ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Pak stand may jeopardise peace talks

Prospects of the Indo-Pakistan peace dialogue getting to a fresh start under the new government seem to be receding in the light of Pakistan's aggressive posture towards the Bharatiya Janata Party's nuclear policy

Soon after his swearing-in ceremony on Thursday Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee pledged that his government's top priority will be to maintain friendly relations with Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. Vajpayee has retained the external affairs portfolio.

In fact, Vajpayee's first official engagement after being sworn in was to witness the first India-Pakistan hockey test at the National stadium in New Delhi.

But diplomatic circles in New Delhi feel the main hurdle to re-open the Indo-Pak dialogue would be the 13-party coalition government's avowed policy on national security and nuclear options.

The BJP's manifesto as well as the coalition's national agenda have pledged to re-evaluate India's nuclear policy and exercise the option to induct nuclear weapons.

The new government has also promised to establish a National Security Council to analyse the military, economic and political threats to the nation. This council will undertake India's first-ever strategic defence review.

The BJP's manifesto has specifically pledged "to take active steps to persuade Pakistan to abandon its present policy of hostile interference" in India's internal affairs by supporting insurgent and terrorist groups.

"It would be difficult to restart peace talks between India and Pakistan as the latter has already threatened to review its nuclear policy," a senior official at the external affairs ministry told Rediff On The NeT. "Pakistan will now wait and see how the Vajpayee government reshapes India's security and nuclear policies."

Already, top Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has termed the government's decision to keep its nuclear options open "a dangerous development in Asia".

While many say the prime minister will be hard-pressed to take a clear policy in respect of the dialogue with Pakistan, Vajpayee -- who helped the last Congress government to implement its foreign policies -- will also need to take into confidence the Opposition parties on crucial policy issues.

The previous United Front government had carried out three rounds of foreign secretary-level bilateral talks on Kashmir between India and Pakistan in 1997. The foreign secretary-level talks were resumed, in March 1997, after a break of more than three years.

Previous prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharief had met in New York last September in an effort to settle their five-decade-old dispute over Kashmir sooner than later.

But, in October, the peace talks abruptly ended after Islamabad insisted that India should agree to its demand to set up a joint working group to examine the Kashmir issue. India turned down the demand. Not much progress has since been made after an election was called.

The BJP government is firm that any new direction to the dialogue could be given only if Pakistan agrees that peace and security and Jammu and Kashmir should be top on the agenda.

But it is likely that Pakistan would insist that -- since Kashmir is central to the success of the Indo-Pakistan dialogue -- the Vajpayee government constitute a joint working group to find a meaningful settlement to the vexed issue.

Tell us what you think of this report