ISLAMABAD: Former foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed on Monday disclosed that the Foreign Office (FO) was not involved in drafting of 2004 Islamabad Declaration that led to the initiation of Composite Dialogue with India.

The statement issued on January 6, 2004 after a meeting between the then President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Islamabad had included an assurance by the former (Musharraf) that “he will not permit any territory under Pakistan’s control to be used for terrorism in any manner”.

“Gen Musharraf had in effect given an affidavit that there would be no cross border activity from Pakistani side. This could be implied as an admission that whatsoever happened in the past was Pakistan’s fault,” Mr Ahmed said on the first day of a two-day conference on regional security.

The conference ‘Flashpoint of the South Asian Security – A review of Political and Security Architecture in the sub-continent’ was organised by Strategic Vision Institute, an Islamabad-based think-tank.

Claims Gen Musharraf had given an affidavit that there would be no cross border activity

The former foreign secretary, who had then retired, recalled that on reading the statement he doubted that it was the language of the Foreign Office.

“I asked the then foreign secretary, Riaz Khokhar, if the statement had been drafted by the Foreign Office and he told me that Tariq Aziz, a close aide of Musharraf, had given him that draft,” Mr Ahmed said. He speculated that the statement could have come from Washington.

“This (terrorism accusations) has been a familiar narrative that India has been using against Pakistan since after 9/11, taking advantage of the global anti-terror sentiment and our own rulers’ apologetic postures in the face of India’s sinister campaign,” the former secretary said.

About the current situation, he said: “As it (India) gets a sympathetic ear in the US and elsewhere in the world on the issue of what it alleges Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, India smells blood thinking that now is the time for a kill. In its calculation, the time is ripe for it to pressure Pakistan to an extent where it can surrender on the Kashmir cause.”

India had in August cancelled the foreign secretaries’ dialogue with Pakistan that had been agreed by the prime ministers of both countries. Moreover, the LoC and Working Boundary this year saw some of the worst skirmishes since the 2003 ceasefire accord.

He warned the current government against making peace with India in a hurry. “Peace that they want will not come by compromising on our principled positions.”

The region needs peace through constant engagement and not shady deals, Mr Ahmed said.

The former foreign secretary said that India, moreover, cannot be allowed to jeopardise Pakistan’s vital interests in Afghanistan. He feared an India-Pakistan proxy war in post-2014 Afghanistan that could have perilous security implications for the region and the rest of the world.

“Our friends and allies must recognise that Afghanistan is an area of fundamental strategic importance to Pakistan,” he added.

Former defence secretary retired Lt-Gen Asif Yasin Malik said India was using newer tactics to gain absolute control over Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir including planned repatriation of Hindu pundits, abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to occupied valley and possible trifurcation of the disputed region.

Gen Malik said Pakistan had in the past showed a lot of flexibility for the sake of resolving the dispute, but India, because of its insincerity, rejected every offer and opportunity.

He said India even rejected former president Gen Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula that significantly deviated from the country’s position.

Defense analyst retired Brig Samson Simon Sharaf too contended that signing of the 2004 Declaration for starting the Composite Dialogue weakened Pakistan’s position.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2014