Publications
Chaophraya Dialogue 9 & 10
Date: October 9, 2013
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Key opinion makers from India and Pakistan – including former diplomats, military officers, journalists from the print and electronic media, academics and analysts – met at Colombo for the 9th and 10th round of the Chaophraya Dialogue from 28th February – 3rd March, 2012, organized by the Jinnah Institute (JI) and the Australia India Institute (AII).
The Chaophraya Dialogue is an Indo-Pak Track-II initiative jointly undertaken by the Jinnah Institute (JI) and Australia India Institute (AII) to encourage informed discussion of bilateral relations and enhance stakes in peace. The process has is now in its third year. The dialogue is primarily meant to give an opportunity to members of the policy and media communities and other groups in India and Pakistan to interact with each other on a sustained basis.
The Chaophraya Dialogue has encouraged participants to share the conclusions of each round with their respective governments. It has also provided a useful forum when the official dialogue process between India and Pakistan has been frozen, especially after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. During this period, when the official talks between the two countries were suspended, the Chaophraya Dialogue managed to bring together senior interlocutors from India and Pakistan multiple times.
Resolution of the 9th Chaophraya Dialogue
28-29th February, 2012
Bilateral Relations: Overall Assessment from the Militaries’ Perspective
“¢ The militaries’ perceive that a state of normalization between India and Pakistan entails the absence of war, and of no escalatory action being undertaken by either side, to ensure that the civilian governments may continue political, economic and social interaction, leading to durable peace in the region;
“¢ The parameters of the resolution of Siachen and Sir Creek are known and it is up to the political leadership of both countries to go beyond the technicalities and strive to resolve those issues;
“¢ There should be complete non-interference in each other’s domestic conflicts.
Afghanistan Endgame and India-Pakistan Interests
“¢ India and Pakistan can and should move forward together in Afghanistan;
“¢ The future of Afghanistan must be decided by Afghans alone through an intra-Afghan dialogue across the ethnic divide which both India and Pakistan can facilitate;
“¢ To be able to cooperate in Afghanistan, the mutual concerns of both India and Pakistan should be identified and addressed;
“¢ While these suggestions are primarily for Track I to take cognizance of, Track II should continue to work in tandem to offer practical suggestions wherever necessary.
Nuclear Risk Reduction Measures
“¢ There should be a sustained official dialogue on nuclear issues between India and Pakistan as visualised in clauses 1, 6 and 8 of the Lahore MoU of 1999;
“¢ With the impending development of sea-borne nuclear deterrent, there is a requirement to “conclude an agreement on prevention of incidents at sea in order to ensure safety of navigation by naval vessels” as desired in clause 5 of the Lahore MoU;
“¢ Reducing tensions requires that India and Pakistan conduct regular consultations on the various strategic underpinnings, technological developments such as BMD and de-alerting of nuclear weapons with regard to their nuclear postures;
“¢ Nuclear Risk Reduction Centres may be set up in both the countries to function as a dedicated mechanism to communicate issues relating to nuclear safety and security of civilian and military resources as desired in clause 3 of the Lahore MoU;
“¢ To adopt a common India-Pakistan nuclear lexicon to enhance mutual understanding of nuclear issues.
Military-to-Military Cooperation: Possibilities
“¢ Military to Military contacts in Track II should be held in India and Pakistan rather than in third countries;
“¢ Instituting NDU (Pakistan) and NDC (India) exchanges through annual group visits including seminars. A beginning can be made by inviting retired officers of respective forces as guest speakers;
“¢ Improving trust by changing the orientation of force deployments from offensive to defensive with relocations where possible, and with adjusting the Force Mix;
“¢ Reviewing CBMs; reinforcing those that need to be made more current with time; and implementing those in letter and spirit.
“¢ Making more inclusive international forums like IOR-ARC/IONS dealing with military issues to enable participation by both India and Pakistan;
“¢ Encouraging exchange of visits by respective service chiefs without an agenda.
Participants from Pakistan
Ejaz Haider, Executive Director, Jinnah Institute
Aziz Ahmed Khan, Honorary Vice President, Jinnah Institute
Lt. Gen. (R) Asad Durrani
Lt. Gen (R) Asif Yasin Malik
AVM (R) Shahzad Chaudhry
AVM (R) Faaiz Amir
V. Adm. (R) Mohammad Haroon
V. Adm. (R) Iftikhar Rao
Brig. (R) Shaukat Qadir
Brig. (R) Tughral Yamin
Mishael Ali Khan Tareen, Project Consultant, Jinnah Institute
Shemrez Nauman Afzal, Project Coordinator, Jinnah Institute
Participants from India
Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Director, Australia India Institute
Dr. Happymon Jacob, Assistant Professor, Centre of International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Adm. (R) Arun Prakash
ACM (R) Shashindra Pal Tyagi
Lt. Gen (R) Ravi K. Sawhney
V. Adm. (R) Vijay Shankar
Lt. Gen. (R) Vinayak G. Patankar
Maj. Gen. (R) Dipankar Banerjee
Radhavinod Raju, former DG National Investigation Agency (NIA)
Rana Banerji, former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India
Dr. Mallika Joseph, Executive Director, Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS)
Resolution of the 10th Chaophraya Dialogue
2nd-3rd March, 2012
Bilateral Relations
The conference is encouraged by:
“¢ The growing stability of the India-Pakistan bilateral dialogue and particularly the recent breakthroughs on trade;
“¢ The participants express the confidence that expansion of bilateral trade will evolve in a manner that is mutually beneficial;
“¢ Noting that overall progress on other issues has been slow, the conference recommends that both sides strive toward a permanent environment of peace and stability through sustained dialogue;
“¢ The conference agrees that the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan will go a long way towards advancing the abovementioned goals and hopes his visit will help establish a tradition of regular contacts and meetings between heads of government;
“¢ The conference notes with satisfaction that India and Pakistan have reached agreement on outstanding issues with regard to the TAPI pipeline;
“¢ The conference stresses the need for India and Pakistan to have a regular dialogue on Afghanistan with the common objective of ensuring peace, security and progress in the region;
“¢ The conference appreciates the common positions adopted by both countries at international forums and considers that the continuation and intensification of such cooperation will be of mutual benefit;
“¢ Noting with regret the continuation of a painfully restrictive visa regime between the two countries, the conference urges that immediate measures be taken to facilitate people to people contact.
Water Security
The conference notes that:
“¢ The IWT has served its purpose and stood the test of time and India and Pakistan must continue to work within the framework of the IWT;
“¢ Meetings of the Indus Water Commission should be held more frequently than the one mandatory meeting annually, so as to allow for closer cooperation and timely sharing of information;
“¢ India and Pakistan should build confidence and trust between them by commissioning joint studies – in accordance with the highest international standards – on issues of mutual concern, such as sedimentation, climate change, melting of glaciers, and drawdown of aquifers;
“¢ India and Pakistan should jointly host regular conferences on water issues of concern to both countries;
“¢ The conference also notes that in accordance with current international law, trans-boundary environmental harm should be recognized as a concern for all parties.
Terrorism
“¢ Both countries must establish mechanisms for real and effective cooperation to handle terrorist activities, which have an impact on bilateral relations;
“¢ Acts of violence must be investigated impartially and professionally before reaching a conclusion regarding their nature, perpetrators and origin;
“¢ Restraint should be exercised by the two governments as well as by the media in the wake of such acts of violence;
“¢ It is incumbent on both states to ensure justice for victims of terrorism or crime, irrespective of where they have taken place;
“¢ All formal and informal government channels should be used more effectively to share information on a real time basis on incidents of terrorism.
Jammu and Kashmir
Noting that Jammu and Kashmir is a complex issue, the conference stresses that:
“¢ It requires the direct involvement and attention of the heads of government;
“¢ The existing CBM regime in J&K should be implemented in letter and spirit, and should be expanded;
“¢ The existing roadblocks in cross-LoC trade and travel (including banking and telecommunications, as well as direct dialing facilities) should be removed;
“¢ More trade corridors should be opened for trade between the two sides of J&K with increased trade timing and with no restriction on the number of trucks;
“¢ The two governments may consider the possibility of setting up a joint commission on watershed management and other related environmental and disaster management issues;
“¢ Both governments should examine the possibility of setting up joint special economic zones in Jammu and Kashmir which would straddle across the two sides;
“¢ Regular meetings between the Chambers of Commerce and traders of both sides should be encouraged and facilitated;
Media
It is imperative that people of both countries benefit from impartial and informed reporting of news that helps them towards greater understanding of each other and with the sentiments prevailing in the other country. To facilitate this, the following measures are vital:
“¢ Multiple-entry visas should be made available to journalists from both countries without city restrictions and police reporting;
“¢ Both India and Pakistan should allow easy access of news channels to audiences in the other country by providing each other with landing rights;
“¢ There should be no limit on the number of correspondents that accredited media organizations are allowed to post in each other’s country;
“¢ Both countries should allow uplink facility to channels from the other country to facilitate live interviews and coverage;
“¢ Each country should provide visas that would enable journalists and mass communication students to avail of media training and education that is available in the other country;
“¢ Governments should facilitate visas for long-term attachments for journalists to work in media organisations in the other country.
Participants from Pakistan
Ejaz Haider, Executive Director, Jinnah Institute
Aziz Ahmad Khan, Honorary Vice President, Jinnah Institute
Lt Gen (R) Asad Durrani, former DG Inter-Services Intelligence
Fahd Husain, Executive Director ARY News
Dr. Humayun Khan, former Foreign Secretary, Government of Pakistan
Dr. Moeed Pirzada, Director World Affairs, Pakistan Television (PTV)
Khalid Mohtadullah, Senior Advisor and Country Director (Pakistan), International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Azhar Abbas, Managing Director, GEO News
Dr. Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Professor of Political Science, Lahore University of Management Sciences
Feisal H. Naqvi, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan
Dr. Yaqoob Bangash, Assistant Professor of History, Forman Christian College Lahore
Mishael Ali Khan Tareen, Project Consultant, Jinnah Institute
Shemrez Nauman Afzal, Project Coordinator, Jinnah Institute
Participants from India
Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Director, Australia India Institute
Dr. Happymon Jacob, Assistant Professor, Centre of International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Manoj Joshi, Comment Editor, Mail Today
Dr. Ajay D Behera, Associate Professor, Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi
Dr. Sanjay Baru, Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS)
Sagarika Ghose, Deputy Editor, CNN-IBN
Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, former Ambassador
Vivek Katju, former Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor, The Hindu
Praveen Swami, National Bureau Chief, The Hindu
Dr. Mallika Joseph, Executive Director, Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS)