06-10-2006, 11:19 AM
Saturday, June 10, 2006
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...0-6-2006_pg11_1
Mistrust still clouding the peace process: Sinha
By Zulfiqar Ghuman
ISLAMABAD: Yashwant Sinha, a former Indian foreign minister, said on Friday that mistrust still persists between Pakistan and India, despite the ongoing composite dialogue. He ruled out inclusion of a third party in bilateral talks to resolve disputes, including the Kashmir issue.
Sinha, who is in Pakistan to deliver lectures on budget making, said most of the time he went about speaking on Indo-Pak relations and the ongoing peace process. Addressing a luncheon reception organized by the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), he said: âThough the composite dialogue between the two countries is going on for quite sometime, I have to admit with a heavy heart that mistrust still persists between them.â
He praised SAFMAâs efforts to bridge the gap between peoples of the two countries. He said India still had apprehensions about its security. âIndia faces a cross-border terrorism threat, which needed to be dealt with to remove our apprehensions,â he said.On the prospects of Kashmirisâ involvement in bilateral dialogue, he said there was no place for any third party, be it a country or a group, in bilateral talks according to the January 6, 2004, joint statement of the two countries.
He said had the ground was not strengthened by âquite diplomacyâ, the two governments could not have achieved what they did in January 2004. âBoth governments have indeed come a long way over the last few years, especially after Islamabad Declaration,â he said. âThough this declaration contained only 17 smart sentences, it reflected the level of understanding between the two countries in an unparalleled manner. Peoples of the two countries now should stand firmly behind their governments for positive outcome of peace process,â he said.
He said his party (BJP) was committed to peace process. âBJP has no problem with being in opposition because this is a dialogue between two nations, not parties or individuals. Congress government take up the strings from where we left off,â he said. Sinha is his fourth visit to Pakistan. He said he enjoyed being in Pakistan every time and stressed that people-to-people contact should go on in a positive and hate-free atmosphere. He said continuity of a process of people-to-people contacts resulted in a âsizeableâ achievements in the peace process, which had kept both governments engaged in the dialogue.
He agreed with a questioner that pace of the peace process was slow and asked for not setting deadline for settlement of certain issues. âSetting deadlines is not advisable because failure in resolving certain issues in the given deadline could result in disappointment among the people,â he said. Undoubtedly, the âcertain issuesâ point to the Kashmir issue.
Sinha said the Kashmir issue was discussed in the dialogue but all issues should not be linked with the resolution Kashmir. âIf we reached a settlement on Siachin and Sir Creek issues, should we keep the decision pending until resolution of the Kashmir dispute?â he questioned.
He said there was no such agreement or document, which had stated that Kashmir was the core issue between the two nations. âI know people in Pakistan call it a core issue, while it is just one of many issues for Indians. This (Pakistani) mindset could be counter productive,â he said. âI have met a lot of (Pakistani) MPs belonging to different parties and have not seen anything wrong with peace process, rather they all wanted early solution of problems. A young minister told me that he does not carry the history baggage all the time like the old generation. This new scenario will help forget our past experiences in coming 15 years,â he said.
He said India was aware of its role of big brother, being a big country, and was ready to give more and expect less in return but the âbottom lineâ would remain security concerns. âWe have already signed FTAs with Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan and offered the same status as to Pakistan and Bangladesh,â he said.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...0-6-2006_pg11_1
Mistrust still clouding the peace process: Sinha
By Zulfiqar Ghuman
ISLAMABAD: Yashwant Sinha, a former Indian foreign minister, said on Friday that mistrust still persists between Pakistan and India, despite the ongoing composite dialogue. He ruled out inclusion of a third party in bilateral talks to resolve disputes, including the Kashmir issue.
Sinha, who is in Pakistan to deliver lectures on budget making, said most of the time he went about speaking on Indo-Pak relations and the ongoing peace process. Addressing a luncheon reception organized by the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), he said: âThough the composite dialogue between the two countries is going on for quite sometime, I have to admit with a heavy heart that mistrust still persists between them.â
He praised SAFMAâs efforts to bridge the gap between peoples of the two countries. He said India still had apprehensions about its security. âIndia faces a cross-border terrorism threat, which needed to be dealt with to remove our apprehensions,â he said.On the prospects of Kashmirisâ involvement in bilateral dialogue, he said there was no place for any third party, be it a country or a group, in bilateral talks according to the January 6, 2004, joint statement of the two countries.
He said had the ground was not strengthened by âquite diplomacyâ, the two governments could not have achieved what they did in January 2004. âBoth governments have indeed come a long way over the last few years, especially after Islamabad Declaration,â he said. âThough this declaration contained only 17 smart sentences, it reflected the level of understanding between the two countries in an unparalleled manner. Peoples of the two countries now should stand firmly behind their governments for positive outcome of peace process,â he said.
He said his party (BJP) was committed to peace process. âBJP has no problem with being in opposition because this is a dialogue between two nations, not parties or individuals. Congress government take up the strings from where we left off,â he said. Sinha is his fourth visit to Pakistan. He said he enjoyed being in Pakistan every time and stressed that people-to-people contact should go on in a positive and hate-free atmosphere. He said continuity of a process of people-to-people contacts resulted in a âsizeableâ achievements in the peace process, which had kept both governments engaged in the dialogue.
He agreed with a questioner that pace of the peace process was slow and asked for not setting deadline for settlement of certain issues. âSetting deadlines is not advisable because failure in resolving certain issues in the given deadline could result in disappointment among the people,â he said. Undoubtedly, the âcertain issuesâ point to the Kashmir issue.
Sinha said the Kashmir issue was discussed in the dialogue but all issues should not be linked with the resolution Kashmir. âIf we reached a settlement on Siachin and Sir Creek issues, should we keep the decision pending until resolution of the Kashmir dispute?â he questioned.
He said there was no such agreement or document, which had stated that Kashmir was the core issue between the two nations. âI know people in Pakistan call it a core issue, while it is just one of many issues for Indians. This (Pakistani) mindset could be counter productive,â he said. âI have met a lot of (Pakistani) MPs belonging to different parties and have not seen anything wrong with peace process, rather they all wanted early solution of problems. A young minister told me that he does not carry the history baggage all the time like the old generation. This new scenario will help forget our past experiences in coming 15 years,â he said.
He said India was aware of its role of big brother, being a big country, and was ready to give more and expect less in return but the âbottom lineâ would remain security concerns. âWe have already signed FTAs with Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan and offered the same status as to Pakistan and Bangladesh,â he said.