first find a solution to the Kashmir problem before going ahead with the talks. But even this has not dampened Sharif's spirits.
Clearly at the time when Leghari dismissed Benazir Bhutto's government, an economic crisis—defaulting on loans etc—was only a heartbeat away. Leghari recently admitted to Outlook: "If this reason had been included in the dismissal order it would have had grave repercussions for Pakistan. Today we have only postponed the default which is not too far away." Sharif realises this. If he has to survive it has to be through an economic miracle and none looms more attractively on the horizon than boosting trade in the region, opening up of markets and easing pressures on continuous military build-up.
The Americans have also made no secret of their agenda for south Asia, where they are looking at these two adversaries to find a solution to the Kashmir issue, often described as the 'flashpoint' in the region in which there looms a continuous threat of the use of nuclear weapons as Americans see it. The American administration has conveyed its concerns to the leaderships of the two countries and in Islamabad at least, efforts are being made to show America that Pakistan has left no stone unturned to move ahead on the issue. "The trader community in Pakistan has also made it plain to Sharif that they are benefiting from cross-border trade, and the continuous trade delegations from both sides are a proof that this process cannot be reversed. Sharif's son Hassan was in India recently looking into business deals. Of course, voices are being raised that this trade will put Kashmir on the backburner but we have waited for too long," says an influential trader who lent financial support to the Muslim League during the elections.
These sentiments are also reflected by an Indian businessman in Islamabad who told Outlook: "The politicians have tried for 50 years and achieved nothing. Now it is our turn and you will soon see the difference." Pakistan by all accounts is keen to resume the talks. A sentiment echoed by minister of state for foreign affairs Siddique Kanju: "We are waiting for things to settle down in New Delhi before we look into future talks. At the moment all the correct noises have been made but will these translate into a meaningful dialogue"?