No Pakistani politician visiting India has been the focus of so much attention as its former Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. The mild-mannered and invariably impeccably attired Kasuri must have expected some controversy over his book Neither a Hawk nor a Dove, which was released in his presence in India. He certainly would not have expected that his principal host in Mumbai, Sudheendra Kulkarni, would be assaulted by goons of the Shiv Sena, whose cadres are better known for their propensity to assault Bihari cab drivers! Kulkarni is a former BJP politician-turned academician and peace activist!!
Sadly, very few in India seemed to have the faintest clue of Kasuri’s family and political background. His grandfather Abdul Qadir Kasuri was a religious scholar and freedom fighter of the Congress party, jailed for his role in the Quit India Movement. His father, Mahmud Ali Kasuri, was also a Congress stalwart in the days of the freedom struggle. Khurshid Kasuri has impeccable academic credentials, having done his Tripos from Cambridge and qualified as a Barrister at Law in London.
While he preferred to be associated politically with the Muslim League, rather than the Bhutto family-run Peoples’ Party, Kasuri was not exactly a close associate of Nawaz Sharif. He was predictably inducted, in the course of time, into Musharraf’s Cabinet, as Foreign Minister. His tenure as Foreign Minister coincided with two landmark decisions by Musharraf. The first was a call for a ceasefire along the Line of Control and international border. The second was a firm commitment given by Musharraf to Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee that “territory under Pakistan’s control” would not be used for terrorism against India. Musharraf abided by his commitments on both issues.
As long as Musharraf was in charge, with Kasuri as his Foreign Minister, India was free from cross-border terrorism. Moreover, “back channel” talks between Special Envoys Satinder Lambah and Tariq Aziz led to a framework to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The framework was primarily based on a speech delivered by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Amritsar on March 24, 2006. Dr. Singh then stated: “While borders cannot be redrawn, we can work towards making them irrelevant—just lines on a map.” Kasuri was never fully in the picture on the “back channel” talks. What he has stated in his book about India agreeing to “Joint Management” and “demilitarisation” of Jammu and Kashmir is factually incorrect.
Regarded as a well-meaning friend, Kasuri was warmly received in New Delhi. A galaxy of luminaries attended the release of his book. They included former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former external affairs ministers Natwar Singh and Yashwant Sinha. This did not prevent either Natwar Singh or Yashwant Sinha from criticising and disagreeing with some contents of the book. It is to the credit of the organisers of the book release in Delhi that there was a critical, but not unfriendly, review of the contents of Kasuri’s book.
These courtesies and formalities were missing when Kasuri was in Mumbai. The organiser, Sudheendra Kulkarni, an unabashed admirer of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, chose not to have a panel of experts with diverse views. He sought views of persons known to be strong critics of Indian policies on Jammu and Kashmir and on dealing with separatists in the state. Worse still, the Shiv Sena introduced a new chapter in the conduct of policy on Pakistan by demanding that all Pakistanis should be debarred from visiting India. They forget that there are thousands in Pakistan who admire Indian democracy, and adore elements of Indian cultural life including music, dance and Bollywood films. Their visits to India only strengthen such sentiments.
The policy of liberally issuing visas to Pakistani nationals to visit friends and relatives in India was introduced by the then External Affairs Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 1979. It has served Indian interests very well.
dadpartha@gmail.com
The writer is a former diplomat