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FOR the first time since Partition a Left party delegation, comprising leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India (CPI), visited Pakistan between February 24 and March 4. While the overall objective was to contribute to the thaw in India-Pakistan relations, the delegation, led by CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan, went along with the broader understanding that any improvement in ties would help the democratic and progressive forces in the long run.
The delegation went at the invitation of the Joint Left Front, comprising the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP), the Communist Mazdoor Kisan Party and the Labour Party of Pakistan, and despite being there during a critical phase in Pakistan's politics, it had several pleasant encounters.
The delegation had an hour-long meeting with President Pervez Musharraf on March 1. Surjeet told Frontline that Musharraf discussed candidly every issue that was raised. Though Kashmir and the Baglihar dam formed the focus, Musharraf appeared prepared to accept all confidence-building measures (CBMs) suggested by India in this context. The CPI(M) general secretary said the Kashmir issue had been over-sentimentalised in Pakistan by both the Army and the mainstream parties and that the first requirement was that it had to be "desentimentalised".
As for the Baglihar dam issue, the Left leaders suggested that both countries have an "out of court" settlement without involving the World Bank. They said they would take up the issue with the Indian government. Surjeet said he also raised the issue of the Sikh youth who had been arrested while inadvertently crossing over to Pakistan from Iran. Musharraf promptly asked his authorities to release those youth immediately after completing the necessary formalities. Similarly, when the delegation raised the issue of around 800 fisherfolk who were arrested after they had unknowingly crossed into Pakistani waters, Musharraf's response was prompt.
Asked why the Left parties felt it was important to visit Pakistan after such a long interregnum, Surjeet said the recent developments between India and Pakistan had strengthened the positive ties between the countries. People were talking differently now. But the ongoing CBMs required the support of the masses. "Unless the support of the people - the masses - is assured, so many things can happen, and this poses a danger," Surjeet said. "People-to-people contacts are open contacts and the interesting part is that we understand each other - we've been there together," he added. Recalling his meeting with Musharraf, Surjeet said: "When we went, we felt there might be some difficulties. We were a little hesitant but we found Musharraf was open to anything. I got three opportunities to meet him. He was very frank. He was prepared to answer any question."
Surjeet said he told the government that he wanted to visit all those places where the British had tortured him. "The cell in Lahore Fort where I had been imprisoned and which had been subsequently demolished was recreated for me. We visited jails where prisoners who were deemed `dangerous' by the colonialists had been imprisoned," he said.
Surjeet believed that there was a new confidence in the minds of the people in that they believed that they could live in a conspiracy-free atmosphere, where they could be free and able to enjoy life. "As we travelled by road, we stopped and asked people questions and they answered happily. Nobody talked of any danger from India. The chain of visits to Pakistan has started. We can have negotiations on matters of difference and we are going to have some discussions again," Surjeet said.
Explaining the rationale behind the visit by the Left parties, Mansoor Saeed, central committee member of the Communist Party of Pakistan, told Frontline that as interaction between the governments as well as non-government organisations was on, the CPP felt that the Left should also participate actively in such measures. There was a widespread feeling that despite the contact of the Left with the masses, they were being "left out" of the ongoing dialogue on CBMs.
Said Saeed: "In the general context of the India-Pakistan talks, we thought the Left should also play a role." The process began in July-August last year, when the CPP invited Left parliamentarians from India. Soon afterwards, it invited the Left parties. "We never thought that the general secretaries of both the Communist parties would come. Finally, we arranged for a visit in February," said Saeed.
Not only did the delegation enthuse its counterparts in Pakistan, it gave an impetus to the process of Left revival in that country. Shobho Gyanchandani, 95, one of the founders of the Progressive Writers Association, came to meet the delegation in Karachi all the way from Larkana.
Asked if the sale of F-16s by the United States to Pakistan would hamper the ongoing process of entente, Saeed said Pakistan "has a compulsion to maintain relations with the U.S.". "If there was peace everywhere, how will American interests be served. The point is that if India and Pakistan are on the path of peace, then where is the threat from?" he asked. He observed that there was a perceptional shift in the relations between the two countries, especially after the installation of the United Progressive Alliance government in India.
Referring to both the general secretaries, in what was a veiled suggestion to the Pakistan government, an editorial in The News of February 27 said Surjeet's and Bardhan's "political stature warrants that Pakistani government and civil society including political parties engage them in a sustained dialogue. Local leftists should not be the only ones talking to their powerful comrades from across the border." The same editorial also observed that "Indian leftists have been vocal advocates of people-to-people contacts".
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