Former chief of the Indian Navy, Admiral L. Ramdas, has said the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service was "a healthy development" between India and Pakistan, which is going to start from April 7. "It is a helpful sign" and would "water-peace thirsty needs," he said in response to a question at a press conference held at the Washington National Press Club on 'Kashmir, nuclear weapons, and South Asian Security' on Wednesday. He said, problems required "upfront tackling and pro-active approach," which, he stated, seemed visible in the recent moves of confidence-building measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan.
Ramdas said, "stable Pakistan is in the interest of the region," and that nuclear proliferation or arms race would be hazardous for humanity.
Ramdas said, "there is no substitute to dialogue." "If we can lay foundations of peace in the composite dialogue- we can address Kashmir issue." "We need to ensure that no conventional war takes place, which eventually is likely to spill over, as both nations are nuclear armed."
He said, arms race was not in the interest of South Asia, and expressed his concern over testing of nuclear delivery systems, which, stated was going on for some time.
He referred to the recently concluded visit by Secretary Rice and said, it was encouraging to find that both countries (India and Pakistan) are "in a dialogue mode."
The others present in the press conference were Ms Lalita Ramdas and Arjun Makhijani.
Admiral Ramdas (Rtd) said two rounds of bilateral talks had been held to have effective mechanism in place to avoid any incidental nuclear hazard.
He agreed that Kashmir remained a flashpoint, so long as it was addressed and resolved. "We need to evolve a system to solve the problem- we want peace in the region."
He said the matter of Line of Control was "a matter of nomenclature- call it line of control or line of demarcation."
He pleaded that here was need to make it (LoC) porous, as contacts and opening up of Kashmir region could prove helpful.
He said, nuclear issue requires to be coped with, and called for success of NPT review conference to be held in Washington in May this year.
Secondly, Kashmiri people have to find some solution; and thirdly, India and Pakistan dialogue process is need of the hour, and it may lead to a greater regional co-operation in the Saarc region.
On Kashmir, Ramdas called for change of mindset- as to "how we look at each other."
He pleaded that to begin with, the displaced people should return to Kashmir, and human rights violations must end- as seeds of discord require to be halted, though these may look sound oversimplification.
He said that "having been through two and a half wars against Pakistan, and nothing to show for it, except lost friends, widows and orphaned children on both sides of the fence; the futility of wars as a means to resolve issues became increasingly clear." "The reason of this failure is because a political issue needs a political solution and not a military one."
He said over the past three years, difficult experiences have gradually begun to create an understanding that the Kashmir imbroglio "could lead both countries to utter disaster and ruin.
Lalita Ramdas, a noted educationist, referred to 9/11, and said that everything changed with it. In the US, she said, "a sense of well-being was converted into over-riding fear."
Ms Ramdas talked about ability of Gandhi and Martin Luther King "standing up with moral authority" by attending to issues through non-violent methods. "There was convergence in the thinking of Gandhi and King in dealing with the issue of violence, injustice, anger, neglect, frustration, etc."
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