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Bus service across LoC

A step forward in people-to-people contact

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury
A new kind of relationship has emerged between two arch south Asian rivals with the introduction of the bus service between Indian controlled Kashmir's capital Srinagar and Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabad. This is certainly a booster to their often bedevilled bilateral ties since their main bone of contention primarily is Kashmir. The bus service is an emotive issue between the divided Kashmiri families and it appears that the decision by the governments of Pakistan and India to have this service has been well received by most people in both countries.
However, sections of militants in Indian Kashmir, who are fighting for 'self-determination' or 'independence' have opposed it tooth and nail and some even warned of dire consequences, threatening that the "bus" will be a vehicle of "coffins", meaning that passengers dare to travel by the "controversial" service will be killed. Nonetheless, the service has been introduced and people of
Kashmir have responded enthusiastically to the idea of linking two capitals on either side of the line of control(LOC) through the bus service despite incidents of bomb blast and firing. Needless to say, sufficient security measures have been taken by both countries. In any case, this is a step forward to encourage "people-to-people" contact not only in the Kashmir region, but also elsewhere in south Asia.
The Indo-Pak reconciliatory
efforts are continuing for some-
time past even though there has not been any tangible progress in the settlement of the Kashmir problem. Two sides seem to have decided to normalise the ties as far as possible while seeking to make headway on the main bilateral dispute -- Kashmir. Contacts are continuing at various levels including the highest between Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf and Indian prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of multilateral conferences. These are following after a thaw was witnessed in their hostilities during
the last days of the previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in India and followed up in a greater spirit under the new government of Dr. Manmohan Singh. Developments in their relations since more than a year have considerably reversed the trend of unfriendliness and enmity, raising hopes of a reasonably good bilateral relationship. This does not mean that belligerence have disappeared, but certainly things are moving for better.
The good ambience governing
the perennially hostile ties between India and Pakistan -- two south Asian neighbours -- has become a matter of discussion not only in the region but also at the larger international arena for the simple reason that a ray of hope has arisen on the possibility of a much better India-Pakistan relations. An optimism exists in many quarters that the two nuclear-powered inimical nations may now be able to find common ground to improve their badly ruptured ties. Such optimism did exist before as well, but unfortunately mostly fell short of expectations resulting in
the dismay of those who genuinely look for better relationship between the two neighbours, a pre-requisite to a healthy political climate in the south Asian region. The current positive trend may also fall through centering any unfriendly incident, but at the moment things definitely look healthy.
Earlier, summits between leaders of the two countries in recent years produced mixed results. The Nawaz Sharif-Vajpayee summit at Lahore generated hype
for good ties but only to be belied by the Kargil conflict. Both the heads of government are not in the scene now. Later, the Agra summit between prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and president Musharraf failed to produce much results even though expectation centering the occasion had raised some hopes. Such summits caught international attention as were seen as opportunities for a breakthrough in the icy bilateral ties but the euphoria disappeared much sooner than many had expected . As such, as far as Indo-Pak ties are concerned, one need
to be guarded and cautious about the shape of things to come. However, good signs are always welcomed since they impact positively on the entire region.
It is commonly acknowledged that at the heart of Indo-Pak problems is the Kashmir, which is defying a settlement for decades ever since two countries emerged as sovereign nations from British-ruled India. The issue is well known for its complexity and diametrically opposite positions held by New Delhi and Islamabad.
Both have their known positions and any remarkable shift by either side seems difficult although accommodation and flexibility are necessary for any meaningful progress towards a solution of the Kashmir problem.
There can hardly be any illusion that Kashmir is an emotive issue for both New Delhi and Islamabad have compulsions in dealing with the vexed problem. Arguably, saner sections in both countries hold the view that stubbornness on the Kashmir issue only helps defying a settlement of the complex tangle and matters cannot go
too far unless both sides demonstrate pragmatism and a sincere will to solve it. Against this background, any forward movement involving Kashmir, however small it is, is expected to serve the cause of peace not only in the Kashmir region but also in the overall Indo-Pak environment. The militants threatening the bus service may have their points, but the bottom line here is that the Islamabad government has supported the bus service. This very much falls in the line of contacts among general people.
The Dhaka-Kolkata or the Dhaka-Agartala bus services have been welcomed by people of Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura respectively. This has enabled many people to travel inexpensively and make contacts among divided families as well as developing interactions among people. Although the bus service in Kashmir is tinged with political overtones, it is also basically a peo-ple-to-people contact exercise. Undoubtedly the wind of change that presently characterise the Indo-Pak ties will be further stronger by the bus service. In the SAARC region, people-to-people contact is a fundamental objective for developing cooperation among seven countries and the latest bus service in Kashmir marks a step in the right direction that should encourage others for contacts that facilitate greater interactions among peoples.
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is a senior journalist.
***The Dhaka-Kolkata or the Dhaka-Agartala bus services have been welcomed by people of Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura respectively. Although the bus service in Kashmir is tinged with political overtones, it is also basically a people-to-people contact exercise. In the SAARC region, people-to-people contact is a fundamental objective for developing cooperation among seven countries and the latest bus service in Kashmir marks a step in the right direction.***