KARACHI, June 18: The need for promoting intra-Kashmiri dialogue for ensuring peace and stability in the region was stressed by an Indian peace activist who also asked both Pakistan and India to learn to live in peace with each other.
The point was made by Tapan Kumar Bose, Secretary General of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Development (PIPFPD), India chapter, during the Meet The Press programme at Karachi Press Club on Friday.
The PIPFPD platform has maintained that finding a peaceful democratic solution to the Kashmir issue, by involving the people living on both sides of the Line of Control, was the only way out.
Fifty-seven years of festering dispute makes it evident that a major reason for this state of affair was keeping Kashmiri people out of the process whereas they had borne the brunt of lack of resolution of the dispute.
Mr Bose regretted that efforts to bring the Kashmiris from across the LoC under one roof for promoting dialogue between them could not materialize because neither of the two governments were yet ready to facilitate that.
Mr Bose, who was co-author of the position paper on Jammu and Kashmir at the 6th Joint Convention of PIPFPD at Karachi in 2003, also touched upon several aspects to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and options, including the partition-based formula; denial of democratic rights by both India and Pakistan to the people living in territories held by them; division of water resources through the Indus Water Treaty-1960 to the detriment of people on both sides; regional disparities, etc.
Mr Bose who, as a peace activist, had made big efforts for promoting peace moves on either side of the divide, explained how the people's movement was slowly making an impact on the attitudes of both the governments despite 'cynical' approach by certain forces in both the countries who brought in Kashmir whenever human rights issues were raised.
Referring to the new phase in the process of normalization, Tapan Kumar Bose was happy to note that both the governments, under pressure from their citizens had realized the need for peaceful co-existence.
He hoped that progress would be made under the new Congress-led Indian leadership, though its pace would be slow. Replying to a question regarding various proposals, including the partition plan, for resolving the Kashmir issue, Mr Bose was not inclined to partition of the territory.
"We have to see that to what extent the partition-based solution is valid because in Kosovo and Bosnia it has created more tensions and warlords," said Mr Bose pointing at the problems being faced by India and Pakistan after the partition of 1947. He happily mentioned that the message, that we have to make peace, had sunk in the minds of the people on both sides.
When asked to rate the chances of progress under the Congress-led government as compared to that in the BJP government, Mr Bose did not agree that the BJP-led coalition was a peace-loving government.
He compared the BJP's peace overtures with the cricket diplomacy of Gen Ziaul Haq during whose tenure many peace initiatives were made despite the fact that he was not a peace-loving figure. Mr Bose was of the view that such parties make peace from a position of strength.
"The BJP government believed that India is the most powerful country and will have peace on its own terms from a position of strength."
He was of the view that there were enough opportunities for the BJP government to make progress on Siachin and other issues. He pointed that an agreement on Siachin had almost been reached between the two countries and details of demilitarization could have been worked out. But, he asked, "why could not the BJP make progress."
Mr Bose said that both the countries were spending huge amounts every day in Siachin "where more people die due to cold weather than clashes. He also referred to the lack of progress on Sir Creek, Tulbul and Baghlihar projects. Mr Bose said that a step forward in resolving the Tulbul and Baghlihar projects could have contributed to easing of tension between the two countries but the BJP government could not do that. He was not convinced that the BJP government was making peace with Pakistan.
The BJP, he said, was turning India into a more militarized state. It had an anti-democratic agenda, he added.
He was confident that more progress would be registered during the Congress-led government, adding: "the whole India-Pakistan relationship has been put in a new context of democratic culture, though it would be a slow process."
Mr Bose regretted that a peace meeting between the people of Pakistan and India, which was held in the Nepalese capital, was disrupted by intelligence agencies of both the countries.
Earlier, KPC President Nizamuddin Siddiqui and Secretary Khurshid Abbasi welcomed the guest. Secretary General of the PIPFPD, Pakistan chapter, Anis Haroon was also present.