India seeks Saudi ‘good offices’ with Pakistan

[fawwaxs]

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday that he had asked Saudi King Abdullah to use his “good offices” with Pakistan to urge it to check cross-border terrorism targeting India.



Speaking to Indian journalists on his way back from Riyadh, Dr Singh sought to stress the point that India had not asked for mediation.

“I know Saudi Arabia has close relations with Pakistan. I did discuss the Indo-Pak relations with His Majesty on a one-to-one basis. I explained to him the role that terrorism, aided, abetted and inspired by Pakistan is playing in our country. And I did not ask for him to do anything other than to use his good offices to persuade Pakistan to desist from this path.”

Dr Singh seemed to be under pressure to clarify the subtle difference between “good offices” and “mediation” after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party slammed an accompanying minister’s remarks that were construed as seeking Saudi mediation with Pakistan. That interpretation was denied by the minister.

In a curious way, Dr Singh appeared to row back in Saudi Arabia from an agreement he had made with his Pakistani counterpart in Egypt in July last year. The Sharm El Sheikh joint statement had committed both to recognise that dialogue was the only way forward.

“Action on terrorism should not be linked to the Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed,” the July statement had said.

On Monday, much of that appeared to have changed and new conditions were put in place. Dr Singh admitted in an address in Riyadh that if there was 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. 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.”

He underscored that view to the media. “Whosoever I meet, the world leaders, I convey to them, that all problems between India and Pakistan can be resolved through meaningful bilateral dialogue, if only Pakistan would take a more reasonable attitude in dealing with those terrorist elements who target our country.”

He said: “The Saudi Arabian leadership has a better understanding of the predicament that we face both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.”

India and Saudi Arabia had agreed to impart a strategic character to their relations. To that end they “have put in place a roadmap for bilateral economic, political and security related cooperation that will constitute the core of our relationship in the coming years”.

Both countries are today threatened by extremism and violence. The pursuit of terror in the name of religion or any other cause or grievance cannot be acceptable to civilised societies, Dr Singh 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, Dr Singh said.

“The government of Afghanistan needs the support of the international community in restoring peace and development in the country. The international community should support all sections of Afghan society who wish to work towards the emergence of Afghanistan as a modern, stable and sovereign nation. No sanctuary should be given to those who promote terror, violence or instability in the country.”

H said India wishes to live in peace and friendship with its neighbours. “I believe that all countries of South Asia should work to realise a common vision of peace and inclusive development for the region.”
DAWN.COM | World | India seeks Saudi ?good offices? with Pakistan

 

[fawwaxs]

Saudi Arabia has been in the news lately and much of it for reasons that may unsettle some here. But a closer look at the goings-on and speculation suggests that the perceived ‘negative’ impact on Pakistan may be an exaggeration.



Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian prime minister to visit Saudi Arabia in nearly three decades and his Saudi hosts clearly rolled out the red carpet for him and his entourage. But Pakistanis needn’t worry about losing out in a zero-sum game for Saudi Arabia’s attention. The Saudis were simply acknowledging an emerging reality: that India is establishing itself as a big regional power, and trade with it is becoming increasingly important for other countries.

Afghanistan featured only marginally in the talks — the two countries called for the preservation of Afghanistan’s ‘sovereignty and independence’ — though the Indians will almost certainly be hoping that Saudi Arabia will, when the time comes, try and placate Pakistan over India’s future role in Afghanistan. Even so, it seems quite far-fetched that Saudi Arabia will side with India and veto Pakistan on anything to do with Afghanistan. The Saudis know that a period of uncertainty lies ahead for many of the areas they have an interest in, from Iraq to Yemen and Afghanistan to Iran, and they will want to avoid introducing radical new elements in the most stable of their relationships, such as they have with Pakistan. It’s worth noting, though, that where Pakistan may be interested in Saudi help, India remains fiercely opposed to it: on Kashmir. Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor had to hastily clarify, in the face of criticism from the domestic opposition, that there was no possibility of Saudi ‘mediation’ on the Kashmir issue.

The other big speculation doing the rounds is that the Saudis have leaned on Pakistan in recent weeks to move against the Afghan Taliban leaders scattered across the country here. But this too seems unlikely. While there certainly appears to have been a ‘shift’ in Pakistan’s policy on the Afghan Taliban, two other elements have probably played a bigger role in making that shift possible: renewed American pressure on Pakistan, coinciding with the start of the ‘surge’ in southern Afghanistan, and the Pakistan Army’s internal perceptions of the threat that the Afghan Taliban pose to this country. Only time will tell if the shift in policy is permanent: the army may have decided that enhanced tactical cooperation at this time is merited even though its broader strategic calculations remain the same. Either way, Saudi intervention, if it has in fact occurred, is unlikely to have been decisive.

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