HOW strange! Advani somersaulted on Kashmir. The PM somersaulted on Ayodhya. Advaniappeased Musharraf. The PM appeased the rss. A Kashmir settlement would avert the threatof nuclear war. A saffron India would perpetuate Indo-Pak hostility. Both developmentswould suit China. rss and Musharraf despise each other. Both befriend China.
Earlier, Musharraf desperately sought talks with India. He was becoming isolatedinternationally and unpopular domestically. But our government would talk with Pakistanonly if Islamabad ended cross-border terrorism. Slowly but surely the strategy worked.Pakistan weakened internationally. India gained internationally.
But Musharraf remained a prisoner of extremist groups. He continued to projectPakistan-backed Afghan mercenaries as Kashmiri freedom-fighters. He continued to depend onChina for military hardware against India. Then, without apparent reason, Indiachanged its winning strategy.
After the Ramzan ceasefire, the terrorists continue to kill innocents in Kashmir.Despite that Advani said: The ceasefire is not only addressed to militants but also toPakistan.
Pakistan foreign minister Abdus Sattar generously reciprocated: Pakistan will exercisemaximum restraint on the LoC. The snows will ensure Pakistan's restraint anyway!Musharrafdeclared: If India maintains the ceasefire, we can talk after Ramzan.
The roles are now reversed. India is on probation. Pakistan will consider whether ornot to talk with us. So, what will our overnment's initiative achieve? It willlegitimise Musharraf while he remains firm on Pakistani support to terrorists.
The timing of the Indian initiative is puzzling.
UN sanctions against the Taliban are imminent. Action against the Taliban is beingcontemplated by America, Russia, the Central Asian republics and India. If the Talibanis contained, terrorism in Kashmir will be crippled.Secondly, a new US administration isset to assume office.
A Japanese government official bluntly told cnn that Japan favoured Bush because theClinton administration was wooing China at the expense of Japan. No such thought seems tohave crossed the mind of our government.
Influenced by the Clinton-Albright administration, will India consolidate a pro-ChinaMusharraf before Bushtakes over?
In the Outlook of September 27, 1999, this column suggested: Having failed inKargil, China will now try settling with India on its own terms before Delhi can befriendPakistan. That would make it the Big Brother friendly to the two mutually hostileneighbours.
Is this happening?
I don't really have a choice,
I listen to my master's voice,
Why I stop, why I go,
I don't really ever know!
