DUBAI – Truthful, honest talks between India and Pakistan are the only wayto conclusive peace. It is important that the two sides are clear abouttheir objectives and take all stake-holders along in the process, includingthe so-called Deep State in Pakistan, said A. S. Dulat, former chief ofIndia’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and co-author of The SpyChronicles: RAW ISI and the Illusion of Peace that has stoked a controversyin both India and Pakistan.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, he said: “We need to engage honestly. Whileacknowledging our shortcomings we should be willing to give peace achance.”
Dulat, who worked with Pakistan’s former ISI chief Asad Durrani andjournalist Aditya Sinha on the book, said the Deep State must be engaged’constantly’, a reference to the establishment. Durrani, in a messageduring the launch of the book in New Delhi last week, had said: “When youmeet someone and start talking, then a certain understanding seems todevelop on its own.”
The two neighbours, who were separated at birth in 1947, have beenembroiled in border skirmishes and military stand-offs, and have foughtfour wars.
Efforts of both governments have failed to find a resolution to more thanseven decades of distrust and violence.
“I think Manmohan Singh (India’s former prime minister) and PervezMusharraf almost settled the Kashmir issue, but it is not easy to go backto that (now). The two sides need to sit across the table and ask if theycan start afresh from where they left. What is not acceptable to eitherside should be put away, and other points should be taken up,” said Dulat.
He did not agree with Durrani’s assessment in the Spy Chronicles that ‘Modimay not be cut out for this job (peace between two nations)’, and arguedthat the Indian prime minister, in fact, has done more than what formerIndian prime ministers could achieve. “Modi has done more than Vajpayee andManmohan Singh’s governments. And who knows, if he gets another chance thenhe might be able to get more done in the next five years.”
After the book’s release, the former ISI chief was reprimanded byPakistan’s Army for his comments on the Kargil war, and the high politicalcost of prosecuting Hafiz Saeed, terrorist wanted by India.
But Dulat pointed to one positive development since the book’s launch: thereinstatement of the ceasefire between the two countries along the line ofcontrol (LOC) near the Kashmir border.
This week, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Indiaand Pakistan agreed to implement the ceasefire pact of 2003 in letter andspirit to stop cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir.
“It’s heartening that our (India’s) home minister has said we are preparedto talk on Kashmir. A lot of what we have been dreaming for has happened. Iam not suggesting that all this has happened because of the book, but I amsure that the General (Durrani) is as delighted as I am delighted that ithappened,” added Dulat.
Ceasefire violations along the line of control (LOC) have increaseddramatically this year. Reports suggest there were about 880 incidents inthe first four and a half months of this year, compared to 850 last year.Notably, this is for the first time in 18 years that a ceasefire wasannounced during the holy month of Ramadan.
Dulat and Durrani have authored a couple of essays together in the past andthe idea for this book took shape during several Track 2 meetings betweenIndian and Pakistani officials hosted in different countries.
*suneeti@khaleejtimes.com *