New Delhi
11 April 2007
Alluding to a "vision deficit" in India-Pakistan relations, Foreign
Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Wednesday said that both countries should be willing
to accept the differences in their approaches in order to build on their commonalities.
"[We] stand at a moment of opportunity to remake our relations fundamentally, breaking
out of past patterns, and that we need not repeat the past if we learn from it .... Our
national goals and grand strategies need not necessarily be in conflict. There is,
however, an asymmetry that operates here, or what might be called a vision deficit in the
relationship," he said in his address on "India-Pakistan: Understanding the Conflict
Dynamics" at the Jamia Millia Islamia on Wednesday.
"It (vision) matters because even the issues that divide us would be easier to solve if
one had a common goal or purpose or vision of the sort of relationship that we wish to
build in the future," he explained before adding that "the vision for India-Pakistan
relations that I speak of enjoys consensus across the broad political spectrum in India
.... It also requires strict non-interference in each other's internal affairs."
He reminded Pakistan to do more to curb cross-border terrorism. "Even on the river
waters that we spend so much time arguing about, the Indus Waters Treaty itself
envisages a cooperative future of joint development of the river basin by both
countries," he said.
Mr Menon said that differences and issues between the two countries, "including Jammu
and Kashmir," were being discussed by both countries in a dialogue that was
"unprecedented in its depth and quality."
He went on to state that India was ready to engage Pakistan in a dialogue on nuclear
doctrines, military-to-military contacts, and military CBMs, both conventional and
nuclear, either officially or through think tanks and other less official means. "A small
beginning has been made in the last two years, but we would be ready to build on this
rapidly if Pakistan wishes to," he said. India was also ready to open the Gilgit-Skardu
bus route, he observed.
No comments:
Post a Comment