The New Delhi round

The India-Pakistan joint statement issued at the conclusion of their foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi is reassuring. True there has been no breakthrough on any issue.

But one was not expected either. On the other hand, the statement confirms that the composite dialogue is being sustained and agreement on some issues can be hoped for in the coming months.

Sensibly, the thrust is towards promoting contacts between the two sides at every level in order to improve the political climate in the region. The emphasis is also on giving priority to addressing the less intractable disputes which can be resolved with a little effort and goodwill.

The cordial atmosphere thus created will facilitate agreements between the two governments on the more complex issues. A positive outcome of the New Delhi meeting is the willingness of the two sides to pursue further their interest in facilitating people-to-people contacts.

Meetings to work out details of setting up the Munabao-Khokhrapar rail link and the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service are to be held soon. It has also been agreed to add another category of tourism visas in the visa regime to promote tourism between India and Pakistan and to facilitate visits to religious shrines.

When implemented, these measures should help the exchange of visitors which, as experience has shown, is important to create goodwill at the popular level. The significance of public opinion in the shaping of foreign policy should not be underestimated.

Another significant point of the agreement relates to confidence-building measures which have been proposed and will be examined. Thus, an accord on the advance notification of missile tests has already been drawn up and, hopefully, will be signed soon.

Given the success of the agreement on the exchange of lists of nuclear sites at the start of the new year, an accord on missile tests should not be difficult to arrive at. In fact, the two governments would do well to concentrate on arms limitation measures which should help halt the arms race in the subcontinent.

As they gain confidence, they can work towards a disarmament regime which is important if South Asia is to have peace and stability as well as economic prosperity.

There are cynics in Pakistan who regard a solution of the Kashmir dispute as the yardstick to measure the success of bilateral negotiations between New Delhi and Islamabad. This is not a wise approach. To link the entire gamut of India-Pakistan relations to their dispute on Kashmir as has been done in the past several years leads only to frustration and deadlock.

Patience, perseverance and flexibility should be the keynotes to any dialogue on Kashmir. The first step has already been taken. India has agreed to discuss the issue, which indicates a major shift from its previous stance.

Now the two sides have agreed to work out an arrangement on the "disengagement and redeployment" of their troops in Siachen. If this happens, it could set the pattern for the approach to be taken on Kashmir.

With many more meetings in the offing - including the one between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly - one can hope that the dialogue will move on. The two sides should try not to upset the apple cart by resorting to nit picking and polemic on the contentious issues.

Russian unilateralism?

Moscow's announcement that it would take pre-emptive action against terrorists anywhere in the world comes in the wake of the carnage at Belsan. Women and children were among the hostages treated cruelly and murdered, with the final death toll reaching 400.

For that reason, Russia's anger is understandable. The whole world has condemned the crime and extended its sympathies to the victims' families and the Russian government. However, Moscow's handling of the crisis has been questioned world wide, especially by the European Union.

Against this background, the Russian army chief's statement that his forces could launch pre-emptive strikes against terrorists anywhere in the world must be viewed with concern.

Already, the unilateralist policy of the Bush administration in pursuit of its doctrine of pre-emption has proved counterproductive. As Iraq shows, it is a dangerous principle and can be misused for purposes other than the elimination of terror.

All governments are agreed on co-operating with each other to root out terrorism. In this, there is no difference between Muslim and non-Muslim governments. The greater the co-operation among world governments, the better will be the chances for achieving the common objective.

Russia would help eradicate terrorism in the world and in its own region if it coordinates its activity with that of the rest of the world rather than issue threats that would cause unease in the Central Asian Republics and the region generally.

At the same time, it must try to improve its human rights record in the Caucasus. Chechnya has been bleeding now for more than a decade, but Moscow has done nothing to meet the Chechen people's demand for self-determination. There have been no genuine elections in Chechnya, and the brutal treatment of the Chechen people has had a negative effect on the Muslim world.

This has served to strengthen anti-Russian feelings in the region. If Moscow is serious about pacifying Chechnya and helping the world community's fight against terrorism, it should know that unilateralism has little chance of success.

Charged parking anomalies

The Karachi city government has done the right thing by deciding to suspend charge parking until the issue has been reviewed by a committee and either a new parking system has been formulated or changes and improvements have been suggested in the existing one.

The suspension has come after the city council passed a resolution demanding an end to charged parking on the grounds that it was being misused to fleece the public. It is a positive development in that it shows that for a change the Karachi city council has chosen to speak out and make itself heard on an issue of widespread public interest.

Badly-run charged parking schemes have drawn criticism in other cities as well, notably Lahore, and local governments would do well to take into account public complaints.

Whenever a new parking plan is put in place, the Karachi city government should remember that nowhere in the world are motorists required to pay for parking for a period stretching from eight in the morning to midnight as well as on Sundays and public holidays.

Also, a uniform rate of Rs 10 for parking anywhere in the city is unfair and unrealistic. The rate should vary depending on traffic congestion. Residents of flats in some areas had in the past filed lawsuits against the city government saying that in the absence of any parking lots within their building premises, charging them for parking was an infringement of their legal rights.

A uniform rate for the whole city makes little sense given that the idea of charged parking is to regulate traffic flow and to charge motorists for precious parking space.

The city government should examine the possibility of having various slabs depending on the conditions in a particular area. Many shopping centres have parking lots which are not used for that purpose and the authorities should persuade their owners to open them for public use.