KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan National Security Advisor (NSA) General Mahmud Ali Durrani here on Saturday called for a candid dialogue between security agencies of India and Pakistan.
He said mutual suspicion and mistrust in the security and intelligence agencies of both the countries was a challenge, adding “there is a serious catharsis between our intelligence agencies.” He said the only way out was “a frank and candid dialogue between the security and intelligence services.
He also stressed for urgent expansion of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism to include senior representatives of security and intelligence agencies.
Delivering the inaugural R.K.
Mishra Memorial Lecture on ‘India-Pakistan Relations: Bridging the Gap’ Saturday evening, organized by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Gen.
Durrani admitted that the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism has failed to achieve much so far.
He said India and Pakistan were for the first time facing the common threat of terrorism, religious bigotry, intolerance and a warped sense of nationalism.
He said “this threat which if not contained and rejected will surely destroy us, piecemeal”.
“I can assure you time is not on our side.
We have to fight this threat jointly and move beyond the usual rhetorical statements and the blame game,” Gen.
Durrani, who was actively involved in the Track II diplomacy along with late R.K.
Mishra, Founder Chairman of ORF, during the A.B.
Vajpayee-Nawaz Sharief period, said.
“Indeed today, it is Pakistan which is facing the brunt of this threat in the form of Al-Qaida, Taliban and narrow minded religiosity, but it would be naïve not to see the signs of this threat in India.
Ayodhya, Gujarat, Mumbai and Kashmir represent the leading edge of this threat to India,” Gen.
Saying that despite four rounds of composite dialogue since January 2004, the movement of progress has been very slow, Gen.
Durrani said forward movement can only be achieved in a spirit of give and take and not dictation by one or the other party.
He suggested simplification of visa process, humanization of the bilateral relationship, finding solutions to the Sir Creek and Siachin issues as some of the steps both countries can take to make the dialogue process creditable.
Noting that acrimony between India and Pakistan has not allowed the South Asia Region to develop its full potential, Gen.
Durrani said if Pakistan, India and Afghanistan have good working relations, each could play an important role to develop and improve energy, trade and communication infrastructures in the region to make South Asia a hub of economic activity that yields mutually beneficial results for its entire people.
Saying that for many people in India and Pakistan modeling after European Union and ASEAN is a pipe dream even now, Gen.
Durrani said he honestly believed that “if India and Pakistan could get their act together, a strong and potent SAARC is within our reach”.
“Collectively, we could manage the geo-strategic interests of other world powers in our neighborhood.
In addition, collectively we could efficiently resolve the primary problem of our people, which as we all know is poverty,” Gen.
