Sunday, May 11, 2003
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
``It is easy to harp on the stated positions. But my earnest appeal to all concerned is to refrain from making such statements. It is incumbent upon all of us not to do things which would queer the pitch for hardliners to take advantage of the situation and derail the nascent peace process,'' the Minister told The Hindu. Mr. Kasuri did not refer to any particular statement but appeared to have in mind the comments made by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in the course of his reply to a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. When asked to sum up the state of Indo-Pak. relations after the announcement of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) on both sides and the visit of the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, the Minister said, "let me borrow a phrase from Mr. Armitage and say cautiously optimistic.'' The Minister said Pakistan was eager to resume the dialogue process at the earliest. "Hesitantly I join issue with Mr. Vajpayee on the question of preparation for talks. My reaction is you could prepare at one mile or 90 miles per hour. Any way we are prepared either for slow or fast track approach.'' Mr. Kasuri said Pakistan was processing the agreement of Shiv Shankar Menon as India's new envoy to Islamabad. "We won't sit on it,'' he remarked. (As soon as the talk was over the news reached the Indian mission that Islamabad had conveyed its approval). The Minister said Pakistan was in the process of finalising its own nominee as its chief diplomat in New Delhi. Mr. Kasuri did concede that there was an element of ambiguity on the grant of over-flight facilities but maintained that it was a matter to be decided at the level of technical experts. "I am sure experts from both sides would meet soon and sort out the issue.'' Mr. Kasuri was not very forthcoming on the nature of discussions between Pakistan and Mr. Armitage. He said the talks were "cordial and warm." Asked about the statement made by Mr. Armitage on cross-border infiltration and militant camps, Mr. Kasuri said, "we told him there is neither infiltration nor militant camps.'' The Minister appeared clearly unhappy over the reaction of the spokesman of the External Affairs Minister to the CBMs announced by the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. "We were very unhappy when the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi tried to pick holes with what has been announced without considering how much greater was the sheer quantum of our package compared to that of India.'' He said Mr. Jamali had announced some "important" measures to restore air, rail and road links with India in addition to offering trade concessions under SAARC and the release of Indian prisoners. "It is easy to find fault with everything you do. Pakistan could have said India announced only two CBMs. On the contrary we welcomed them. We could have repeated the known position on Kashmir like some of the Indian leaders have done. But we did not even object." Mr. Kasuri said the U. S., as a friend of India and Pakistan, was genuinely interested in solving the disputes between two countries. "We should not be apprehensive about the interest shown by America to solve India-Pakistan problems. Sometimes parties take intractable positions, need friends to help facilitate."
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