Prime Minister Vajpayee’s bold step in the offer of talks to Pakistan has produced a positive response. Prime Minister Mir Zaffrullah Khan Jamali must be commended for his initiative in speaking directly to Vajpayee, although the Pakistani foreign office spokesman earlier in the day gave the impression that talks would be contingent upon India first taking ‘‘concrete’’ measures. We must ensure that, unlike some occasions in past, no euphoria is allowed to overtake pragmatic approaches to the process of normalisation. Heaven knows, the situation between the two countries is complicated enough and it would be difficult to define new approaches to settle old, complicated issues. A step-by-step approach linked to progress on the ground would, therefore, be the best option. And winding down terrorism is central to that process. Pakistan interior minister’s statement to curb hostile activity from Pakistani soil against another country is welcome in this context.Since terrorism may take time to end in a sustainable manner, our advice would be to make haste slowly, but positively. The obvious first step is to restore full diplomatic representation so that the process can be managed properly. Dialogue would also be needed to restore transportation links by road, rail and air, although many of the steps required need not await formal meetings. The Six Plus Two formula evolved at the foreign secretary-level talks in August 1997 was a sound one, and this could form the basis of future dialogue, even if both sides prefer to use some other language to describe it. In view of what has gone on since 1997, a prudent approach would be to focus on “all outstanding issues”, not necessarily in the sequence of that list but those that offer greater opportunity to build confidence in the dialogue process.Islamabad may look for a summit level meeting at an early date, if for no other reasons than to score a political brownie point. A prime ministerial summit would be a useful way to provide the necessary political impetus. But it should be clear to any observer of history, that this would remain a high-risk venture without sufficient prior preparation. Such preparation requires a high degree of normalisation of relations to enable the more difficult issues, which are mostly political and security-related in nature, to be usefully addressed. Indians would expect a visibly durable record of winding down of terrorism that goes beyond mere rhetoric. In the present circumstances, the promotion of cultural interaction and economic and trade co-operation should naturally qualify for an early start once the basic restoration of the mechanisms of communication has been re-established. Jamali’s desire to recommence cricket matches, therefore, makes eminent sense in this context although this could excite passions of a different sort.
