The case of the missing handshake -- and more

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, JULY 17. The Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, and the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, may not have agreed on certain points at Agra, but speakers from Pakistan and India at a discussion on ``Indo-Pak Summit 2001'' here today were in complete unison as they aired their ``disappointment'' at the way the summit had ended, saying the two leaders should at the end of it all have posed for a handshake and promised to meet again before parting ways.

The discussion, organised by the Academy of Third World Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia University, saw all the speakers from Pakistan say that they were disheartened at the way the summit had ended.

``I fear a backlash from the Agra failure. The exasperation in Kashmir might translate into an increase in insurgency and violence in the short term,'' said Mr M.B. Naqvi of Pakistan Peace Coalition.

Another peacenik, Mr Karamat Ali, voiced dismay at the fact that the process of normalisation had failed to take off after expectations were raised sky-high. ``The leaders showed utter disregard for the ordinary citizens of both countries by not coming together in the end to part like good friends.''

Holding that conflict costs life and aggravates poverty, Mr Ali said ``it was the bitterness between the two nations which was responsible for the militarisation of Pakistan'': ``We have never had a democratic dispensation and our fear is that continued conflict with Pakistan can also affect India's democracy adversely.''

Historian and former Member of Pakistan's National Commission for Women, Dr. Syeda S. Hameed, said common people on both sides desire peace and it was the politicians and bureaucrats who were to blame for the current impasse. ``Why quibble over words when human blood is being shed?'' she asked in a choked voice, recalling how she heard the father of an Indian soldier killed in Kargil saying his son's sacrifice would be worth it if it could lead to peace between India and Pakistan.

A Pakistan soldier-turned-peace activist, Brig Rao Abid, said Agra had shattered hope now that the crying need was for peace, and overcoming poverty and hunger. Still hoping that the peace process would move forward, he said the abrupt manner in which the summit ended had created a ``dangerous void and added to the sense of anxiety'' that had prevailed since Partition.

The Pakistani speakers' views were shared by the Indian speakers. Former Foreign Secretary, Mr J.N. Dixit, opined that the aim now should be ``finding future medicine rather than conducting post-mortem, for no death has occurred''. Advocating the need to maintain a certain level of confidentiality during such summits, he said transparency might be ``the fashion word'', but it does not always help. ``It was Gen Musharraf's meeting with the editors and Ms Sushma Swaraj's statement which spoilt the atmosphere.''

His predecessor, Mr S.K. Singh, held that ``Kashmir will not be settled by summits alone. There is a need to educate the masses on both sides of the border.'' Another former Foreign Secretary, Mr Muchkund Dubey, said that he, though ``disappointed'', wished the leaders should continue to ``have a dream, think big and have a vision''.

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