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By
Sagittarius |
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In a command
performance laced with humility, eloquence, fair play and
a firm resolve to seek peace with dignity, President Parvez
Musharraf forced Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
to rise and shake hands with him, a move that many believe
could help deter the two countries from their untenable logic
of war. Gen Musharraf's speech at the opening session of the
11th SAARC summit in Katmandu came three speakers ahead of
Vajpayee, which gave the Indian leader time to absorb its
sudden and urgent appeal as also occasion to rephrase his
own draft. Criticizing the organization for losing its way
somewhat, President Musharraf suggested a remedy thus: "The
way forward is to make SAARC genuinely potent and through
it sink differences, resolve disputes on the basis of sovereign
equality. Let none amongst us consider himself more equal
than others." The above remarks should have wound up
his speech. But then in a gesture to which even his senior
aides were not privy, he turned to Vajpayee and said: "As
I step down from this podium, I extend a genuine and sincere
hand of friendship to Prime Minister Vajpayee. Together we
must commence the journey for peace, harmony and progress
in South Asia." As Gen Musharraf then moved towards Vajpayee,the |
Indian leader
got up from his seat and extended his hand to him. The applause
that followed the clasp came close to deafening decibels and
many in the media teams from India and Pakistan appeared to
have lost their composure for a while to join the clapping.
Vajpayee's response came as a dampener, but going by Pakistani
officials' response to his speech, it had elements that were
positive albeit revealed a bit grudgingly. "I am glad
that President Musharraf extended a hand of friendship to
me. I have shaken his hand in your presence. Now President
Musharraf must follow this gesture by not permitting any activity
in Pakistan or any territory it controls today which enables
terrorists to perpetrate mindless violence in India,"
Vajpayee said, also towards the end of his prepared speech.
Then he added a standard refrain listing the number of times
India had been betrayed by Pakistan whenever it tried to seek
peace. "I say this because of my past experience. I went
to Lahore with a hand of friendship," Vajpayee declared.
"We were rewarded by aggression in Kargil and the hijacking
of an Indian Airlines aircraft from Katmandu. I invited President
Musharraf to Agra. We were rewarded with a terrorist attack
on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and, last month, on the
Parliament of India. But we would be betraying the expectations
of our peoples if we did not chart out a course towards satisfying
the unfulfilled promises of our common South Asian destiny."
Gen Musharraf said that SAARC members should use its platform
to resolve their political differences. "All problems
that afflict our region must be sincerely addressed and resolved.
Sweeping them under the carpet can never be the answer. The
only wise and courageous choice is to resolve all disputes
and differences on a durable basis. And only those solutions
based on justice and fairplay can be durable." Reiterating
Pakistan's desire to hold ''serious and sustained dialogue'',
Gen Musharraf said, "peace and tranquility is essential
for the progress of South Asia. Nothing can be achieved as
long as there is tension and hostilities among any two of
the (SAARC) members. It was with objective of dissipating
and reducing tensions that I undertook the journey to Agra
last July." President Musharraf said his government remained
ready to engage in a serious and sustained dialogue with India
at all times and at all levels. He said the summit meeting
was taking place in a new year, a new century, a new millennium
and also a new world after the terrorist attacks of Sept 11
last year. "Pakistan condemned those terrorist attacks
and joined the international coalition in the campaign against
terrorism," he said. The President said Pakistan itself
has been a victim of terrorism. "We strongly condemn
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We regard it
as a grave threat to civilized society. We abhor violence.
We are determined to eliminate terrorism and therefore will
fully implement the SAARC Convention for combating terrorism."
However, he said, the concerted campaign against terrorism
must also identify and examine the causes that breed terrorism,
that derive people to hopelessness and to desperation. "We
cannot address only the symptoms and leave the malaise aside,"
he added. Musharraf said it was equally important that a distinction
was maintained between acts of legitimate resistance and freedom
struggles on one hand and the acts of terrorism on the other."
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Gen
Musharraf's speech and Vajpayee's response marked their
first meeting since the failed Agra summit when the Indian
leader did not even come out to see him off on July 16 as
he flew home with little to show for their efforts to end
a bloody dispute on Kashmir. He did not mention Kashmir
by name in his speech on Saturday. The ploy appeared to
work as the foreign ministers of the two countries were
able to find time for a meeting, which was only the other
day unthinkable. There were different interpretations being
given though to the exact nature of the meeting between
Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Pakistan's
Abdul Sattar. Vajpayee, as predicted did not come for the
retreat, avoiding the enthusiasm of Gen Musharraf to start
something quickly for durable peace. But prospects of their
meeting soon had brightened.
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