Nilacharal

Timing of Invitation

The timing of the invitation to General Musharraf also came under sharp criticism. It was reported in certain section of the Press that some of the cabinet colleagues of Vajpayee were taken by surprise when he disclosed his intentions to extend an invitation to Musharraf. It was also argued that we should not host Musharraf as he was the "director" of the Kargil war. The bitter memory of Kargil events are still fresh in the minds of every Indian and it was considered an inopportune time to host any Pakistani head, leave alone Musharraf as an individual. The wetness of cement on the cemetery of our valiant war soldiers has not yet dried. Also, it is reported that about 54 Prisoners of War (PoW) are languishing in Pakistan jails for the past thirty years. Musharraf refuted this and he assured that he would personally check on this and make sure that all prisoners of war are released; we hope that he stands by his promise. All these sentiments are very genuine and can not be ignored. However, we must also think of the other scenario. If we do not try to normalize our relations with Pakistan, we may lose many more of brothers in many more Kargils. It would be an irreparable and personal loss to their families and it would turn out to be a colossal loss to our exchequer. We need to bring an end to this tension sooner than later so that we can move forward.

Pressure from United States

It was also rumored in the national and international Press that the Agra summit is eyewash and the formality was gone through at the behest of America. Those people confirm this allegation by pointing out that America is more enthusiastic in claiming the summit a successful event in the history. They even say that both the heads and their colleagues in Foreign Ministry are asked to echo the American assessment of this Summit. No summit could be cordial if it is gone through under an external pressure. The author believes that the summit was not gone through under the US pressure going by the hectic marathon discussions both the Heads had in Agra. No doubt that the US and UN have been impressing on both countries to renew the bilateral discussions so that it could limit the potential for a nuclear conflagration.

Mere Hospitality Show?

The invitation to APHC (All Party Hurriyat Conference) for the tea party hosted by Pakistan President was blown up to a level where it became an ego issue for both the countries. The pessimist portrayed the entire visit of Musharraf and the Agra Summit as a mere "show of hospitality" by India. Unfortunately, after the summit is over, many in India share this view. One of the major obstacles for peace is the ideological difference between the two countries. For India, Kashmir is not the main issue. For Pakistan, a settlement in Kashmir is the key to peace in the region. Since the two countries are at cross-purposes, one can not easily identify the meeting point.

Hidden Agenda

A rigid adherence to nationalism evaded a solution to Kahsmir issue all these years. It did not pave a way to accommodate differences that exist between the two countries for many decades on Kashmir and other related issues. Substantial revision in their respective stands (their old nationalist stances) needed for any peace move to succeed. Also, the summit was held with more things at stake for Musharraf. He came to India with the hope that he could consolidate his position at home if the talks go well and the chances of ironing out the creases in Indo-Pakistan relations will greatly increase. He also came with the risk of losing control over the jihadi elements which can spell disaster domestically and also for Indo-Pakistan relations, if the summit ends in stalemate.

The media hype for Vajpayee's Lahore trip was also high and we learnt then that the media hype could be misplaced and misleading. The Lahore trip was followed by Kargil war and made mockery of the Lahore visit. There was a need for Vajpayee to correct this historical miscalculation and establish his credential as a good diplomat. The least that was expected out of the Agra Summit was to generate "good will" and "evolve a structure for further dialogues" for the interests of both the nations. The intention was also to convey to the rest of the world that we are serious about bring peace into this region.

Although not so important, it has to be mentioned that there was no structured agenda prepared in advance of the Agra Summit. There was no pre-summit meeting at official levels. The outcome of the summit was entirely dependent on the "personal chemistry" between the two leaders. We need to assess the outcome of the Agra Summit taking all things into consideration. We would attempt it in the second part of this article.