India and Pakistan  agree on at least agree on one thing: dialogue is vital for  transition from military confrontation to peace on borders and within. That is why the  United States laboured behind the scenes to orchestrate  a meeting of Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan  at Thimpu, Bhutan, on the sidelines of Saarc ( South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation)  on April 25. 

There are inherent dangers as well. The two nations  also are aware that despite the hand shakes and  bonhomie displayed  during the summit at Thimpu, and the telephonic conversation  between Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers  there would be attempts to stall the process by the elements in  both the establishments. That has been the tragedy of the Indo-Pak relations for the past over six decades. 

Most  surprising part is that the   people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have bigger stakes in  peace  between the two countries,  also are  falling victims to rhetoric of fundamentalism  and unable to deliver a roadmap  ahead. They have become too dependent on  Delhi and Islamabad to address their grievances . They have no solution of their own to offer. 

Both Delhi and Islamabad are taking advantage of it. The Americans have a clear interest in South Asia, not seeing  Kashmir to re-appear as a nuclear flash point or  a land where guns and grenades boom, giving an excuse to India to keep its army  presence at the current level and also maintain the deployment on the Line of Control  at the level it is, despite the ceasefire over there. 

At the same time, Pakistan  has much to worry about  the way Tehrike-e-Taliban Pakistan is active in the tribal areas and Waziristan. The military options have had a limited effect. Islamabad knows it very well, that beyond a point it cannot control insurgency over there, and there is a fear of the spill over effect , where non-state actors  go in for adventurist approach  wily nilly  harming  Pakistan’s interests . Each action of theirs brings in  extra pressure on Islamabad to act against them. 

That has come to the fore in  the manner the United States has pressured Pakistan to hunt for militants after  a Pakistani –origin American citizen Shahzad Faisal, appeared  as an accused in the failed car bomb tyerror plot  at Times Square in New York.   For the United States, Faisal is a symbol of a bigger unrest at work, and Pakistan’s role. 

Americans have made no secret of the fact , how they view the  plot and Pakistan’s role  and what the United States might do.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in Pakistan, when the Times Square episode unfolded and reminded  Washington  of the  dangers still in existence after the traumatic 9/11 experience , was very, very candid in this.
A sugar coated pill of  “ more cooperation” from Pakistan in getting information about the people  involved in terror activities or promoting the same, Clinton  said: “we’ve gotten more cooperation and it’s been a real sea change in the commitment we’ve seen from the Pakistani Government. We want more. We expect more. We’ve made it very clear that if, heaven forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences.”
 That’s a typical way of  the United States of delivering messages   to even its closest allies, or strategic partners  in  their fight against terror. Pakistan has been working on the dictates of the United States since 9/11 happened.  Now  when the U S  has ensured that India and Pakistan again sit across the table and talk, the two nations, let’s be honest, don’t have any  blueprint that can ensure agreements on Sir Creek, Siachen,  water distribution , leave alone Kashmir resolution.  And, it would be futile to expect that they can ever  bring out a  calendar  which would  help them find solution and its deadline . They can only talk.
 Now there are two direct issues  concerning Kashmir; water and the resolution of Kashmir crisis. These are two issues which need immediate attention if India and Pakistan really intend to make any progress in their talks. But the formula would have to be suggested, and that should be acceptable to one and all  in Jammu and Kashmir, it cannot, and it should not  be a one  particular  or one particular community  specific solution.
 Let’s talk about the water first. Pakistan is in a deep trouble. Its farmers are facing harrowing times. There is a less flow of water in its rivers, and  its instant reaction is  to put the whole blame on  India , which controls  three rivers – Ravi , Beas and Satulej under the Indus Water Treaty , and Pakistan has the right to see how the waters of Chenab, Jhelum and Indus, are to be used. Since the times of the creation of Pakistan, it has been a long term  policy of Islamabad to ensure that there should be enough water for its fields, dams and projects, canals .
 There can be no dispute over it. Every nation has a right  and duty toward its people to provide them basic needs and water  figures on top of it. The water is connected to security of life and  food , a universal truth, not just restricted to Pakistan. It is one of the reasons that Pakistan  has been eyeing Kashmir, a reservoir of glaciers and water bodies, apart from the political   theme of the unfinished agenda of Partition  and the religious affinity that people of Pakistan have with the Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir, historical wrongs or the twisted tale of the demarcation  of the border line .
 Today Kashmir is  fighting  its own battle for water. Its glaciers have shrunk and the water flow is at its lowest level, the recent spate of rains notwithstanding. The  Valley is suffering from food deficiency and the farmers at the tail-ends of the  rivers , canals and streams have been advised not to go n in  for farming, because there is not enough water to irrigate their fields . And , with global warming showing its  ill-effects every passing day, things are not expected to improve. There will be pressure on water resources.
 It will again come to the people of Kashmir, its intellectuals and scientists would have to  undertake that  task, to formulate a long term plan, how to save water and make judicious use of it, so that the coming  generations don’t have to ask : “ did we ever had glaciers  or rivers”, like some have already started asking : “ were there springs here”, when they look at the dry  bowls , which once used to be overflowing springs.
Next comes Kashmir solution. It’s time for the leadership of  Jammu and Kashmir  to move beyond making charges and counter-charges and looking at the  ethnic, religious and geographical  identities and  inventing taunts. They must, they must, because it is must,  a comprehensive solution should be worked out, not at the behest of India or Pakistan,  but an original solution, which doesn’t have the theories and formulas  of the outdated times, relevant to  present times and generation next.
If that is on the table with Delhi and Islamabad, there is no option for both to accept it. But can the leadership of Jammu and Kashmir summon such a  will and wisdom to look beyond their backyards and instead of serving the interests of Delhi, Islamabad, Washington ,bringing the interests of the people of the state on top of their agenda. No lip service, action please.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 17 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 17 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 IST