Generally speaking

Will the good general now oblige? Will Pakistan’s Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf honour his rhythmically reiterated promise to meet the Indian prime minister any time, any place? In announcing its invitation to the military ruler while terminating its six-month-old ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, the government has displayed remarkable dexterity in shuffling peace initiatives. And in doing so, it has immediately reaped twin benefits. One, its occupancy of the moral high ground, which had been under considerable threat in the dying days of its ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, has been extended. More importantly, after months and more of India’s unwavering refusal to break bread with the Pakistani leadership, the chimera of an Indo-Pak summit in New Delhi has reignited hopes of a peaceful turn to proceedings in the subcontinent.

If such a summit is to actually materialise, both countries must eschew the temptation to adopt rigid postures and make participation dependent on long lists of conditionalities. Recent history is replete with evidence of how swiftly proposed negotiations between India and Pakistan — whether they be at the foreign secretary level or higher — can descend into fruitless debates on semantics, into never-ending talks about talks. Islamabad has traditionally demanded Kashmir-specific negotiations, while New Delhi has tended to lobby for a wider framework while seeking to extract a black-and-white assurance that Pakistan would forthwith stop supporting cross-border terrorism. Both countries would squander yet another opportunity to escape from a 54-year-old cycle of mutually deleterious rivalry and suspicion if this sad, sad dance were to be repeated once again. While announcing the new initiative on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh avoided voicing any conditionality. His counterparts on the other side of Radcliffe’s zigzag line would do well to match his flexibility. Viable terms of engagement between the two newly nuclearised nations can only be evolved if both acknowledge the futility of acrimony. Indeed, a few signs of sincerity would be in order — continued restraint along the Line of Control, for instance.

The Pakistani press has been quick to point out the coincidence in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s invitation to Musharraf — it was exactly a decade ago, on May 24, 1991, that a Pakistani ruler last visited India. But in case, and when, Musharraf does journey to his birthplace, questions are bound to be posed on his ability to deliver. For, he boasts of little domestic political support, the jehadi establishment is predictably opposed to peace overtures, and post-Kargil it will be difficult to trust his army to refrain from misadventures in Kashmir. Yet, to carry this line of thought to its logical conclusion and stop pushing for dialogue would amount to immense folly. For now, the red carpet has been pieced together in New Delhi. Musharraf would do himself and his region great disservice if he were to RSVP in anything but the most enthusiastically affirmative.