Author: UNI & PTI
Publications: Sunday Navhind Times,
Panaji, Goa
Dated: March 4, 2001
A delegation of Indo-Pakistani
soldiers' initiative for peace, comprising retired Indian armed forces
personnel, which came back from Lahore last evening, met the Pakistan
chief executive, General Pervez Musharraf, in lslamabad and conveyed
India's concern on continuing violence in Jamrnu and Kashmir.
"Our meeting with Gen Musharraf
was very cordial and he never uttered the word Kashmir," said a former
chief of naval staff, Admiral (retd) L Ramdas, who led the delegation
to Pakistan.
"It seemed Pakistan is very keen
on resumption of dialogue and is waiting for India's permission to
a Hurriyat delegation to visit Islamabad,"3 he said and quoted Gen
Musharraf to say: 'It should not need an earthquake or natural calamities
to bring our two countries together.
Gen Musharraf also stressed on the
need to strengthen the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
and develop a forum to foster economic development in South Asia.
"Prime Minister Vajpayee's extension
of the cease-fire is well received in Pakistan, but the leadership
also feels it should be accompanied by concrete steps to make the
peace process move forward," Adm Ramdas said.
Bilateral relations reached hit
a low in the wake of the Kargil conflict in 1999 and India has since
been insisting that dialogue could be resumed only after Islamabad
stopped aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism.
"There is also a general feeling
there that it is violence that is keeping the Kashmir issue in focus,"
said Lieutenant General (retd) Moti Dhar, a former vice-chief of
Army staff.
The 20-member delegation including
noted Gandhian, Ms Nirmala Deshpande, IPSI's India chapter president,
Vice-Admiral (retd) lnder Bedi, Air Marshal (retd) Kuldip Rai and
Lt Gen (retd) M M Walia, besides wives of many of these personnel.
They met academics, journalists,
security analysts and Kashmiri separatist leaders during the week-long
visit to Pakistan.
Briefing on the "free and frank"
discussions with a former president of Pakistan occupied Kashmir,
Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, Air Marshal Rai said the separatist leader
favoured an "Intra-Kashmir" dialogue involving leaders from both
sides of LoC to precede any official level talks.
Adm Ramdas said Gen Musharraf also
regretted the snapping of sporting ties between the two countries
that led to the cancellation of the scheduled tour of the Indian
cricket team to Pakistan early this year.
'I had asked for a grand reception
of the team and I would have been personally involved in welcoming
the Indian team,' Adm Ramdas quoted Gen Musharraf as saying during
the 1-hour meeting the delegation had with him in lslamabad on February
27.
The delegation members also felt
that the visa restrictions between the two countries needed to be
relaxed to foster people-to-people contact, which could create a
congenial atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Gen Musharraf is said
to be contemplating becoming the president- dent to legitimise his
rule and also to ensure that leaders like Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr
Nawaz Sharif remain in political wilderness for years to come.
The General, who is to retire this
October, "is readying to don the mantle of the president of Pakistan"
most probably before his term expires, an article in lslamabad's
Fridav Times said.
"One argument given in favour of
Musharraf's imminent election as president is that this is how the
Army would better ensure continuity of the most vital policies pursued
by the present regime. This is how... Gen Musharraf could ensure
that Bhutto and Sharif remain in political wilderness for years to
come," it said.
Should Gen Musharraf become the
president, "he would have traversed a much-trodden path in Pakistan's
sad history during which the presidency has housed all sorts of conspirators
(Iskander Mirza, Ghularn lshaq Khan), usurpers (Generals Ayub, Yahya,
Zia), stooges (Chaudhry Fazal Elahl, Rafiq Tarar) and misfits (Farooq
Leghari)," said a prominent journalist, Mr Najarn Sethi, in an editorial
in the paper.
"The simplest way would be for him
to follow the footsteps of Caesar, Napoleon or Attaturk - having
seized the crown, he could simply put it on his head, change his
tunic and announce 1'etat, cest moi (Alas! Times have changed),"
wrote Mr Sethi.
He said the defunct Parliament could
be revived "sooner or later, for better or for worse, to hand him
his crown, create dubious conditions for reinvesting itself and call
ita day. But that is easier said than done."
The tenure of Pakistan's suspended
National Assembly comes to an end on February 2 next year. Five general
elections have been held since the revival of the 1973 Constitution
in 1985. But none of the assemblies have been able to complete their
5-year terms.
Quoting political observers, the
Fridav Times said by restoring the assemblies the regime could hope
to put an end to the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, whose
major components were the Pakistan People's Party of Ms Bhutto and
Pakistan Muslim League led by Mr Sharif.
lt quoted legal experts as saying
Gen Musharraf had various other options to prolong his rule, including
the Supreme Court's decision to validate the military regime and
authorising the chief executive to keep the office for 3 years.