In ultra volatile India-Pakistan relations, even small mercies matter a lot. That both countries have not allowed the fallout of New Delhi’s August 5 seismic action on Kashmir to cast a shadow on the trans-border Kartarpur Corridor is nothing short of a silver lining in their frosty ties fraught with tense uncertainties.
Even after Islamabad unilaterally and drastically scaled down its diplomatic and trade ties with India early this month, both have de-linked the project dedicated to the 550th Parkash Utsav ( birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev from a deepening chill in bilateral ties.
On both sides of the Radcliff Line, work on the corridor that will allow visa-free access to Indian pilgrims to the historic gurdwara in Pakistan has been going full steam ahead to keep its date with the inauguration in November.
ON THE THRESHOLD OF FAITH
That’s when this highly symbolic diplomatic gesture, imbued with an upsurge in religious fervour, could potentially turn out as a thaw in the tensed-up ties of the separated-at-birth neighbours bound by seven decades of mutual distrust and animosity.
Pakistan pointedly cleared the air on Kartarpur last Sunday, scotching the reports that it had stalled the corridor work due to the latest strain in bilateral ties. “Kartarpur Sahib is a sacred place for the Sikhs and is the perfect example inter-faith harmony,” said a senior aide to Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan.
Incidentally, Islamabad’s statement of intent came a day after BJP’s maverick MP in the Rajya Sabha, Subramanian Swamy, called for halting the Kartarpur project, stating that Pakistan’s intentions behind allowing it were not good and that it could be used for anti-India activities.
That his remarks drew sharp criticism from Sikh organisations of all hues underscored the reality that Swamy had seemingly overlooked: Kartarpur today embodies a groundswell of sentiments of the community that has since Partition longed in its prayers for access to the forbidden shrines in Pakistan.
Swamy, by the way, is not alone in echoing Pakistan’s insidious imperatives on the first trans-border passage for pilgrimage that its all-powerful army chief unilaterally offered last year. Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was the first to call it “an ISI project”, but has astutely steered clear of opposing and has rather hailed it, mindful of the Sikh sensibilities.
ROAD TO KASHMIR?
There is no denying Pakistan’s covert role in fomenting the firestorm of terrorism that consumed Punjab in the ’80s. As G Parthasarathy, India’s former ambassador in Islamabad, puts things in perspective: “Destabilising Indian Punjab by creating a communal rift and fanning Sikh disaffection has been at the heart of Pakistan’s foreign policy. The Kartarpur corridor is an attempt to do it the other way around. Pakistan’s deep state believes that the road to Kashmir has to go through Punjab.”
It is an open secret that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has long been playing footsie with pro-Khalistani elements. “New Delhi would have surely factored all this into its strategy on Kartarpur,” says Parthasarathy.
True, Pakistan may be disguising its ulterior motives in the Kartarpur concession. Yet, one can’t lose sight of the new ground realities in Punjab which has long moved on from the tumult of the ’80s. With the pro-Khalistani lobby reduced to rump, the separatist slogan has neither any resonance nor a credible espouser of what is widely seen as a lost cause. As former Punjab director general of police MPS Aulakh says, “Pakistan’s potential to create mischief in Punjab is far less as there is no local catalyst.”
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
In the backdrop of deepening bilateral chill, the big question is: Can Kartarpur two months from now offer a window of opportunity for India and Pakistan to dial down tensions, or more optimistically, be an ice-breaker? “Not until Kashmir remains the pressure cooker. That’s where Pakistan’s stakes are,” says former Indian diplomat Krishan Chander Singh.
But then who knows the divine diplomacy centered on the momentous celebration of Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary and ideals may alter atmospherics and usher in trans-border goodwill for that elusive thaw.
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Ramesh Vinayak, Executive Editor, Hindustan Times
ramesh.vinayak@hindustantimes.com
Phone No. : 9814010150
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