ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: The military establishments in India and Pakistan have to reconcile themselves with the changing realities of the new global order
in which external influences would force the governments to have peaceful bilateral relations or else face the consequences of a failed state.
Speaking at a seminar organized by the Liberal Forum Pakistan here on Monday, politicians, retired generals, academicians and media professionals debated whether the current peace overtures between the two countries would lead to a breakthrough or else they break down as had happened so many times in the 56-year-long history of hostilities, wars and low intensity conflict in the region.
Speaking in the context of the foreign secretary- level talks between the two countries, President Pakistan chapter of the South Asia Free Media Association (Safma) said the hegemonic designs of India and our chauvinistic establishment thwarted peace process in the past.
Talking on "Artificial bubble or peace process forerunner," the Safma President said both parties were forced by external factors through a carrot and stick policy to sit on the negotiating table and sort out their differences.
He detailed a number of factors which led to economic bailouts and reversal of policies initiated under demand from the masters of the new global order shaping the world after the 9/11 events.
He said the US was interested in the peace process for a number of reasons, including the nuclearization of the subcontinent.
Explaining how the timing of explosion of the nuclear imbroglio in Pakistan was timed, he said had it been done earlier than January 6, the peace talks between Musharraf and Vajpayee would have been derailed.
The Indians at the same time were given the carrot of strategic partnership with the US, he said, adding that both the countries were under pressure to give up their previously held antagonistic positions.
Earlier, dilating on the reasons for holding the seminar, Hafsa Zafar said peace was not about mere holding of media savvy summits but about open cultural, economic, political and intellectual borders. Only when all the borders are opened, Ms Hafsa said, people could stand up and say that peace has prevailed in the subcontinent.
President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Zubair Malik said the two economies had not been given a chance to develop by the vested interests. He said with the WTO coming into force in 2005, no clause of the South Asia Free Trade Area (Safta) agreement could be in conflict with it. He said we had to learn to live with competition.
Speaking about the impact of Safta and Sapta on Pakistan's economy, Senator Ilyas Bilour said, "We industrialists are not worried about the free flow of goods."
He said the war mongers and the vested interests had stopped the dividends of peace from reaching the people. Currently, he said, the unofficial flow of goods from India through various third channels and smuggling amounted to $2 billion per annum.
Expressing the desire for the military rulers to go back to the barracks, Senator Bilour said it was encouraging that the incumbent ruler had recognized the need to resolve all issues between India and Pakistan.
Talking about the cost of conflict, political analyst Zafarullah Khan said the implicit and explicit costs of the conflict between India and Pakistan ran into billions of rupees annually. He said diplomatic, military, psychological, economic, propaganda, blockade and political costs could be minimised if peace prevailed in the region.
Called to speak on the peace process from the defence establishment point of view, Lt-Gen Talat Masood (retired) started off by saying that he did not represent the establishment.
He said the gap of perception between the street and the establishment was widening, especially in this part of the world where the transition to democratic setup was in the process. He said things were changing in the current scenario because of certain external pressures and domestic compulsions.
The retired general said Kargil was a strategic blunder though it could be said in the hindsight that it brought forth the importance of the resolution of Kashmir dispute.
He said fortunately or unfortunately the country had been run by the military but when out of the government, the army looked at the issues through a military prism while in power looked at the same issues through national prism. Others who spoke on the occasion included senators Raza Rabbani, Shehzad Waseem, MMA MNA Dr Attaur Rehman and Gulmina Bilal.
