Islamabad, Dec 26 (IANS) A Pakistani daily Thursday described as “significant for its symbolic value” the meeting between two key army commanders of Pakistan and India and called for such contact routine.
An editorial in the News International said that the first meeting between the Directors General of Military Operation (DGMO) of Pakistan and India in 14 years was “significant for its symbolic value”.
The last time they met was in the aftermath of the Kargil war in 1999.
The importance of Maj. Gen. Aamer Riaz and Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia’s face-to-face meeting at Wagah “lay in its being the first step in a gradual resumption of normalised ties between the two countries”.
Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Manmohan Singh had agreed to arrange the meeting, and even though it took more than three months to do so, in the interim tensions have cooled somewhat and complaints about unauthorised incursions across the Line of Control (LoC) have become infrequent, said the daily.
The editorial said “matters of importance, such as the quick return of people who inadvertently cross the de-facto border and find themselves stuck in a legal nightmare” were discussed at the meeting.
“The two sides also agreed to make their weekly interactions more effective by concentrating on achieving results rather than treating it as a formality.”
“The only way durable peace will be achieved between Pakistan and India is if such contact becomes routine and both sides know that they can talk to each other about problems rather than fight a nasty media war,” it said.
The daily went on to say that whether the DGMOs meeting is “ultimately seen as a false dawn or the start of a new era of peace will only be determined by what follows”.
“The militaries have initiated contact; now it is up to the civilians to follow suit.”
It noted that the biggest impediment to such meetings is “the particularly bitter election campaign playing out in India”.
“Congress is engaged in a nasty battle with the BJP, led by the extremely anti-Pakistan Narendra Modi, and so it too feels the need to up the rhetoric against us. That certainly rules out a bilateral meeting between the prime ministers, at least until the elections have been held.”
The daily called for seeking smaller breakthroughs.
“A liberalisation of the visa regime or a few agreements on trade could ensure that the relative cooling down over the past couple of months continues while we await a larger breakthrough.”
“Such incremental progress is vital since neither country is willing or able to discuss or compromise on the much thornier issues of Kashmir and terrorism. Right now both sides have to create a conducive climate so that such matters can later be broached. The DGMOs meeting made that eventuality slightly more likely.”