Stalemate on Siachen
13 Jun 2012 8:11 AM GMT
The India-Pakistan defence dialogue on resolving the Siachen issue ended expectedly in a stalemate. But significantly, it was not a dialogue of the deaf: the joint statement issued after the talks reflected that reality.
It stated, ‘It was agreed to continue dialogue on Siachen in keeping with the desire of the leaders of both countries for early resolution of all outstanding issues.’ If, for one moment, one delinks the desire of the two respective leaderships’ desire for resolving ‘all outstanding issues’ and read the sentence instead like ‘It was agreed to continue dialogue on Siachen in keeping the desires of the leaders of both countries’ suddenly the pall of uncertainty about the Siachen issue lifts.
That could have been the outcome of the meeting amidst all reiterations of the stated positions on Siachen, which the world and its cousins know, as a wag would say. There seems a genuine desire on the part of Pakistan to bring resolution to the Siachen imbroglio.
This could also be a way of testing by Pakistan’s powerful army the Indian leadership’s resolve to have a peaceful neighbourhood.
And, they in turn, will bring in incremental change within their country for withdrawing from the parlous policy of threatening India with non-conventional method.
The venue of the talks being Rawalpindi, more than Islamabad, could have been indication of a nuanced message to the fact that the Pakistan army would be watching the process.
But, beyond the parsing of texts to suit many purposes, there have been a quite a few straight palliatives emerging from the meeting, as reflected in the joint statement. For example, ‘Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to make serious, sustained and result oriented efforts for seeking an amicable resolution of Siachen.’
New Delhi is slated to host the next dialogue. But, the date has not been fixed, but it could possibly be at the end of autumn, after Kashmir weathers the summer.
Just may be, Siachen could enter the realm of a ‘resoluble’ problem as much as Sir Creek, only more so because of its connection to Kashmir.
It stated, ‘It was agreed to continue dialogue on Siachen in keeping with the desire of the leaders of both countries for early resolution of all outstanding issues.’ If, for one moment, one delinks the desire of the two respective leaderships’ desire for resolving ‘all outstanding issues’ and read the sentence instead like ‘It was agreed to continue dialogue on Siachen in keeping the desires of the leaders of both countries’ suddenly the pall of uncertainty about the Siachen issue lifts.
That could have been the outcome of the meeting amidst all reiterations of the stated positions on Siachen, which the world and its cousins know, as a wag would say. There seems a genuine desire on the part of Pakistan to bring resolution to the Siachen imbroglio.
This could also be a way of testing by Pakistan’s powerful army the Indian leadership’s resolve to have a peaceful neighbourhood.
And, they in turn, will bring in incremental change within their country for withdrawing from the parlous policy of threatening India with non-conventional method.
The venue of the talks being Rawalpindi, more than Islamabad, could have been indication of a nuanced message to the fact that the Pakistan army would be watching the process.
But, beyond the parsing of texts to suit many purposes, there have been a quite a few straight palliatives emerging from the meeting, as reflected in the joint statement. For example, ‘Both sides reaffirmed their resolve to make serious, sustained and result oriented efforts for seeking an amicable resolution of Siachen.’
New Delhi is slated to host the next dialogue. But, the date has not been fixed, but it could possibly be at the end of autumn, after Kashmir weathers the summer.
Just may be, Siachen could enter the realm of a ‘resoluble’ problem as much as Sir Creek, only more so because of its connection to Kashmir.
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