Earthquake can ‘help peace’ in Kashmir

THE shared tragedy confronting India and Pakistan in disputed Kashmir could pay dividends for the fragile peace process, experts said yesterday after a massive earthquake left thousands dead there.

“It will certainly help in furthering the peace process,” former Indian foreign secretary and ambassador to Washington Lalit Mansingh said.

Joint relief efforts could boost confidence, Mr Mansingh said, noting that Indian and Pakistani civilians as well as the troops that face off across the Kashmiri border had lost their lives in Saturday morning’s massive quake.

“This is a common tragedy. There is nothing political about this. It can help bring people together,” Mr Mansingh added.

The nuclear-armed rivals are engaged in a peace process that has seen two major rounds of talks since January 2004 focused on divided Kashmir - the trigger for two of their three wars since 1947.

Both countries claim the scenic Himalayan region in full.

India accuses Pakistan of training, arming and funding an Islamic rebellion, a charge Islamabad denies. It admits, however, to extending “moral, political and diplomatic support” to Kashmiris seeking independence from India.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of the insurgency in Indian Kashmir in 1989.

The disaster comes after the two nuclear neighbours, who came to the brink of war twice in 2002, have re-established trade and sporting ties and opened a new bus link between the Indian and Pakistani-held zones of Kashmir.

Experts believe the recent flurry of confidence-building measures will only be helped by increased co-operation in the aftermath of the Kashmir earthquake which is estimated to have killed as many as 30,000 in the Pakistan zone. At least 600 people were confirmed to have died in the Indian-controlled side.

The disaster offered a “chance for India, Pakistan to rebuild together,” said foreign affairs analyst C Raja Mohan.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf spoke by telephone late on Saturday as signs emerged that co-operation was already breaking new ground.

“Singh and Musharraf discussed relief, confidence building measures that could change the course of a 20-month-old peace process,” wrote Mr Mohan in the Sunday Express.

Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran also sent his condolences, making use of a new nuclear hotline to call Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammed Khan.

The hotline was supposed to have been operational last month to minimise the risk of an accidental nuclear exchange, but was only activated after Mr Saran’s call.

Senior military officials of both sides have discussed joint relief and rescue measures. They used another hotline, generally reserved to defuse tensions on the Line of Control (LoC), or de facto border dividing the state.

Some 36 Indian troops perished when their bunkers collapsed on them. On the Pakistani side, more than 200 soldiers reportedly died.

Adding to a degree of optimism, local military commanders agreed to hold meetings along the borders to explore the speedy repatriation of people who might have accidentally strayed across the borders during the quake.

Straying across the border usually means a lengthy spell in an Indian or Pakistani prison and possible accusations of spying.

Despite the generally upbeat feeling from most observers, others were more sceptical.

“Most of the Pakistani casualties are in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. I can’t see Pakistan allowing Indian relief workers to go there and help,” said former Indian high commissioner to Islamabad G Parthasarthy.