Pragmatic Euphony  

If this is India-friendly opinion, what is the centrist view in Pakistan.

When he was a young officer with the Pakistan army, he believed — till the mid-1970s — that the only good Indian is a dead Indian. Then, as a serving and a retired general, he was associated with a Indo-Pak Track-II diplomatic initiative called the Balusa Group. This initiative earned him the sobriquet of General Shanti in his country. He left the initiative after being nominated as NSA to President Zardari and was unceremoniously sacked for publicly acknowledging that Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national.

Now, General Mahmud Ali Durrani is in India and his statements on many issues concerning the India-Pakistan relationship are disheartening, to say the least.

Today there is a firm belief amongst the intelligence and security community in Pakistan that India is actively supporting insurgency in Baluchistan and some even believe that India has a hand in the turbulence in FATA. I was also assured by some friends in India that Pakistan’s security agencies are equally involved in destabilizing India.[Rediff]

On whether he agreed with Pakistan’s allegation that India was involved in the unrest in Balochistan, Durrani quipped, “I think some evidence has been given.”[Tribune]

General Durrani, very dangerously, not only establishes an equivalence between the role of ISI in India and RAW in Pakistan but almost paints Pakistani actions as reactive and of much lesser magnitude than the imaginary Indian acts. He conveniently chooses to ignore the small matter of detail that ISI’s role — in India (including Kashmir) — has been well documented and accepted not only by the international community but by many ex-ISI operatives and jehadis themselves. Whereas the world is yet to publicly see any proof of Indian involvement except for the insinuations made during  ISI briefings to the international media.

Meanwhile, the legal wizard trapped inside the politician’s garb of the Indian Home Minister is on TV channels patting his own back for preparing a legally sound case against Hafiz Saeed. It is another matter that forget a Rehman Malik, even General Durrani has dismissed Mr. Chidamabram’s claims.

Gen Durrani dismissed Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram’s allegations that Pakistan was deliberately stalling the Mumbai attacks probe. “I feel sorry he has made this statement. Our country is doing its best to move forward. They have arrested some people and you have to capture people who can later stand legal scrutiny,” he told reporters.

Gen Durrani also absolved Jammatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed from his alleged involvement in the Mumbai attacks. “There is zero proof to the best of my knowledge of Hafiz Saeed’s involvement in the Mumbai incident,” he added.[Daily Times]

Remember that General Durrani is as India-friendly a person as one can expect to get in Pakistan. Unlike most of the Wagah candle lighting types this side of the border (with whom he seems to share a lot of views), Durrani has been a part of the establishment at the highest levels in Pakistan even when he was expounding his “peaceful” views.

Imagine that his are the views on the positive extremity of an India-friendly relationship in Pakistan, where the other extremity of anti-India opinion is expressed in terrorist acts by the jehadis on Indian soil. If you mean the two out, you get to answer the question asked by Polaris in an email conversation. Where does the “centrist” opinion on India lie in Pakistan: that middle-of-the-road persuasion which most Indians believe is the viewpoint of the educated Pakistani elite. This elite is believed to occupy the seats of power in that country, and formulates and implements Pakistani security and foreign policies.

It is about time both countries learn to accept the stark reality. The territorial divide of 1947 is now an ideological divide, a divide which can’t be bridged by good intentions, joint statements and peace initiatives. This leaves India with few easy options when it comes to Pakistan. The Indian government can do no better than remember the 17th century English proverb: Good fences make good neighbours. Let us make good fences.