The India-Pakistan peace process, in virtual deep freeze after the 7/11 Mumbai blasts, thawed in the humid Havana afternoon today after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf, on the sidelines of the NAM summit, agreed to resume talks and set up a joint mechanism on cross-border terrorism.

After a 14-second-long handshake at the Protocol House, set in a sprawling garden complex in the city, Singh and Musharraf had a one-on-one for an hour — prefaced by 15 minutes of delegation-level talks — and agreed to a six-point joint statement that was read out by the Indian Prime Minister.

“The leaders agreed that the peace process must be maintained,” said Singh, “and its success was important for both countries and the future of the entire region.” As expected, it has been agreed that Foreign Secretary-level talks, as part of the composite dialogue will be resumed, “at the earliest possible.”

Significantly, it has been agreed to put in place “an India-Pakistan anti-terrorism institutional mechanism to identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations.” In getting Islamabad to accept this and ordering accelerated negotiations on all issues that divide the two nations, Singh has put politics back in command of the Pakistan policy.

After a year of letting an obstreperous bureaucracy, self-doubt and unfortunate events dictate the dynamics of India’s most important external relationship, Singh today appears to have regained control over the negotiations with Pakistan.

When he last met Musharraf in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Singh appeared hemmed in and found it difficult to move the peace process forward. And Musharraf’s own antics in New York last year allowed the negative sentiments in the Indian delegation prevail over the strategic imperatives of recasting the relationship with Pakistan.

... contd.