PM uses Saudi platform to talk peace with Pakistan

A day after minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor got into trouble for suggesting that Saudi Arabia could be an interlocutor in talks with Pakistan, prime minister Manmohan Singh made a strong pitch for peace with India’s western neighbour from a Saudi forum.

“If Pakistan cooperates with India, there is no problem that we cannot solve and we can walk the extra mile to open a new chapter in relations between our two countries,” Singh said. He made the offer on Monday while speaking to the Majlis-e-Shoora, the Saudi version of parliament, which was the high point of his three-day visit to Riyadh.

Singh’s announcement is significant because the Saudi king, by
virtue of being the custodian of Islam’s two holiest shrines, is one of the most influential Sunni Muslim leaders in the world besides being a close ally of Pakistan. Singh’s message was intended not only for Pakistan but for the Islamic world in general. It underlines the point that despite the terror attacks, and India’s disappointment with Islamabad’s follow-up action, New Delhi is willing to give Pakistan another chance.

On Sunday, though, Pakistani television was interviewing Hafiz Saeed, the man India regards as the instigator behind 26/11. Not only is he free to move around, but his views on India are being widely publicised, and this after New Delhi has repeatedly asked for his detention.

The prime minister wants the Muslim world to know that India is stretching out the hand of friendship provided Pakistan reins in the terror groups working out of its territory against soft targets in India and Afghanistan. “We seek cooperative relations with Pakistan. Our objective is a permanent peace because we recognise that we are bound together by a shared future,” Singh said, much like Atal Behari Vajpayee did in 2003, when he spoke of the need for peace with Pakistan at a meeting in Srinagar.

Singh, in his cut-and-dried manner, emphasised the same point: “If there is cooperation between India and Pakistan, vast opportunities will open up for trade, travel and development that will create prosperity in both countries and in South Asia as a whole. But to realise this vision, Pakistan must act decisively against terrorism.”   

But to realise this vision, Pakistan must act decisively against terrorism.”

The prime minister’s offer comes at a time when India and Pakistan are tentatively working towards engagement. The talks last Thursday yielded little with both sides stating their known positions. India was extremely cautious in adopting a calibrated step-by-step approach, mainly because public opinion in India remains extremely skeptical of Pakistan’s military establishment and its intentions.

A day after the talks, there was a terror strike in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, where the target was a guest house frequented by Indians. New Delhi is aware that the attack was aimed at frightening Indians out of Afghanistan. India’s growing popularity in that country, where it is engaged in massive rebuilding and reconstruction, is a major worry for Pakistan. In fact, Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir, at his news conference in Delhi, complained bitterly about India’s role in Afghanistan, charging New Delhi of using its consulates to destabilise Pakistan.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has spoken of a quick and through investigation into the attack. If Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, is involved, it may be difficult for the prime minister to convince the people of India to give peace a chance.

Manmohan Singh also referred to Afghanistan during his address, saying the pursuit of terror in the name of religion is not acceptable. “It has no sanction in any religion,” he said.  “Nowhere is this challenge greater than in Afghanistan. The people of
Afghanistan have suffered for far too long. They deserve an atmosphere of peace and the opportunity to pursue a life of dignity and hope.’’

Riyadh’s concern about the spread of Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan is very real, more so after what happened in Yemen recently. Osama Bin Laden is a Saudi citizen and one of his aims is to overthrow the Saudi royal family and impose an even stricter Islamic regime in the country. There are many in Saudi Arabia who support the al-Qaeda doctrines and want Riyadh to move away from close ties with the US. It is also a fact that large sums of money are being sent out to Al Qaeda coffers. Terrorism is a major concern for the Saudi royals, who are now ready to act as facilitators for talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“Saudi Arabia is very concerned about the inability of the Pakistani leadership to control extremist elements within their country. Saudi is also concerned about what is happening in Afghanistan,” Talmiz Ahmed, India’s ambassador to Riyadh, told reporters on Sunday. India and Saudi Arabia see terrorism as a common battle.