Dove In Mufti

It was a new Pervez Musharraf, a general out of his labyrinth who was sending positive signals to Manmohan Singh. He was playing ball with India. The speech he gave this year at the United Nations was unlike any in the past by Pakistani leaders. There were no fighting words, no biting bitterness over Kashmir, and no promises to fall on the sword on the Kashmir issue. Not even any exaggerated claims to free the oppressed from the tight clasp of the Indian army. Indeed, the makeover was so shocking that initially there was silence in the Indian media used to the general's negative nabobism. Last year, he had lit a blistering fire in New York, burning India's offer of a "hand of friendship" in flames.

It appears that Musharraf was given a clear message through the back channel between Tariq Aziz and J.N. Dixit, the two national security advisors who are jetting around to secret locations to give momentum to the peace process, not to vitiate the atmosphere in New York. Or the meeting with Manmohan would be a "waste of time" and once again shove the atmospherics to the nadir of name-calling and breast-beating. The general read the message loud and clear and said Roger. A loud sigh of relief was heard at the New York Palace Hotel, where the senior Indians were encamped.

In addition, the Americans played a role in giving the general a push. They helped convince him of the need to seize the moment, focus on his western border and round up 'high-level targets' from Al Qaeda and keep the eastern border clean of terrorists walking around. In return for all the good deeds, the Americans would look the other way at his reluctance to change back into civilian clothes. His meeting with Bush was essentially a "confessional" about the uniform and a strategy session to make the Afghan elections successful.

So worried were Indian officials about what direction the general might march at the UN, they deliberately pushed the Manmohan-Musharraf meeting to the last day to prevent the bad vibes from spoiling the Indo-US celebration of goodwill. At the time of writing, Singh and Musharraf had not met but there was optimism in the Indian camp about the first delivery. It wasn't a bouncer, thank god. India could rest its body armour.

But the larger issue was the continuing dialogue and its healthy survival. Musharraf said he was giving "bilateralism" the final chance, and by implication jettisoning—at least temporarily—the usual demand for international intervention. He did not upset the delicately balanced applecart loaded with 72 Indian proposals, and hopes and good wishes of a cricket-loving neighbourhood. In fact, Musharraf for the first time acknowledged that the people are actors in this ongoing drama, not passive spectators.

The kinder, gentler Musharraf talked of a "sincere dialogue", of the people's aspirations for peace, of sincerity, of confidence-building measures, of flexibility and boldness. He even borrowed from some of the arguments India has made for peace in the past about raising the people out of poverty with its large dividend. "We desire a resolution of Kashmir which is just and acceptable to India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir. Until now the normalisation process has progressed well, in a cordial atmosphere," he said in a complete contrast to his belligerent statements in the recent past. Last year at the same time, same place, he had called for an "end to the brutal suppression of the Kashmiris, demand for self-determination and freedom from Indian occupation". He had called Kashmir the "most dangerous dispute in the world".

But last week he agreed it was one of the many disputes and not the core issue. "We are firmly committed to resolving all disputes with India peacefully, including the Kashmir dispute," he said.The phrasing could have come from the India office. Musharraf's speech has ensured his meeting with Manmohan would be positive. "I'd like to convey to him that this is the moment for peace—we must not allow it to slip away," he said. Inshallah.