The Powell touchdown

His circle of friends in South Asia may grow after all

If US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s purpose in touring the subcontinent was to ferry messages across the heavily militarised border between India and Pakistan, his visit must be termed a success. As he touched down in Islamabad and New Delhi this week, he made it a point to underline the positive nuances he captured from the leadership in both capitals. Restraint has always been the cornerstone of the Powell doctrine, and he has carefully worded his statements to reflect the perceptible lessening of post-December 13 tensions. He emphasised that Pakistan had not exactly ruled out the extradition of the non-Pakistani nationals on India’s list of 20 most wanted criminals — that India could still get the evidence it seeks of Pakistani sincerity to follow through on General Pervez Musharraf’s promises of cracking down on all terrorists. And before he left for Kathmandu, he dwelled on his assessment that Musharraf’s televised address had been well-received in New Delhi. The information revolution may be well under way, but nuclear neighbours clearly need a trusted diplomat to help exchange courtesies before moving towards dialogue.

But during his whistle-stop visit, Powell did more than just prove his skills as a messenger. At a time when India has unequivocally signalled its resolve to end infiltration of terrorism from Pakistani soil, he has given ample indication of long-term American engagement in the region. A flurry of crucial journeys after December 13 to and from Washington — Home Minister L.K. Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes’ meetings there and now Powell’s rendezvous in New Delhi — have more or less established one thing. That this bout of American involvement in South Asia is not a one-shot deal, that its spatial and temporal limits are not defined by the US’s campaign in Afghanistan. Powell, while urging New Delhi to give General Musharraf more time to translate his words into concrete action, said the US would monitor follow-up, confidence-building measures taken by Pakistan. It is also well that the American secretary of state has appreciated the dynamics of India’s coercive diplomacy in its own campaign against terrorism. De-escalation of tension along the border with Pakistan is dependent not on the two armies being ordered to retreat to peacetime positions. De-escalation hinges upon critical political and diplomatic breakthroughs — breakthroughs that can only be judged by a perceptible drop in cross-border terrorism. This, it is important to note, is a judgement call that cannot be made in a matter of days, maybe even weeks.

But diplomatic efforts are not evaluated on the basis of what is said alone, little dances around prickly issues tell their own story. Powell was careful to hush any mention of mediation, a word that carries tremendously negative connotations here. Yes, any visit by a Western official that passes off without a gaffe (a la Tony Blair’s strenuous acrobatics with the word ‘‘position’’, or peripatetic American senators’ unsolicited advice) has to be a good thing.