Sideline summits

Manmohan Singh makes the best use of the bilateral meetings, the most important one being the session with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh had a punishing schedule at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Havana. He spent much of his time in meetings with other world leaders, but the meeting that hogged the headlines was the much-hyped one-on-one with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. On the first leg of his journey, during the visit to Brasilia, Manmohan Singh told the media that there was "a trust deficit" as far as dealings with the Pakistan government were concerned. But it was evident from the outset that a meeting with Musharraf was very much on the cards.

Before his departure for Havana the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had urged him, to use the opportunity to meet with the Pakistan President. Only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership voiced an opinion against the resumption of the dialogue process. "Before the Prime Minister left for Havana, we discussed the matter with him and told him that the meeting should be considered as an opportunity to resume the composite dialogue between the two countries," CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat told the media. He also emphasised that New Delhi should exert pressure on Islamabad to curb terrorist activities from across the border.

The hour-long meeting between the two leaders, the first after this year's Mumbai blasts, succeeded in jump-starting the dialogue process. The September 16 joint press statement released by the two leaders in Havana has the potential to give a fillip to the peace process. For the first time, the two governments have announced their intention to combat terrorism jointly. "They decided to put in place an India-Pakistan anti-terrorism institutional mechanism to identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations," the joint statement said.

The initiative has been credited to the Indian side, though in the aftermath of the Mumbai blasts the Pakistan President had offered his country's help to conduct a joint investigation. For the first time, New Delhi has made a distinction between the government in Pakistan and the terrorist groupings active on its territory. This is a departure from the hard-line stance adopted by New Delhi until now; previously Pakistan was blamed automatically for all terrorist attacks occurring on Indian territory. The realisation seems to have dawned on the Indian establishment that such a policy was not paying any diplomatic dividends.

As a senior Indian official pointed out, Musharraf has himself survived two serious assassination attempts from Pakistan-based terrorist groups. "The fact is, terror is a threat to Pakistan and it has been a threat to India for a long time," said Shiv Shankar Menon, India's High Commissioner to Pakistan. Menon, who will be taking over as Foreign Secretary soon, accompanied the Prime Minster to Havana. The two sides said that talks between the Foreign Secretaries of the two nations would begin soon. Musharraf has once again invited the Indian Prime Minister to visit Islamabad. Manmohan Singh has accepted the invitation but has not yet fixed a date. He has indicated that he will only go to Islamabad if something concrete emerges from the scheduled talks.

Indications are that the road ahead will be tough. The security agencies in the two countries, perennially suspicious of each other, do not seem to have developed the mindset necessary to interact on a routine basis. Retired Indian and Pakistan officials have been the most critical of the new "joint mechanism" to fight terrorism. Manmohan Singh told mediapersons returning to India on Air India One that both countries had now committed themselves to "jointly fighting the scourge of terrorism". At the same time, he made it clear "that it will not be business as usual" if Pakistan is not serious about tackling terrorism. He said that Musharraf had personally assured him that Pakistan had no hand in the incidents of terrorist violence in Indian cities recently. For its part, New Delhi has been unable to provide any proof of Pakistan's involvement in these acts.

Manmohan Singh said that the new understanding with Musharraf was reached in the "national interest" and after the "explicit commitment" given by the Pakistan President to stem terrorism. A senior official accompanying the Prime Minister described the new understanding "as a leap of faith" and added that both sides would soon start exchanging intelligence data on terrorism. He said that Islamabad would be given an opportunity to explain the role of "non-state actors and micro-terrorist groups" operating in the country. The modalities for the exchange of information are being worked out.

A senior Indian diplomat said that both countries had to try their best to combat terrorism. "If terrorism is cut down, even a little bit, it will be a benefit," he said. Talks on the Siachen Glacier and Sir Creek will take place soon. Indian officials are optimistic about the chances of a solution for the Sir Creek issue but seemed diffident on the proposed demilitarisation of Siachen. Pakistan officials favoured resolving the Siachen issue in tandem with Sir Creek. In the joint statement, the two leaders said that they "had decided to continue the search for mutually acceptable options for a peaceful negotiated settlement on all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir." Musharraf said in the third week of September in New York that a viable solution to the Kashmir problem was possible in the near future. The Indian side is only looking at various "options" for the time being.

The international community has welcomed the latest thaw in India-Pakistan relations. It was the only development in Havana that was hailed by Washington. The United States State Department spokesman praised the statesmanship shown by the leaders of the two countries. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said that although the U.S. had not played a direct role in facilitating the meeting between the two leaders it had provided constant encouragement to the two sides.

The high point of the Prime Minister's visit to Havana was his late-night meeting with Fidel Castro, just hours before his return home. The Prime Minster described Castro as one of "the greatest men of our times", adding that he would "always remember the meeting". During the 40-minute meeting, the Cuban leader showed no signs of exhaustion and talked in an animated way about the pressing global issues of the day. While posing for photographs with Manmohan Singh, Castro remarked jokingly that "one billion people can see us together now."

The Prime Minster said that Castro engaged him on issues relating to energy conservation and the environment. Castro conveyed his view that there was an urgent need to curb the rampant globalisation. "The world's financial situation has to be remedied," he told the Prime Minister. Manmohan Singh was among the handful of leaders the convalescing Castro met during the course of the NAM summit.

During his stay in Havana, Manmohan Singh also called on acting President Raul Castro. Cuban officials told this correspondent that they were extremely happy that the Indian Prime Minster was present. They also appreciated the role played by the Indian delegation in drafting the final NAM document.

The Prime Minister's other meetings included appointments with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, both personalities currently demonised by Washington. The Indian position on Iran's nuclear programme remains unchanged: Iran should halt its enrichment programme, but it is against imposing international sanctions on that country, which the U.S. insists on. In the meeting with Ahmadinejad, Manmohan Singh discussed important bilateral issues, including the construction of the proposed "peace pipeline" that would carry gas from Iran to India via Pakistan.

The meeting with Chavez was described by Indian officials as extremely cordial. Though Chavez, as is his wont, did not spare the Bush administration in his speeches IN Havana, he was all praise for the Indian Prime Minister. He quoted extensively from the South Commission Report drafted by Manmohan Singh in his capacity as Secretary to the South Commission in the 1980s, which was then under the chairmanship of Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. India has signed many important business deals with Venezuela, especially in the energy sector. Chavez favours enhanced cooperation between the two countries.

Behind the scenes, however, it is less jovial. Venezuela is a serious contender for the non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council from the Latin American quota. The U.S. is strenuously backing the candidature of Guatemala, whose government is among the few avowedly pro-Western ones in the region. Venezuelan officials are, however, confident of bagging the seat, saying that they have more than the required number of votes. New Delhi, it was inferred, is refusing to commit itself to supporting Caracas for fear of angering Washington. With the nuclear deal with the U.S. set to be finalised at the end of September, the Prime Minister is keeping his diplomatic cards close to his chest.

Manmohan Singh had indicated to some Left Party leaders that India might abstain in the vote. Caracas considers such action tantamount to a negative vote. Almost all the South Asian countries have pledged support to Venezuela in its bid for the seat. Manmohan Singh told journalists accompanying him on the first leg of the Havana trip that India had not yet made up its mind on the issue. When this correspondent questioned a senior official on the subject after the Prime Minister's meeting with Chavez, he said that the issue did not crop up in the discussions between the two leaders. However, other senior officials in the Prime Minster's Office said that India would vote for Venezuela, and that Chavez had requested the Prime Minister's support during the talks.

Chavez indicated his desire to visit India during his tours to neighbouring Asian countries in the recent past. The government did not respond positively. Chavez is also keen to make a private visit to Kerala and West Bengal.