The bus service and trade across the Line of Control (LoC) on the Poonch-Rawlakot side resumed four months after it was suspended amid heightened tensions on both sides. Guns were blazing and civilians were falling victim to what one can easily call the madness of the armies of India and Pakistan. For some time, it seemed that these two important confidence-building measures (CBMs) might be put off forever. However, good sense prevailed and the efforts of peace-makers, traders and saner elements in the administration managed to pull them back from the brink.
On the face of it, the bus service and the trade on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawlakot routes are seen as something that has not worked. But that is the thinking of people who are against such measures as steps towards peace and reconciliation and those who have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.
When the bus service and trade started in 2005 and 2008 they changed the dynamic of the conflict. Over time thousands of people on both sides became emotionally invested in these CBMs. Indeed, these measures changed lives on both sides of the divide even though they were yoked to a cumbersome process. They never purported to be an overnight solution but they were supposed to serve as a precursor to a lasting one. The shame is that they could not be taken to the next level.
On the ninth anniversary of cross-LOC trade, traders gathered at a ceremony in Srinagar, although with sullen faces. Their deliberations revealed that despite the acrimony, a lack of ownership from the government and persistent procedural problems, trade has actually not done badly at all. “Since October 21, 2008 when the LoC trade started, till October 6, 2017 there has been a trade of Rs4,850 crore (Rs48.5b),” said Hilal Turki, the leader of cross-LoC traders on the Srinagar side. Exports have totalled Rs2,529 crore and imports Rs2,236 crore. Turki and many of his colleagues had been fighting more than one battle. Just as they have been trying to remove bottlenecks, they have also been facing the axe of the National Investigating Agency that sees this trade as as a route to terror funding. They persisted despite these misgivings as the stakes were too high.
Much the same happened with the bus service that was launched in 2005. It too has survived despite an atmosphere of mistrust and lack of interest from both governments. Nearly 30,000 people from divided families have benefited from this twin service and most of them are those who would have never been able to connect with their roots and families had it not been for it.
Here too, a difficult process did not deter travelers. In fact, when an audacious attack took place on an army base in Uri in September 2016 it was a Sunday. By Monday, however, the bus, which passes through the same brigade headquarter, rolled on. There are many problems on both sides but the service has emerged as a symbol of necessity.
If there was one thing that could have been celebrated as an achievement in India and Pakistan relations when it came to Jammu and Kashmir, it was the ceasefire announced on November 23, 2003. It paved way for a new beginning that saw two major CBMs roll out across the LoC. By the year 2013, the ceasefire had turned a decade old and thousands of people living along the 725-kilometer LoC in the state were ecstatic this was achieved. Though violations had interrupted it in between, the hope it would become permanent was alive. After all, it had brought an abrupt end to their sufferings as the guns and shelling stopped raining down from either side. Tens of thousands of people were able to return home soon after then President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf announced the ceasefire, immediately reciprocated by New Delhi.
It was during this time that the foundations were laid for a breakthrough by the then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and former President Musharraf. It was carried forward in Dr Manmohan Singh’s regime. This new phase of normalcy, if not friendship, emerged against a backdrop of a near war-like situation in the wake of the parliament attack of 2001. This goodwill was, however, derailed by the Mumbai attack in 2008, which restarted the cycle of instability with Pakistan. But with the return of Nawaz Sharif to power and his commitment to peace moves aimed at better relations with India, hopes for an end to the enmity were revived.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed his intent to revive the process first by inviting Nawaz Sharif to his oath-taking ceremony and later by visiting Lahore on his birthday. But then Pathankot happened and the continued violence in Kashmir was attributed to Pakistan. New Delhi arbitrarily called off the foreign secretary talks in 2014. The National Security Advisors even covered some ground but the deep-rooted suspicion on both sides prevented permanent engagement. Unfortunately, continuous ceasefire violations along the LoC have not only pushed back reconciliation but also claimed a large number of civilian lives.
Today, it is a challenge for New Delhi and Islamabad to deal with those who are against peace. Extremist elements on both sides are worried about becoming irrelevant if there is any successful dialogue. Hawks in India are working overtime to ensure this and extremists in Pakistan may also have effective ways of discouraging the process. It is in the interest of the people that both New Delhi and Islamabad show grit and forge ahead to restore relations and start talking Kashmir. Only this can silence the guns on the border, as the stakes of peace lovers will automatically go up. On November 23, the ceasefire will complete 14 years and both countries must take steps to see that it is re-implemented in letter and spirit.
Making these two CBMs strong is the need of the hour. They remind us of some sanity that prevailed upon the leadership for some time. In Kashmir the joint Hurriyat leadership also needs to understand that they are not a diversion but break the status quo. CBMs must be owned by all stakeholders so that they become irreversible to benefit the victims of the divide.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Srinagar (Kashmir) and can be reached at shujaat7867@gmail.com
On the face of it, the bus service and the trade on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawlakot routes are seen as something that has not worked. But that is the thinking of people who are against such measures as steps towards peace and reconciliation and those who have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.
Extremist elements on both sides are worried about becoming irrelevant if there is any successful dialogue. Hawks in India are working overtime to ensure this and extremists in Pakistan may also have effective ways of discouraging the process
When the bus service and trade started in 2005 and 2008 they changed the dynamic of the conflict. Over time thousands of people on both sides became emotionally invested in these CBMs. Indeed, these measures changed lives on both sides of the divide even though they were yoked to a cumbersome process. They never purported to be an overnight solution but they were supposed to serve as a precursor to a lasting one. The shame is that they could not be taken to the next level.
On the ninth anniversary of cross-LOC trade, traders gathered at a ceremony in Srinagar, although with sullen faces. Their deliberations revealed that despite the acrimony, a lack of ownership from the government and persistent procedural problems, trade has actually not done badly at all. “Since October 21, 2008 when the LoC trade started, till October 6, 2017 there has been a trade of Rs4,850 crore (Rs48.5b),” said Hilal Turki, the leader of cross-LoC traders on the Srinagar side. Exports have totalled Rs2,529 crore and imports Rs2,236 crore. Turki and many of his colleagues had been fighting more than one battle. Just as they have been trying to remove bottlenecks, they have also been facing the axe of the National Investigating Agency that sees this trade as as a route to terror funding. They persisted despite these misgivings as the stakes were too high.
Much the same happened with the bus service that was launched in 2005. It too has survived despite an atmosphere of mistrust and lack of interest from both governments. Nearly 30,000 people from divided families have benefited from this twin service and most of them are those who would have never been able to connect with their roots and families had it not been for it.
Here too, a difficult process did not deter travelers. In fact, when an audacious attack took place on an army base in Uri in September 2016 it was a Sunday. By Monday, however, the bus, which passes through the same brigade headquarter, rolled on. There are many problems on both sides but the service has emerged as a symbol of necessity.
If there was one thing that could have been celebrated as an achievement in India and Pakistan relations when it came to Jammu and Kashmir, it was the ceasefire announced on November 23, 2003. It paved way for a new beginning that saw two major CBMs roll out across the LoC. By the year 2013, the ceasefire had turned a decade old and thousands of people living along the 725-kilometer LoC in the state were ecstatic this was achieved. Though violations had interrupted it in between, the hope it would become permanent was alive. After all, it had brought an abrupt end to their sufferings as the guns and shelling stopped raining down from either side. Tens of thousands of people were able to return home soon after then President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf announced the ceasefire, immediately reciprocated by New Delhi.
It was during this time that the foundations were laid for a breakthrough by the then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and former President Musharraf. It was carried forward in Dr Manmohan Singh’s regime. This new phase of normalcy, if not friendship, emerged against a backdrop of a near war-like situation in the wake of the parliament attack of 2001. This goodwill was, however, derailed by the Mumbai attack in 2008, which restarted the cycle of instability with Pakistan. But with the return of Nawaz Sharif to power and his commitment to peace moves aimed at better relations with India, hopes for an end to the enmity were revived.
Since October 21, 2008 when the LoC trade started, till October 6, 2017 there has been a trade of Rs4,850 crore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed his intent to revive the process first by inviting Nawaz Sharif to his oath-taking ceremony and later by visiting Lahore on his birthday. But then Pathankot happened and the continued violence in Kashmir was attributed to Pakistan. New Delhi arbitrarily called off the foreign secretary talks in 2014. The National Security Advisors even covered some ground but the deep-rooted suspicion on both sides prevented permanent engagement. Unfortunately, continuous ceasefire violations along the LoC have not only pushed back reconciliation but also claimed a large number of civilian lives.
Today, it is a challenge for New Delhi and Islamabad to deal with those who are against peace. Extremist elements on both sides are worried about becoming irrelevant if there is any successful dialogue. Hawks in India are working overtime to ensure this and extremists in Pakistan may also have effective ways of discouraging the process. It is in the interest of the people that both New Delhi and Islamabad show grit and forge ahead to restore relations and start talking Kashmir. Only this can silence the guns on the border, as the stakes of peace lovers will automatically go up. On November 23, the ceasefire will complete 14 years and both countries must take steps to see that it is re-implemented in letter and spirit.
Making these two CBMs strong is the need of the hour. They remind us of some sanity that prevailed upon the leadership for some time. In Kashmir the joint Hurriyat leadership also needs to understand that they are not a diversion but break the status quo. CBMs must be owned by all stakeholders so that they become irreversible to benefit the victims of the divide.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Srinagar (Kashmir) and can be reached at shujaat7867@gmail.com