India offers 12 steps to normalize relations Delhi says ‘infiltration’ obstacle to talks
NEW DELHI, Oct 22: India sought on Wednesday to retake the initiative to normalize relations with Pakistan, offering a raft of measures ranging from full sporting ties to increased transport and maritime links.
The proposals, unveiled by Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha after a cabinet meeting here, included a ferry service from Bombay to Karachi and a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.
India also offered to operate another bus from Rajasthan to a town in Sindh and establish “visa camps” to facilitate travel between the two nations. It also offered to talk with Kashmiri militants for the first time.
However, Mr Sinha maintained India’s insistence that Pakistan should stop alleged infiltrations into occupied Kashmir, and said dialogue was not possible with Islamabad unless evidence was seen on the ground that “cross-border terrorism” was being brought to an end.
“This is the normalization process, which is to go back to a position where the relationship first becomes normal. In a broad sense ‘Go back to the position that was there before the attack on parliament on December 13,’” he said.
Mr Sinha said India hoped its moves would persuade Pakistan to “give up the path of confrontation, the path of violence, the path of cross-border terrorism and come to the negotiating table”.
“These offers are not from a position of weakness,” Mr Sinha said, unveiling the 12 measures at a crowded news conference here.
India could further increase its diplomatic presence in Islamabad if Pakistan accepted the offers, Mr Sinha said, adding Delhi also proposed a second round of talks on air links fractured by months of war tensions last year.
“India is very serious about its peace process with Pakistan... The offer made by the prime minister is a very sincere and serious offer of friendship with Pakistan and that we will work overtime to make this initiative succeed,” Mr Sinha said.
India offered free treatment to a second batch of 20 Pakistani children, full sporting links including cricketing ties that snapped in 1999, flag meets between coast guards and an amnesty to fishermen astray in each other’s waters.
New Delhi said Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani would talk with Kashmiri leaders for the first time since an uprising against Indian occupation began in 1989 in a renewed effort to end years of fighting in the occupied valley.
However, it set no date for talks between Mr Advani and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Hurriyat Chairman Maulvi Abbas Ansari, who has favoured talks with New Delhi, said the organization’s executive council would meet soon to discuss the offer.
“We will see what the offer is. The executive council will sit and decide accordingly,” he told Reuters. But a breakaway Hurriyat faction said talks were meaningless unless they included Pakistan.
PROPOSALS: Here are the 12 proposals announced on Wednesday by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha to normalize relations with Pakistan.
1. Resume talks to restore civil aviation links, including overflight rights.
2. Discuss a resumption of rail links, following aviation talks.
3. Resume bilateral sporting encounters, including cricket.
4. Issue visas in cities outside the two countries’ national capitals, to shorten travel.
5. Permit individuals aged at least 65 to cross into India by foot. Previously only groups could walk across, while individuals had to be on a bus.
6. Run more buses on the New Delhi to Lahore route that now operates.
7. Establish links between the two countries’ coast guards, before and after fishing season.
8. Have India and Pakistan stop arresting each other’s fishermen within certain sea areas.
9. Provide free medical treatment to 20 Pakistani children.
10. Have India and Pakistan increase the staff of each nation’s embassy.
11. Consider ferry service between Bombay and Karachi.
12. Start new bus services, one between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. The other would be a bus or rail link between Khokrapar in Sindh and Munaba in India’s Rajasthan state. —Reuters/ AFP
