NEW DELHI, 14 February 2005 — External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh’s penchant for “diplomatic atmospherics” will be put to test again during his Feb.15 to 17 visit to Pakistan.
Natwar’s visit is expected to give a new boost to India-Pakistan relations. Natwar himself is hopeful of a “positive outcome.” “Diplomacy offers hope, not salvation. I am hopeful,” Natwar said. His is the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in 17 years. The last visit was by P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1988 when he was foreign minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s government.
Since becoming the country’s top diplomat, Natwar has been optimistic about progress in relations between the two countries. The progress, he says, should not be gauged only by the mere number of agreements signed or reached. “To expect every India-Pakistan meeting should end in an agreement is not being realistic. What does help is the atmospherics that somehow we should come together,” says the minister.
When the two sides get together, owing to his command of the Urdu language and Urdu couplets, Natwar is likely to set the right tone for the needed diplomatic “atmospherics.”
Following a brief visit to Kabul on Feb. 15, Natwar will fly to Islamabad on the same day for talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, and other leaders. During the talks, they will make a comprehensive review of the progress in the ongoing composite dialogue process. Even though India is not pleased with Pakistan’s decision to seek World Bank arbitration to resolve differences over the Baglihar project, Delhi does not want the ongoing dialogue process to be deflected. Rather, sources said, during Natwar’s visit, certain measures are likely to be announced to infuse greater momentum into the peace process.
India and Pakistan are expected to sign an agreement on starting the bus service across the Line of Control. The bus is to ply between Uri on the Indian side of the Line of Control and Muzaffarabad on the Pakistani side. Talks on the issue have not progressed since the Dec. 7-8 technical talks. While earlier Pakistan insisted that passengers use only a local document and not passports, India favored their using an entry permit with passport serving as the identity document. Chances are that India and Pakistan will now agree on the “local document”.
Earlier, this agreement was to be signed in Dhaka on the sidelines of the SAARC summit following a meeting between Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Shaukat Aziz. With the SAARC summit having been postponed, India and Pakistan are expected to sign the bus pact during Natwar’s visit.
