Vajpayee to take bus to Pak

In the interview, Sharif had made a forceful plea for a radical break in the Indo-Pakistan deadlock. And Vajpayee’s prompt acceptance has rattled the External Affairs establishment accustomed to looking at Pakistan through the old prisms of terrorism and hostility.

When the bus crosses the land border at Attari-Wagah in Punjab, probably some time next month, it will be the first time the land border between the two countries is opened up after the 1965 war. It’s likely that the PM will join the bus at Amritsar, cross the border and then drive on to Lahore, a mere half-hour run.

Highly placed Government sources said Vajpayee, who visited Lahore as the Janata government’s foreign minister in 1979, wanted to send a political signal that would show that New Delhi intends to charter a new roadmap with its neighbour.

“He believes that there is nothing like one-to-one talks, that is the way real progress can be made,” the sources said.

Under thecircumstances, it is believed that the PMO was exploring “all options” to establish Vajpayee’s intent, even before the startling offer to join the bus to Lahore was made by Sharif. “Now that the Pakistan PM has made the offer, it is for us to accept it graciously,” the sources said.Government officials said the PM’s gesture did not mean that New Delhi would let up on the fight against terrorism from across the border, especially in Kashmir. “We will continue to defend our territory and our sovereignty, but that doesn’t mean the relationship cannot move in other directions,” the sources said.

They pointed out that as a nuclear weapon state, it was now incumbent upon India to establish its benign credentials in the region. The bilateral free trade treaty with Sri Lanka, the decision to do a Delhi-Lahore bus service and the purchase of power from Islamabad were incremental steps in this foreign policy imperative.

Official sources today also welcomed Sharif’s offer to establish a bilateral dialogue onthe nuclear issue with Pakistan. They said New Delhi had actually offered four nuclear-related confidence-building measures in the October foreign secretary-level talks in Islamabad, to which the Pakistani foreign office had promised to respond soon.

These were the following proposals: A bilateral agreement on the prevention of the use of nuclear weapons, including through accidental or unauthorised use (basically, incorporating fail-safe nuclear mechanisms); extending the agreement on not attacking each other’s nuclear facilities to civilian areas; the pre-notification of flights tests of ballistic missiles; and upgrading existing telecommunication links to make them secure and dedicated.Predictably, some officials sounded a cautionary note saying India’s security concerns were “not country-specific” and these concerns naturally go beyond Pakistan. “In this framework, we look forward, as always, to engage Pakistan in direct bilateral discussions on nuclear and missile- related issues, so as tocontribute to developing mutual trust and confidence and keeping in mind the welfare of our peoples.”

On the timing of the bus service, the sources pointed out that this would be decided through diplomatic channels. The service protocol still needs to be worked out and cleared by their respective Cabinets. The PM is away on the G-15 meeting till the middle of February, and the Budget session of Parliament resumes on February 22. While in Pakistan, the tour operator who will operate the bus needs to be sorted out.