|
A step closer to peace
CHONG ZI Updated: 2003-11-27 08:03
The silence along the Kashmir stretch of frontier between India and Pakistan
is something to be cheered.
That stretch includes the international
border that covers several areas over which the two neighbours are in
controversy.
Indian and Pakistani armies began a ceasefire in Kashmir at
midnight on Tuesday.
It was the first time in 14 years, the two countries
reached such an accord.
The ceasefire is a positive step for both
countries to head toward a more normal relationship.
However, the
agreement makes no mention of how long it will last or how effective it will
be.
Symbolic as it may be, the ceasefire in Kashmir will help improve the
atmosphere ahead of an expected visit to Islamabad by Indian Prime Minister Atal
Behari Vajpayee for a regional summit in early January.
Such a move is
significant given the fact that Indian and Pakistani troops, who are in close
proximity at several places along the 460 mile line of control in Kashmir,
exchange gunfire nearly every day.
Will the tranquility Tuesday night be a
prelude to a lasting peace in Kashmir?
For that to happen, both sides
must demonstrate a will to hammer out a political position that would remove
mistrust.
A durable accord does not seem to be in sight right
now.
The Indian Government has ruled out the possibility of holding
bilateral meetings between Vajpayee and Pakistani leaders on the sidelines of
the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation Asia summit
in Islamabad in January.
That means formal peace talks are out of sight
for now.
Still, a militant group based in Pakistan said its members would
keep fighting.
The two countries have tried several times to observe
ceasefires in the region. All their efforts were foiled.
The two nations have
fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since 1947 after gaining
independence from Britain.
Since April this year the two sides' attempts
to resolve 56 years of enmity have borne some fruit.
India and Pakistan
have restored their ambassadors and resumed a bus link.
But these are not
enough to build a normal relationship between the two countries if they refuse
to sit down for face-to-face talks.
Guns are not the tools to mend their
fences.
(China Daily )
|
