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Introduction: We’re Talking PoK, Terrorism, Prisoners of War, But Pakistan May Not Concede Much
India today laid out the bottomline for the weekend’s summit, sending a dear message to Pakistan that it could not be on Islamabad’s terms, and for this it was willing to face failure at Agra. In equally unambiguous tones, India also communicated that the onus for salvaging success from the summit would rest with Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference just 48 hours before General Musharraf arrives with his ‘Kashmir-only’ song, foreign minister Jaswant Singh took the opportunity to define India’s own ‘Kashmir’ agenda. This, he stated would be cross-border terrorism Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, prisoners of war, and, ‘the condition of minorities (in Pakistan).’
Composite dialogue would be the mechanism for future discussions, he said, adding India did not accept the ‘core’ issue argument. Disabusing any illusions Pakistan might entertain of pushing self - determination or referendum, Mr Singh categorically ruled out any such eventuality. “The question of referendum simply does not arise,” he said, adding, “terrorism is our ‘core’ concern and we will reiterate it at the summit.” India will not entertain Pakistan’s version of a “no-war pact” which does not incorporate the proxy war in Kashmir.
Coming on the eve of the summit, India’s unambiguous articulation of its core national interests is aimed at conveying to Pakistan that these are not on offer at the altar of “flexibility” or “openness,” and that Pakistan should have no illusions about forcing India’s hand on this issue. Success, therefore, would be measured in minimalist terms.
The government’s tough stance was evident with Mr Singh describing Gen Musharrafs insistence on meeting the Hurriyat as “disappointing,” India’s strongest objection yet. “The invitation to Gen Musharraf was to meet the prime minister. But we have been disappointed by their insistence on extraneous issues,” said Mr Singh, leaving no room for doubt that Pakistan ran the risk of sabotaging the summit by its insistence.
Mr Singh’s statements are aimed at telling Pakistan that India was not coming to the table from a position of weakness, and Pakistan could not use this premise to dictate the agenda. This is important because of the opinions doing the rounds in Pakistan that it was a battle-fatigued India that had invited Gen Musharraf.
In what is clearly a battle of nerves, Mr Singh reemphasised that Kashmir was “not a core issue,” it was “at the core of Indian nationhood.” India, “has never fought shy of discussing Kashmir with Pakistan,” he said, but clarified that the most pressing issue in Kashmir was not ‘self -determination’ but ‘cross-border terrorism,’ debunking Pakistan’s notion that it was an ‘indigenous uprising.’
India would certainly discuss Kashmir, but stated that as laid down in the Constitution, India’s claim extended to PoK, the northern areas, and Aksai Chin. “The Valley alone is not Kashmir. What does Pakistan mean by Kashmir? Are you talking also about Ladakh and the Jammu areas? There are also the northern areas which have been illegally and wrongly ceded by Pakistan. How can I negotiate the Constitution?” he asked.
Stressing that India did not “believe
in denominational nationalism, but civic nationalism,” Mr Singh was very
dear in saying that the UN resolutions in J&K were “not enforceable.”
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