Jammu & Kashmir - Articles

As part of the Composite Dialogue between Pakistan and India, talks on combating terrorism and dealing with the menace of narcotics and drug cartels were held on 10-11 August 2004 at Islamabad. On these sensitive issues very little could be expected to emerge in the first round of talks. Discussions at the bilateral level were in itself a big step.

Indian Concerns

The Indian delegation was led by the Home Secretary, Dhirendra Singh, accompanied by the officials from Home Ministry and Narcotics department, who conveyed India's concerns over cross-border terrorism and infiltration. Singh also apprised his Pakistani counterpart about the activities of terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in the country. India demanded the extradition of underworld 'Don' Daud Ibrahim and Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of the Jaish group fighting in Kashmir. The Indian delegation also raised the issue of smuggling poppy cultivated in Afghanistan and parts of the North West Frontier Province into India through Punjab, Jammu, Rajasthan and by the sea route to Mumbai. New Delhi maintains that part of the narcotics earnings is being used by militant groups in Pakistan to fund militancy in J-K. India is a transit point for drug consignments, which are later smuggled to South East Asian countries and Europe; and New Delhi wants to put an effective check on it.

Pakistani Concerns

The Pakistani side, led by Interior Secretary, Tariq Mehmood, stuck to its position that Pakistan was itself a victim of terrorism and is engaged in a battle with various extremist groups in the domestic sphere. The delegation maintained that a resolution of the Kashmir issue would help Islamabad in dealing with Kashmir-centric jehadi groups. On the issue of sheltering fugitives wanted by India, Pakistan categorically rejected the demand, saying: "It has no concern with the wanted persons".  Pakistan also refuted Indian allegations of cross-border infiltration, calling the freedom struggle totally indigenous having no links with Pakistan. In fact, Pakistan alleged that India’s diplomatic mission in Afghanistan was sponsoring terrorism inside Pakistan, which sought India’s co-operation in this regard as a quid pro quo. Pakistan had also been complaining to India about the presence of terrorist training camps on Indian soil, that are imparting training to disgruntled Pakistani youngsters undertake subversive activities in Pakistan. The inflow of Indian chemicals – acetic anhydride – into Pakistan for manufacturing heroin in the bordering areas of Afghanistan, also figured prominently in the talks. Earlier these chemicals were routed through Pakistan but now they were going directly to Afghanistan from India. Pakistan has several times asked India to stop trafficking in these chemicals, which is essentially required to make heroin.

The Outcome

The talks concluded with an agreement to adopt a joint strategy to resolve these contentious issues. India and Pakistan reaffirmed their determination to combat terrorism and emphasized the need to eliminate this menace. There was no headway however on the issue of terrorism as both sides had divergent positions on what "terrorism" meant. Pakistan and India, for political reasons, define "terrorism" in different ways and it was therefore difficult to arrive at a consensus in the first round of talks. On drug trafficking, the two sides discussed heroin production in Afghanistan and the collaboration between smugglers from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in its manufacture. Both sides agreed that something needed to be done to stop drug money from being used to finance terrorism. They agreed on “the need for a joint strategy to stop this,� sources have said. The joint press statement termed the increasing cooperation and information sharing between their narcotics control authorities as positive and agreed to work towards a MoU to institutionalize this cooperation.

Pakistan’s declaration of releasing 449 Indian prisoners as a goodwill gesture is a positive sign. Pakistan and India also exchanged lists of persons wanted by each country for acts of terrorism and other crimes. A senior Pakistani official told AFP that Islamabad had presented a list of some 53 people to the Indian side which gave its own list of 25. However, the names on the two lists were not revealed. The official said that both sides expressed concern over alleged training camps in each other’s territory.

The statement signaled that both sides are committed to stay on the dialogue track, which should be construed as a success, considering the nature of relations between the two countries. The dialogue definitely created an atmosphere of goodwill, promoting peace and mutual trust between the two countries, but the complexities of issues before them demand a greater level of interaction and transparency.