The news report about possible formulations being considered as a solution to the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan is most welcomed and goes to show that both countries are prepared to leave enough room for flexibility from their old stated position on Kashmir. Several round of back door diplomacy may have finally paid off. Under the ‘joint control formula’, Pakistan and India could jointly control Jammu and Kashmir region while ‘limited sovereignty formula’ suggests that Kashmiris would be provided with all the financial, local government budget and other powers of a provincial government, while the defence, currency and foreign affairs would be the responsibility of both countries. The third option of ‘devolution system’ has provision for expansion of the local government system in a way that the Kashmiri people get internal self-determination type powers.
The above formulations though ingenious, much would also depend on how the Kashmiri people themselves respond because any solution would have to be acceptable to them as well. While both countries would have to involve the Kashmiri people at some point or the other, the present political dispensation in both New Delhi and Islamabad may also not find it easy to sell the idea to their respective domestic audience. Given this scenario, it makes sense to secure micro agreements which will rebuild enough trust in helping to push forward the peace process to its logical end.
Despite some hiccups along the way, due credit should also go to the political leadership in both countries for enabling the dialogue process to remain in course. While peace processes between New Delhi and Islamabad have been taking place for a number of years now, what lends credibility to the current effort is the forward movement taking place on a wide range of issues as agreed under the composite dialogue structure. The recent agreement signed between the Foreign Ministers requiring each country to notify the other of plans for ballistic missile tests; an agreement in principle to withdraw troops from Siachen; re-establishing panels to promote economic cooperation, starting bus services to promote people to people contact etc are all steps aimed at fully implementing the provision of the composite dialogue.
Islamabad moving away from its Kashmir first policy has also to a large extent allowed the peace process to remain on track. While Kashmir may be the core dispute, it also creates complications and unnecessarily puts misunderstanding and the possibility of a deadlock always looms large. Taking the composite dialogue route makes sense as it will allow other less contentious issues to be resolved while simultaneously working out the parameters for resolving the more difficult position on Kashmir. Any future course must follow a normalization-first approach whereby confidence building measures on other fronts will create the right atmosphere to discuss Kashmir.
