Times of India : ISI as ally? Come off it

ISI as ally? Come off it

Sujata Dutta Sachdeva | September 23, 2006

Mohabbat Zindabad. Everyone's hoping Pervez Musharraf meant that. But will the Havana deal be the harbinger of peace in the sub-continent? Former envoys to Pakistan have their doubts.

"We have walked into a trap," is how G Parthasarathy describes the Manmohan-Musharraf initiative to set up a joint anti-terror mechanism. He wonders how, in the event of another 7/11, India will convince the world of ISI complicity even if it has evidence of it.

In fact, most Indian diplomats who have done a stint in Pakistan advise caution while dealing with Islamabad. The problem, they say, is with the mindset. "Pakistan's power structure thrives on tension with India," says Shankar Bajpai, former envoy to Pakistan.

"While we may be impressed by the hospitality of the common Pakistani, they, too, are suspicious about India," he adds.

Parthasarathy cites two occasions during his tenure post-Kargil, when ISI men abducted embassy staffers and beat them up. "We, too, had to orchestrate a similar incident in Delhi to make them understand that we mean business."

Diplomats say it's common to find local friends avoiding them and shopkeepers requesting them to go elsewhere. Says Bajpai,"Unlike the freedom the Pakistani high commissioner enjoys in Delhi, Indians are constantly trailed there.

At times I even asked the ISI man trailing me for directions." With that kind of mindset, how can the two think of working together?

Critics say the joint initiative is structurally flawed. "The modus operandi for infiltration into India is no longer the LoC. Of late, most of it is happening through countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. In fact, Musharraf's military regime is not in a position to curb terrorist organisations within Pakistan.

It's difficult to comprehend how he can make a commitment to India," says Ajay Behera, coordinator, Pakistan studies, Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia University.

At a time when the world sees Pakistan as the fountainhead of jehadi terror, our PM has called it a 'victim'. But, as security analyst B Raman points out, "India is a victim of ISI-sponsored terror, and they are a victim of their own creation."

According to Behera, any long-term peace with Pakistan is dependent on "de-legitimising" the military in Pakistan's politics. And that's a tall order. So far, beyond assurances, there have been no structural changes that suggest both countries are actually moving ahead on the path to peace.

Bajpai says the new initiative will be a test of Pakistan's commitment to curb terror. "I don't see relations deteriorating, but I'm not convinced they will improve either," he says.