ISLAMABAD: PML president Shujaat Hussain’s recently-concluded visit to India had many dimensions. It was historic as an interaction between the leaders of the ruling parties in Pakistan and India.

From the political standpoint, it was significant as it initiated a process of party-to-party contacts that generated tremendous goodwill. It turned out to be equally important from the diplomatic perspective as it set a positive tone for President Pervez Musharraf’s forthcoming visit to India that has already been slotted as a fairly high-profile trip. More importantly it contributed to the peace process and confidence-building between the two countries.

It was refreshing in the sense that the PML president was leading a large delegation of party parliamentarians minus cabinet members. Chaudhry Shujaat did not act as a spokesman for the government nor did he indulge in the diplomatic jargon that typically echoes the ‘officially certified truth’. He was candid in his interaction with all Indian leaders in government and the opposition as well as Indian intellectuals and opinion leaders. An astute but down-to-earth politician, he conveyed to his hosts messages in both direct and subtle ways, reflecting what could pleasantly be described as his rustic wisdom. His wit and loaded one-liners to sum up issues, often laced with classic Punjabi phrases, amused the Indians no end. They were charmed, but at times left a little confused.

PML secretary-general Senator Mushahid Hussain was the most vocal and articulate member of the delegation. He was always found by Chaudhry Shujaat’s side as was his old friend Senator Dilawar Abbas. Other parliamentarians who remained in the forefront and made important interventions at the meetings included Senator Wasim Sajjad, S.M. Zafar, Ms Fizza Junejo, Begum Zeb Gauhar Ayub, Roshan Khurshid Barucha, Kashmala Tariq and Nisar Menon, who apparently had his name included in the PML delegation on the eve of its departure to Delhi.

Chaudhry Shujaat’s message throughout the trip was that both sides needed to move ahead and shed the baggage of the past. Bold and unpopular decisions were required to find solutions to longstanding disputes. The Baglihar dam issue was raised at almost all meetings, but the Indian side remained evasive. The need to untie the Kashmir knot was emphasized to ensure durable peace in the region, with the message that total normalization of bilateral relations was not possible without it.

After the delegation-level meeting with Dr Manmohan Singh had concluded and everyone had got up to leave, Chaudhry Shujaat approached the Indian prime minister and said: “Sardarji, zara meri ik gal suno” (I’ve something to say to you).” It is believed that the ensuing five-minute private exchange between the two leaders had something to do with the Baglihar dam dispute.

Chaudhry Shujaat’s meeting with Congress party president Sonia Gandhi turned out to be the best. The meeting, which had not been confirmed by the Indian ministry of external affairs till a day after the delegation’s arrival in New Delhi, was made possible through the personal intervention of Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Shukla. The journalist-turned-politician who formerly worked with Zee TV is a close friend of the Gandhi family and also vice-president of India’s cricket board.

The Shujaat-Sonia Gandhi meeting was marked by warmth and reminiscences. There was spontaneous praise for the Italian-born widow of Rajiv Gandhi from the PML delegates, specially the women parliamentarians who had a long photo-session with her. She freely answered questions about her political life. She said she had no choice but to join politics after Rajiv Gandhi’s death and with the rise of the kind of politics that her husband and mother-in-law Mrs Indira Gandhi had vehemently opposed. “Life has many surprises in store for you and at times you just have to adjust to new circumstances,” she observed.

However, Ms Sonia Gandhi was elusive on the key question of why she opted for the party leadership instead of the premiership. “You have to wait for my book in which I will explain the reasons for not becoming prime minister myself,” she responded with a smile.

Former prime minister Junejo’s daughter MNA Fizza Junejo recalled how her father had once received a phone call from Rajiv Gandhi, the then Indian prime minister, in the late hours of the night, telling him that his coastguards had informed him that a major hurricane was headed towards the Karachi coast.

An interesting discovery at opposition leader L.K. Advani’s meeting was that he, former prime ministers Z.A. Bhutto and Junejo and president Musharraf all had one thing in common. They all went to St Patrick’s School in Karachi. Mr Advani, who spent the first 20 years of his life in Karachi, said he was looking forward to re-visiting his birthplace with his family in June.

Chaudhry Shujaat played the master stroke when he told Mr Advani that he would like him to inaugurate a temple being restored in the Lahore Fort when he visits Pakistan in June. The invite took Mr Advani, like most PML delegates, by total surprise. A visibly abashed Mr Advani gave his consent. The Lahore-based icon of art and culture, Yusaf Salahuddin, who was also present on the occasion, gave Mr Advani a quick run-down on the Lao temple, named after Ram’s son, and one that Lahore has been named after. References were made to “fundamentals” and “roots” as well as to hawks and doves, but all in a light vein.

At the meeting with Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the former Indian premier, a man of few words, said little and listened more. After receiving a round of praise from the PML president and members of his delegation for initiating the peace process with Pakistan, he indicated that one step still remained, but did not specify the step. There were moments of awkward silence throughout the 30-minute meeting that were broken by Mr Mushahid Hussain and Vajpayee’s aide, Mr Jaswant Singh, who emphasized that while the peace process should continue to move ahead, it must not be hurried.

Breaking away from his pensive spell, Mr Vajpayee declared that in India there were no two opinions as far as friendship with Pakistan was concerned. Responding to a statement by Chaudhry Shujaat that CBMs should move in tandem with progress on other key issues, including Kashmir, he said: “Yes, even if one car breaks down on this long journey to peace, one should leave it and move on.” The shrewd politician that Chaudhry Shujaat is he realized what the BJP leader was hinting at and quickly came back to the point and underlined that it was also important that the car was fixed.

Mr Vajpayee conceded that his party’s “over-confidence” was responsible for the BJP’s unexpected defeat in last year’s elections. “We thought nobody could beat us,” he said smilingly. However, Mr Jaswant Singh tried to downplay this, saying that the BJP lost by only a narrow margin.

Mr Vajpayee’s large video collection, including the old classic ‘My Fair Lady’, did not go unnoticed. The PML parliamentary delegation was struck by the grand official residence, protocol and security cover accorded to Mr Vajpayee as the country’s former prime minister — a sharp contrast to the fate of former prime ministers in Pakistan who have either been put behind bars, assassinated or forced into exile.

When this correspondent asked Mr Vajpayee after the meeting if he had any message of hope for the people of Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, he just smiled and said: “Kuch karna parey ga.”

The lunch hosted by Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh at the palatial Hyderabad House brought together many old-timers. At one point when Mr Natwar Singh asked Chaudhry Shujaat about his plans for lunch the following day, a diehard Congress Kashmiri leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was standing next to him cheekily remarked: “Sir, since we are not about to give them Kashmir, let us treat them to Kashmiri cuisine tomorrow.” Realizing that it was in bad taste, Mr Natwar Singh pretended as if he had not registered the comment. Chaudhry Shujaat, who did not seem amused a bit, also completely ignored the remark and looked the other way.

Union Railways Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav hosted a lavish lunch for the PML president on the day of his departure. Both Mr Yadav and former Indian prime minister I.K. Gujral, who was also present on the occasion, declared that the PML parliamentary visit had been very positive and that it would go a long way in warming up relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. There is no going back from the path of peace ad there is light at the end of the tunnel was the underlying message — a sentiment shared across the board.