Seven years had to pass before a stalled dialogue to resolve outstanding issues between India and Pakistan could be resumed. This only points to lost opportunities and should act as a cautionary tale to both nations as they negotiate a complex process. Mercifully, adverse impulses and rhetoric for and against each other’s well-entrenched positions, have been absent in the latest round of talks. This is because both sides have made a conscious effort to adopt a positive approach. Even the daily flood of information on Pakistan’s involvement in nuclear proliferation has not evoked the type of reactions in India even in the public domain which might have been normally expected. Efforts to maintain sober expectations from the current process have also been helpful.The first round was undoubtedly meant to work out the modalities and details of how the meetings and discussions under the identified six-plus-two issues would be carried out. Actual meetings may have to wait for the end of the General Election in India. Fortunately, the menu of issues on which the composite dialogue is to be carried out is not to be subject to satisfactory progress in each issue, which could easily hold up progress on all issues. The second aspect that needs to be borne in mind is that given the long history of tortured relations between India and Pakistan, and the tragedy of two decades of violence visited on innocents from across the border, both sides should consciously plan for a sustained investment of effort, even if progress appears slow. Normalisation is a pre-requisite to good neighbourly relations, which are the foundations on which any settlement of outstanding issues could possibly be built.The biggest impact of the commencement of the dialogue perhaps lies in what may be termed as “collateral” benefits. These range from a broadly “feel good” factor, to specific steps beyond the normalisation measures like reopening travel and communication, to playing cricket, with more to follow. While the incidence of terrorist violence in J&K has not declined below the levels normally experienced during winter, other tentative signs are emerging to promise better days ahead. For example, on the day the official dialogue commenced, Pakistan’s major newspaper, The Nation, reported that the jihadi groups, including key ones like the Hizbul Mujahideen, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and others, have clearly been told by senior Pakistani officials that they must wind up their activities. The Hizb spokesman has denied it, and only time will reveal the reality. This is why patience and perseverance is needed to keep the normalisation process moving, with sustained if incremental progress preferable to any dramatic change.
