Natwar ouster may harm peace process between India, Pakistan
PakistanTimes.net Foreign Desk Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan views that the resignation of Indian Minister for External Affairs Natwar Singh will harm the peace process and especially the efforts to resolve Kashmir issue as he was also engaged in secret Indo-Pakistan consultations on various options to settle the core issue.

It was due to the utmost importance of Natwar Singh vis-à-vis the peace process that Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri Tuesday called his former Indian counterpart to say that he was sorry to learn that he had given up his office.

Singh had a good equation with his Pakistani counterpart and other top Pakistani leaders and the ruling circles here believed that his sudden departure could slow down the peace process.

“The most important thing is the engagement of Natwar Singh with Pakistani leadership on Kashmir issue as he was discussing various proposals to resolve the core issue,” he said.

Pakistan wanted the continuity of these behind-the-scene consultations and it had been conveyed to India, the official said, adding that it was yet to be seen whether New Delhi comes up with any assurance in this regard or not.

Backdrop

Natwar Singh resigned from the slot of foreign minister after confronting allegations that he bribed the Saddam-led Iraqi authorities to buy oil in the UN sponsored oil-for-food programme.

The diplomatic circles believe that Singh’s ouster from power corridors had also to do something with the tussle within the Indian establishment on nature of relations with Pakistan in the years to come.

They said unlike another senior Congress leader and Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Singh did not support the Indian army’s hardline position on Siachen and the issue of demilitarization in Kashmir.

They hold the view that after cross LoC bus service and opening up of the Line of Control, troops’ withdrawal from Kashmir by India and Pakistan would have been another important step by the rival nuclear nations had Singh continued with the portfolio of External Affairs Ministry.

“However, with the departure of Singh there are no chances of any immediate breakthrough on this vital issue,” said a diplomatic source.

Kasuri phones Natwar

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri telephoned his former Indian counterpart Natwar Singh to express his understanding during the difficult time that Singh is going through presently.

"Natwar Singh and myself have been interacting with each other for so many years now and we have developed an excellent rapport with each other. He was here recently in Pakistan where we had a whole range of talks on bilateral and international issues. I expressed my understanding of the situation that he finds himself in these days and hoped that all this would be soon behind him," Kasuri said.

Singh was the first Indian politician to be relieved of his portfolio on Monday by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following allegations of his involvement in the UN oil-for-food-scandal. He, however, remains a member of the Manmohan Singh cabinet.

When asked who he would be interacting with at Dhaka during the SAARC summit conference, Kasuri said that he was unaware of the Indian official at this point.

However, New Delhi was quick to appoint its Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed to attend the Council of Ministers prior to the SAARC summit at Dhaka. Hailing from Kerala, Ahamed is a senior front line Congress leader. However, he has not been in the forefront since taking office.●