Saturday, September 20, 2008

Does he mean business?

Zardari’s ‘Business Plans’ with India
STATECRAFT BY HAPPYMON JACOB
Asif Ali Khan Zardari, the newly elected President of Pakistan, lacks in popular legitimacy. He is still known to a large number of common Pakistanis and committed cadres of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as the widower of their favorite leader. In other words, President Zardai’s only claim to fame so far is his marriage to late Benazir Bhutto even as there are many reasons why he is infamous. As the President of Pakistan, he would like to do a radical make-over of his political and personal images and he knows that he can easily do so by making some radical political decisions. After all, politics is the game of the present. Pakistani leaders can make history by either whipping up passions against India or by making unprecedented peace moves towards India. While it may be too early to say that is what Zardari will do in the days to come, one can surely say that that is what he is aiming to do in the days to come. Let’s look at some evidence in this regard.
As soon as he was sworn in as the county’s 12th President in Islamabad, Zardari made three key foreign policy overtures all of which are important for India. First of all, contacts with the Indian government, he said, were underway and that the people would soon hear good news about Kashmir (possibly in a matter of months since he said that the good news will be there before UPA goes into elections next year). Secondly, he was unequivocally indicating that Pakistan needs to have a good friend in Afghanistan and he sent that message out by inviting the Afghan President for his swearing in ceremony. Hamid Karzai commented at the post-swearing in press conference, “I find in President Zardari a good will and vision not only for relations between the two countries but for the region that I have seen for the first time in this region” (emphasis added). That these comments came from someone who has been openly accusing the Pakistani government of sponsoring the militant attacks in his country shows the way ahead between the two countries. Thirdly, Zardari said the government now has a strategy in place to combat terrorism and added that he himself remained a victim of terrorism. He further said, “the challenge for us is to dismantle the militant cells so that they do not hold the foreign policies of two independent nations (India and Pakistan) hostage to their acts of terrorism.”
His recent comments on Kashmir as the president of Pakistan should be seen in continuation of what he had said earlier about Kashmir and his clarification regarding that later on. After the Zardari-led PPP had come to power in Pakistan, Zardari said that Kashmir should be kept on the backburner, that his government wants to improve its relations with India, and would not let the Jammu and Kashmir dispute become an obstacle in the friendly relations between the two countries: “We can be patient till everybody grows up further and leave the Kashmir dispute for the future generations to resolve in atmosphere of trust”. When this statement was criticized by pro-Kashmiri leaders in Pakistan he clarified that he is committed to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He made it clear, again, in March this year when some of us had met him at the Zardari House in Islamabad as part of the Pugwash delegation that he is ready to talk about Kashmir, ready to think out of the box in order to resolve the issue and that he is ready to ‘do business’ with India on Kashmir. He explained what he meant by doing business with India saying that his government will take steps to establish mutually beneficial commercial and economic projects in the erstwhile princely state of J&K in consultation with the government of India. He said that the future of Kashmir should be seen in terms of a bridge of commerce and trade and other mutually beneficial interactions between the two counties.
I do not see Zardari’s statements on Kashmir as impulsive utterances of a shrewd politician trying to impress the audience of the day. Over the last few months he has elaborated on his plans for Kashmir on more than one occasion. He made two important statements recently prior to assuming the presidency of the country. “Pending a final settlement, we agree with the statement of your Prime Minister supporting an autonomous Kashmir running much of its own affairs”, Zardari said to an Indian media organisation. He further said that a Commission can be established between the two countries and the “leaders of Kashmir themselves to work out what should be done in foreign and defence affairs”. After he became President, he said that he has been consulting key leaders in Pakistan regarding Kashmir policy and that a parliamentary committee will soon be set up to discuss all possible solutions to resolve the Kashmir issue.
The timing of his statement, as president, on Kashmir assumes significance because he did not choose to lash out against India especially at a time when there are anti-India protests raging in the Kashmir valley. This is indicative of the political maturity of his vision for Kashmir and for India-Pakistan relations.
Should Zardari’s statements on Kashmir be taken seriously? If so why? First of all, he is a smart businessman and is keen to make his mark in Pakistan’s polity and so he is likely to think out of the box on Kashmir. Secondly, given the situation that Pakistan is currently in (fall from the US grace, dubbed by the international community as the epicenter of global terrorism, multiple insurgencies at home etc.), it is likely to adopt a conciliatory approach to India and other players in the region. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, he is a moderate, modern and progressive Muslim, and not a fanatic and so will understand the rules of the modern states system.

(Source: Greater Kashmir, September 17, 2008. URL: http://greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=17_9_2008&ItemID=14&cat=11 )