New Delhi, June 20: With the rising tempo of verbal exchanges between Pakistan and India likely to affect the trend in normalisation of relations between them, it may be easy to focus on the negative aspects more than what would be called for. But there is still a problem of how should we interpret General Pervez Musharraf’s recent statements to media.
For example, should we accord high priority to his statement that Pakistan would take two steps — to bring peace in the region — if India takes one? Or should we give importance to his laying down conditions bordering on threats that a lull in stopping cross-border infiltration is not sustainable for a long period and that solving the “core issue” of Kashmir is a pre-requisite to peace?

If the former is to be the yardstick, then it is possible to press for greater movement in the process of normalisation. If the latter were to be the defining factor, then how would such pre-conditions impact on the extremely intractable issue in the climate of distrust that Musharraf concedes exists? Surely the first priority should be to restore mutual confidence between the two countries if we are serious about establishing peace between them? This would continue to remain problematic as long as the understanding of the “dispute” — as Pakistanis want to term it — over Kashmir is different and even contradictory in the two countries. More important, Musharraf must concede the reality that the 15-year-old proxy war has eliminated all the negotiating space for a settlement of the Kashmir issue that could be considered reasonably acceptable to both countries. The challenge for anyone who seeks normalisation and the establishment of stable peaceful relations between Pakistan and India is just this: How is space for such negotiations to be created if we wish to move beyond the current situation?
Conversely, any threat of escalation would hardly be conducive to the search for that space. Now that General Musharraf has all but accepted that terrorist violence in J&K was promoted from across the borders, and assures us that this is not happening at present, what he needs to do is to assure India and the rest of the world that Pakistan intends to ensure that such a situation is made permanent.
To paraphrase what Musharraf says in another context, Pakistan must uproot the tree of terrorism rather than pluck at the leaves. Unfortunately, his articulations seem to give a contrary perspective which would lead people in India to conclude that the commando in Musharraf is promising to cut back on terrorism only as a short-term tactical step. Either way, General Musharraf needs to unambiguously spell out his vision of what direction he proposes to take. His present musings appear confusing.