Sharing information on terror acts

The POST, Sun, March,11, 2007.

Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema

It is indeed a welcome development that both India and Pakistan has agreed to share intelligence information to combat terrorism. This is particularly important as there were speculations that such an agreement m ay not be reached because of the reports reflecting the level of distrust demonstrated over Pakistani quest to get information from its Indian counterpart over the tragedy of Samjhota Express. Although the doubts still persists in many quarters that honest sharing of information is unlikely to materialize.

Since the Samjhota tragedy the reports have been appearing in the newspapers that Pakistanis have been consistently pressing for sharing of the information but the Indians insisted that they would only share their findings in the meeting of officials scheduled for 6^th March. Even after the first day of the meeting reports indicated that the Indians shared no specific information or leads on Samjhote Express blasts.

Media reports suggest that instead of giving some hard core evidence or constructive lead, the Indian side presented a sketch of an alleged suicide bomber and claimed he resembled a Pakistani  who had disappeared in India in 2006. Ostensibly the sketch was drawn with the information collected by the Indian security agencies from the train passenger who had survived the attack.  Such a story is unlikely to contribute towards the process of building trust. It would have been far more constructive to have confessed that they were, hitherto, unable to get the appropriate lead and they need more time in order to identify the culprit.

The reference to a Pakistani man who disappeared in 2006 reflects for many not only the unwillingness to accept that there are many in India who indulges in acts of terrorism but also solidifies distrust. If one reviews all the recent acts of terrorism, the Indian effort has always been to put the blame on Pakistan or groups using Pakistani territory. Partly such allegations meant to malign Pakistan and partly meant to hide its own weaknesses.

While there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that India is a big powerful country with a large attractive market and its economy is performing rather impressively, it is still far away from being a mature and responsible state. It needs to learn how to be a responsible regional power. Pakistan has stressed so many times that it is not involved in any kind of race with India yet one finds India behaving far below the accepted level of a responsible state. Accepting one’s weakness does not lower the status but actually enhances it.

Since most of people who died were Pakistani, the curiosity of the people of Pakistan is comprehensible. Sharing of information would not have belittled Indian status but it would have substantively influenced many circles of Pakistani society. While India may be able to acquire impressive economic and military power soon, it still has to go long  way to be acknowledged a responsible regional power even by most non-Pakistanis.

To destroy the edifice of trust is not too difficult but to build trust takes quite sometimes. It is built brick by brick. The quick and active collaboration over Samjhota tragedy could have initiated an honest collaborative process on one hand and added another brick to the much desired trust edifice. The hesitation in sharing information and referring to a Pakistani  alleged to have disappeared in India seem to have strengthened the well entrenched fears of many in Pakistan.

Nevertheless the recent agreement reflects onward movement though at slow pace. The two sides agreed that specific information would be exchanged for facilitating investigation relating to terrorist acts. Both sides also agreed to the desired information would be provided on priority basis through the respective heads of joint mechanism. It was also agreed that the meetings of Anti-Terrorism Mechanism would be held on a quarterly basis.

While the idea of joint and collaborative investigation was initially advanced by the Pakistan is soon after the Mumbai train blasts which was not taken seriously by the India side, the later meeting of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Musharraf at Havana resulted in agreement to formulate a joint anti terror mechanism. Undoubtedly both leaders appeared to be committed to secure the normalization of India-Pakistan relations and to facilitate the advent of peace in the region.

The recent statement by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that efforts to improve India- Pakistan relations are beginning to yield positive results and assertion that New Delhi wants long lasting peace, friendship and amity with Islamabad would certainly inject strength to the ongoing peace process. Such statements indeed reflect the determination and resolve of the leaders to take the process to its logical conclusion.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this agreement is notion of joint working towards the attainment of a certain objective. Admittedly the peace process itself is reflective of a desire to work towards the much awaited peace in the region but this is much more specific manifestation of anticipated collaborative and collective approaches. Not only the meeting has taking place between the Indian and Pakistani representatives on many issues and efforts are directed to work out joint committees to look into the specific issues. For instance Pakistan had suggested a bilateral committee of retired judges to comb for prisoners and prison abuse.

The first successful joint meeting of Anti-terrorism Mechanism is extremely significant in terms of functioning of a collaborative mechanism. If similar joint committees work smoothly, the way would be cleared of any augured impediment on way to the resolution of a major issue. The fourth round of the peace process is going to be initiated soon with the meetings of the Foreign Secretaries in Islamabad.   

All agreement, however small and insignificant they may be, tends to strengthen the process. Undoubtedly the recently concluded agreement on sharing information relating to terror acts would not only facilitate the investigative processes but would also further contribute towards the cementing of the trust-edifice. It is hoped that the two sides cooperate and collaborate in all areas of conflict and accelerate the pace towards the much desired goal of conflict resolution.

The periodic expression of determination to carry the process forward by both the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India not only lends credibility to the process but also tend to generate positive vibes among the general public. A vast majority of the people on both sides appear to be supportive of the peace in the region. For political reasons, the approaches may be subjected to critical examinations but this does not reflect opposition to the peace process.

The writer works for Islamabad Policy research Institute.