After the walk

The two neighbours have much to build upon Agra

After Monday’s midnight despair in Agra, Tuesday thankfully brought with it a gale of salvage operations in India and in Pakistan. Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Abdul Sattar have striven to prevent the summit from being consigned to the dustbin of good-intentioned but misplaced attempts at Indo-Pak reconciliation. True, there was no significant breakthrough at Agra, but it must be immediately underlined that there was no breakdown either. At their respective press conferences the two ministers, both masters of diplomacy and the fine art of understated emphasis, have sought to portray the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-Pervez Musharraf blind date as the foundation for significant progress in bilateral understanding. If Sattar has spoken of his president’s determination to extricate the subcontinent from a time warp, Singh has reiterated India’s abiding commitment to realising a relationship of peace, friendship and cooperation. Given the rollercoaster ride since Friday morning, when the spectre of Vajpayee striking a peace deal with the general, till then popularly considered India’s enemy number one, kept appearing nerve-tinglingly distinct, it is hard to recall that just months ago the prospect of the two of them breaking bread would have been waved away as a romantic daydream. Thus, the fact that they have parted to meet again and thrash out afresh their concerns must unequivocally be declared a substantial gain.

Yet, lingering for too long on the personal chemistry between the men who lead India and Pakistan, on the snapshots of Musharraf’s whirlwind tour of Rajghat and the Taj, too would be dangerous. Proceeding beyond the chimera of an agreement at Agra requires realism and a hardnosed assessment of the points of irreconciliation that emerged this weekend. Jaswant Singh has stated that in the end the desired joint declaration did not materialise because Pakistan’s unifocal, Kashmir-centric approach and India’s holistic perspective to bilateral relations could not be reconciled. Besides, the Indian delegation failed to extract an assurance from Pakistan that it would cease support to terrorist activity.

At first glance the meeting point remains as elusive as ever. A Pakistani assurance on ceasing support to cross-border terrorism — never mind Sattar’s amusing aside that since Jammu and Kashmir is divided by a Line of Control, not a border, India’s demand is inexplicable — would clearly reduce Islamabad’s main bargaining counter. India, for its part, cannot even think of discussing Kashmir without highlighting the immense damage being caused in the state on account of Pakistan-sponsored violence. But if the Agra Summit has a lesson, it is this: persistent, patient dialogue can narrow down differences, the expectation of equivalent return could lead to dramatic compromises. It is a lesson evident in the fact that a mutually agreed joint declaration seemed within touching distance more than once that long monsoon Monday. But it is a lesson that will have been disastrously unlearned if India and Pakistan cease efforts at cooperation till the next time their leaders summit.