20

Unofficial talks about official

talks... and some mis-talks

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

B R I E F S

Hope for fisherfolk

he high-level
talks between
India and Pakistan being held on December 17-18, led by
the chiefs of the Indian
Coast Guard chief and
the Pakistan Maritime
Security Agency, will
also take up the issue
of early release of the
fishermen in their respective jails. They
meeting will also discuss enhanced cooperation in maritime
search and rescue.
Most significantly, fishermen File photo
the meeting could lead an agreement about not arresting fishermen who stray up to five nautical miles on either side of the
international maritime boundary line. Pakistan currently has
808 Indian boats and 348 fishermen in its custody, while India
holds 118 Pakistani boats and 136 fishermen.

T
By Javed Jabbar

A former Senator
invited to participate
as Adviser at the
recent India-Pakistan
Parliamentarians
dialogue in India
shares his
observations,
including the
consensus on the
indispensability of
official talks

Mani Shankar Aiyar and Javed Jabbar at the Sixth Parliamentarians Photo: PILDAT
Foreign Affairs and former
Federal Minister for Information Technology, led the
Pakistani legislators.
An unfortunate episode
occurred by which two appointments for the Pakistani Parliamentarians to
meet with the Speaker of
the Indian Lok Sabha could
not materialize. Along with
certain candid comments
made to media by some of
the visiting parliamentarians about the perceptions in
Pakistan regarding the new
Indian government's Pakistan policies, the missedappointments matter resulted in the Indian news
media, specially news TV

channels, going hysterical

and permitting some "analysts " to spew venom
against the visitors and their
country.
To the best of one's
knowledge, not a single
newspaper in India or news
TV channel, cared to reproduce any substantive part of
the Joint Statement, leave
alone the entire text. Despite being unofficial, the
Dialogue was held in the
Parliament House Library,
adjacent to the Parliament
building itself -- an indicator
of the credibility attached to
the process.
There was an additional
indicator of acknowledge-

4.
5.
6.

7.

ment of the importance of

the Pakistani Parliamentarians' presence. Mr Hamid
Ansari, Vice President of the
Republic of India, a widely
respected scholar and former diplomat, former Vice
Chancellor of Aligarh University, received the visitors
at his official residence. He
listened with interest to his
guests and also presented
the Indian perspective with
polite, firm dignity.
The prestigious venue of
the Dialogue had a disadvantage. With both the
Upper and Lower Houses in
session on the same days,
and some heated proceedings warming winter tem-

Text of the Joint Statement issued at the end of the Sixth India-Pakistan
Parliamentarians Dialogue, New Delhi, India, December 11-12, 2014

jointly, with the volatile regional

and global geo-political situations that have direct implications for both States. Religious
fundamentalism in these circumstances also needs to be
firmly resisted in both countries.
Trade has substantially
increased
although
"Non-Tariff Barriers" and infrastructure problems require to be
resolved as also MFN/NDMA
treatment extended to India. It
was also stressed that the opening of Consulates in Karachi
and Mumbai would be essential
to fulfil the trade potential.
The dimension of people-to-people contacts
is of the foremost importance.
Participants urged the intensification of cultural, sports and
academic exchanges enlightened media commentary, further liberalisation of trade and a
better people-to-people visa
regime.
While reviewing the
status of implementation of recommendations
adopted by the previous 5 Parliamentarians' Dialogues, this
meeting noted with regret that,
despite several specific Recommendations having been
made in the previous 5 Dia-

11.

2.

3.

International dance
festival, Islamabad

peratures, the Indian MPs

were obliged to make periodic entrances/exits in the
Dialogue to fulfill their duties inside respective Chambers. At times, the inter-action was fragmented, rather
than continuous.
Nevertheless, as the text
of the Joint Statement reveals, despite the participation of only three BJP MPs
out of the 27 who came and
went (a few did stay the
course), there is a refreshing consensus on the indispensability of official talks
resuming at some point
soon. Let the words of the
Joint Statement speak for
themselves.

Joint Statement: India-Pakistan

Parliamentarians Dialogue-VI

Round VI of the India-Pakistan Parliamentarians Dialogue was convened in New

Delhi, India, on December 1112, 2014 at the Parliament
House. The Dialogue was cochaired by Mr. Awais Khan
Leghari, Member of Pakistan's
National Assembly and Shri
Mani Shankar Aiyar, Member of
the Indian Rajya Sabha.
Participants conducted
candid and comprehensive
discussions on the present status of bilateral relations. At the
outset, it was acknowledged
that, owing to recent events, the
stalled process of official dialogue is a source of considerable concern.
Each side reiterated precisely why, from its own
perspective, the official talks
have reached the present impasse.
While not necessarily
agreeing with the viewpoint of Parliamentarians from
the other country, each group
listened with respect and careful attention to the observations
made by Parliamentarians from
the other country.
Internal conditions within
both countries deserve primary but not necessarily exclusive considerations. Internal
factors can comprise party policies, electoral pressures, partisan conflicts and public opinion.
At the same time the vital
interests of both States
have an inescapable external dimension. This externality in the
relationship between India and
Pakistan is due to the unchangeable factors of geography and regional and global
geo-politics.
Regardless of particular, individual divergences in the
internal political situation in
each country, there is also a
broad consensus in each country on the position presently
being taken by their respective
Governments on the process of
talks with the other country.
There are virtually unprecedented indications that this situation is likely to continue for
the foreseeable future. At the
same time, it was noted that
notwithstanding the gridlock in
the official dialogue, diplomatic
relations are on an even keel,
trade continues, cultural exchanges continue, despite hiccups, and visa liberalisation has
not been adversely affected.
The hope was expressed that

1.

welve Parliamentarians of
Pakistan and
27 Parliamentarians of India
met for a day and a half of
dialogue in New Delhi on
December 11 and 12, 2014.
This was the first such
interaction between elected
legislators of both countries
since the election of Prime
Minister Modi following
polls held in May 2014 that
appear to represent a significant shift in political
power at the central Indian
Union level.
The discussion was the
sixth in the series of such
dialogues organised by the
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Transparency and Development (PILDAT). The
discussions were closeddoor exchanges but a Joint
Statement
(reproduced
here) represented a summary of the principal elements.
This unofficial bilateral
parliamentarians' forum
was organised by PILDAT's
dedicated founder Ahmed
Bilal Mehboob and hardworking Joint Director
Aasiya Riaz and their team.
In India, Rajya Sabha member Mani Shankar, indefatigable, fearless advocate for
sustained dialogue with
Pakistan, facilitated the process. Awais Leghari, Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee for

Delhi, 2014: The Sixth Parliamentarians Dialogue. Photo: PILDAT

these positive factors be reinviii. Through forums of youth
forced.
and digital media.
Existing official and nonix. Through civil society foofficial modes offer possirums.
bilities that should be more acx. Through increased extively used to facilitate the
changes in the fields of culresumption of dialogue on
ture, academia, intellectual
terms that are mutually acceptinter-actions, sports, espeable.
cially cricket, trade and
These 12 modes comprise
people-to-people
exthe following:
changes.
i. Through initiating a "talks
xi. To facilitate such increases,
about talks" process at the
the rail/road links such as
Governmental level to set
the Khokhrapar-Munabao
the stage for the resumption of the formal dialogue.
Pakistan Parliamentary
ii. Through normal diplodelegation
matic channels.
PML-N
iii. Through the bipartisan Pari. Mr. Awais Ahmed Khan
liamentary process.
Leghari, MNA (Punjab)
iv. By exercising restraint in
ii. Senator Mushahid Ullah
the use of force.
Khan (Punjab)
v. Through back-channel diaiii. Mr. Muhammad Afzal
logue which is not publicly
Khan, MNA (Punjab)
reported. The dimension
iv. Ms. Maiza Hameed,
of quiet diplomacy is
MNA (Punjab)
stressed to ensure undiv. Mr. Muhammad Tallal
vided, unimpeded, undisBadar, MNA (Punjab)
tracted negotiations, and
vi. Syed Muhammad Ashiq
not to indefinitely withhold
Hussain Shah, MNA
information from public
(Punjab)
disclosure. The hopefully
positive outcome of backPPPP
channel talks must be
i. Senator Dr. Muhammad
eventually shared with the
Jehangir Bader (Punjab)
people of both countries.
ii. Senator Nawabzada Saivi. Through the DG-MOs profullah Magsi (Balochiscess being used on a regutan)
lar basis to prevent violent
iii. Mr. Muhammad Ayaz
incidents across the LoC
Soomro MNA (Sindh)
or across the international
iv. Mr. Ramesh Lal MNA
border and through the
(Sindh)
maintenance of stable
peace at the LoC, and the
Other Parties
international border, ini. Mr. Abdul Rashid Godil
cluding the prevention of
MNA (MQM, Sindh)
any cross-border (incurii. Senator Hasil Khan
sions/incidents).
Bizenjo (NP, Balochisvii. Through credible, reputed
tan)
Track-II Dialogue processes.

8.
9.

THE FIRST STEP

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

Feedback, contributions, photos, letters:

Email: amankiasha@janggroup.com.pk
Fax: +92-21-3241-8343
Post: aman ki asha c/o The News,
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route and the KarachiMumbai sea route should

be revived and sustained.
xii. Through sections of mainstream media which are
willing to actively contribute to the reduction of
misperceptions and end
the projection of content
that stereotypes and reinforces misperceptions.
It is relevant to recognise that it is urgently
necessary to address critical
priorities such as poverty,
health, education and equitable
development in each country as
well as to deal, separately or

10.

12.

13.

Indian Parliamentarians who participated

BJP
i Shri Feroze Varun Gandhi (Uttar Pradesh)
ii. Shri Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (Bihar)
iii. Shri Kirti Azad (Bihar)
Congress
i. Shri Malikaarjun Kharge, (Karnataka)
ii. Shri Anand Sharma (Rajasthan)
iii. Shri Digvijaya Singh (Madhya Pradesh)
iv. Shri Ashwani Kumar (Punjab)
v. Shri Satyavrat Chaturvedi (Madhya Pradesh)
vi. Shri Hassan Dalwai (Maharashtra)
vii. Shri Rajeev Shukla (Maharashtra)
viii. Smt. Kumari Sushmita Dev (Assam)
ix. Prof. M. V. Rajeev Gowda (Karnataka)
x. Dr. Shashi Tharoor (Kerala)
xi. Shri Gaurav Gogoi (Assam)
xii. Shri Bhubaneswar Kalita (Assam)
Other Parties
i. Prof. Saugata Roy (AITC, West Bengal)
ii. Shri Baijayant Jay Panda (BJD; Odisha)
iii. Shri B. Parida (BJD; Odisha)
iv. Shri Pavan Kumar Varma (JDU; Bihar)
v. Shri Majeed Memon (NCP; Maharashtra)
vi. Shri K. T. S. Tulsi (Nominated)
vii. Shri Rajeev Chandasekar (Independent, Karnatak)
viii. Shri Muhammad Salim, (CPI, West Bengal)
ix. Shri Naresh Gujral (SAD, Punjab)
x. Shri Neiphiu Rio (NPF, Nagaland)
xi.
Shri Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM, Telangana)
xii.
Smt. Anu Agha (Nominated)

15.

Nahid Siddiqui

Navtej Johar

Celebrating Gulzar

he Indian
and Pakistani
community of
greater Boston
came together
recently to celebrate the great
poet and writer
Gulzar in a musical play on his
life titled Gul-oShekhar Shastri as Gulzar, Farooq Ansari as Gulzar.
The
play
Ghalib with director Siraj Khan. Photo:
showcased
Foundations TV
some
of
Gulzar's greatest lyrics, melodies and poetry, including the TV
play Mirza Ghalib that he wrote and directed. Gul-o-Gulzar was
directed by Siraj Khan, a "global citizen" working on O.P. Nayar's
authorised biography and written by screenwriter and actor
Shekhar Shastri from Delhi who also played Gulzar.
Proceeds will be used to help aging, forgotten and needy musicians, singers or performing artistes in India or Pakistan.

logues, the scope and speed of

implementation remained extremely slow, limited or nonexistent. The meeting stressed
the need for formation of the
India-Pakistan Parliamentary
Friendship Group in the Indian
Parliament. In Pakistan, such
Groups already exist in the
Senate and in the National Assembly of Pakistan and in the
latter there are over 140 Members. The hope was expressed
that these Friendship Groups
in each Parliament might meet
frequently in a structured dialogue to enhance knowledge
and understanding about actual conditions in the other
country.
MPs recognised that
through the creation
of enabling circumstances, official talks need to be revived
and sustained as a continuous
process. Dialogue, not armed
conflict, was deemed to be the
only way forward. There is,
therefore, need to jointly
strive more effectively to
make bilateralism more result-oriented.
The fact that the
Nobel Peace Prize for
2014 was jointly awarded to
Kailash Satyarthi of India and
Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan,
along with the fortuitous coincidence of the prize-giving
ceremony being held in Oslo
on the eve of Dialogue VI
vividly illustrates both the
symbolic and substantive potential for progressive peace
and cooperation between the
two countries.
The Parliamentarians expressed the hope that the relationship be developed on
the basis of mutual respect
and recognition of ground realities. To this end, Parliamentarians on both sides should
impress upon their respective
Leaderships the need to create an appropriate environment within which the Government-to-Government
dialogue might be resumed in
a peaceful and constructive
manner.
Parliamentarians from
both sides recognised and appreciated the initiative of PILDAT to foster these Dialogues. They urged that this
initiative be continued and reinforced. They also thanked
Senator Javed Jabbar for the
assistance he rendered in
making their dialogue meaningful.

14.

he Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop's tradition of showcasing

various schools of dance continues with its International
Dance Festival in Islamabad on Dec 15-16, 2014.
This year's lineup included Elna Martin (Spain), Navtej Johar
(India), Shahrokh Mohhkin Ghalam (France), and from Pakistan, Nahid Siddique, Nighat Chaudhry, Sheema Kermani,
Shayma Saiyid, Adnan Jahangir and Wahab Shah.

A birthday bash in Peshawar

ollywood
legend
D i l i p
Kumar's 92nd
birthday on December 11, 2014
was celebrated
with fanfare in
his hometown
Peshawar with a
cake-cutting cer- Dilip Kumar: Birthday celebrations at Peshawar
emony at Pe- Press Club. 2013 photo: APP
shawar Press
Club as has become a tradition. Prominent citizens and journalists participated in the event organised by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in collaboration with Cultural Heritage Council and Peshawar Press Club.
Mohammad Yusuf Khan, later known as Dilip Kumar, was
born on December 11, 1922. The provincial government has declared his house in Qissa Khwani Bazaar as cultural heritage.

Hockey and humans

Say it with flowers: Coach Shahnaz Sheikh and captain Muhammad

Imran. PTI photo
efore being Indian or Pakistani "we all are human first,"
comments Amarr Prakaash, a reader on the Aman ki
Asha Facebook page, following Pakistan's win against
India in the hockey semi-finals.
"All due respect and applause to your win against us," he
writes, apologising for the hostile behaviour from some members of the Indian crowd that provoked the winning team to
respond with rude gestures.
Terming the apology letter from Pakistan's head coach
Shahnaz Sheikh as "a classical display of your big heart," he
adds: "You guys have won twice, once by defeating us and second time by being graceful by making a statement ...we are
happy for your win."

A peace initiative whose time has come...

Destination Peace: A commitment by the Jang Group, Geo and The Times of India Group to
create an enabling environment that brings the people of Pakistan and India closer together,
contributing to genuine and durable peace with honour between our countries.