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The Prime Minister's decision to invite General Pervez Musharraf for talks has led to speculations about the reasons for this sudden development. Analysts and so-called experts have attributed it to various kinds of imagined domestic and international compulsions. All such comments and speculation are quite off the mark. In matters involving supreme national interest, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is not swayed by parochial or partisan considerations. He has a much larger vision of the future of Indo-Pak relations. He has always believed that India and Pakistan cannot live in perpetual hostility and that our two countries must learn to live together as friends. We should work together to address ourselves to the task of removing poverty and illiteracy, and improving the present level of the standard of living of our people.
It may be recalled that as Foreign Minister in the Janata Government from 1977-79, Shri Vajpayee took the initiative to improve relations with Pakistan. It was the same larger vision which prompted him to undertake his Bus Yatra to Lahore in 1999. And now, despite the deaths and destruction caused by the Kargil episode, he has once again called upon Pakistan to tread the path of peace.
The Bharatiya Janata Party expresses the sincere hope that the talks between Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf will lead to some confidence building measures and creation of an atmosphere conducive to a continuous and positive dialogue between the two countries.
The BJP does not agree with the Pakistan view that Kashmir is the only issue or the so-called core issue between India and Pakistan. Pakistani people have been fed on a diet of hatred and hostility towards India for the past 50 odd years, and it is this attitude that must change if we are to move in a positive direction in our bilateral relationship. While we do not expect any dramatic results from President Musharraf's visit, the BJP hopes that positive steps will be taken to bring an end to the era of continuous hostility and to usher in a period of mutual understanding and harmony. Even the most difficult problems can be resolved if the approach is positive and constructive.
There are elements in Pakistan who
interpret India's friendly gesture as a sign of weekness and a proof of
the success of Pakistan sponsored cross border terrorism. The BJP would
like such people to know that India's initiative is indicative of our strength
and desire for peace. If Pakistan continues to maintain a negative posture
in the furthcoming talks, India will draw appropriate conclusions and continue
to live with a hostile neighbour.
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