Pakistani President Asif Ari Zardari on Sunday paid a visit to India for "private religious reasons." After the tragic terrorist attack against Mumbai in 2008, this visit was the latest effort of the two sides to repair their relations at the highest level.

It is never easy for India and Pakistan to cope with each other. A few days ago, 135 Pakistani soldiers were buried by an avalanche in the Siachen area. Were not for their mutual security hedging, there would not be much – if any – need for each side to deploy thousands of armed forces in that mountainous glacier.

Since the two countries gained their independence in 1947, they have fought three times, largely over the disputed Kashmir region, which claims remain unsettled even after the 2003 ceasefire. Their continued tension escalated into confrontations through dangerous means such as nuclear missiles. The terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 seemed to drive such vicious confrontations to a boiling point.

As their relationship hit rock bottom, India and Pakistan realized they have to revamp their ties over time. This time, President Zardari extended a friendly gesture by crossing the border to converse with the Indian leadership – "privately" – to improve their relations.

As India and Pakistan are both nuclear stakeholders, they have to manage their relationship to prevent it from a disastrous meltdown, using the deadly weapons to settle their disputes.

There have been a number of crises that raised such concerns, notably the Kargil War of 1999, also on the Siachen Glacier. Though each side produced its own narrative for the events, both contributed to pushing issues too far off the cliff that third parties had to come in to mediate. In that case, external mediators were able to stop the fight, but they would not always be so lucky.

Against the complex backdrop of nuclear and missile contest, territorial and resource dispute, and religious and ethnic confrontation, South Asia is one of the few most contentious geopolitical battlegrounds in the contemporary world. Communication, dialogue and seeking mutual respect and concessions between India and Pakistan is the only way to come to a peaceful solution.

Evidentially, the terrorist attack in Mumbai had both unifying and divisive effects for India and Pakistan. Pakistani government immediately condemned this attack after it had occurred. However, the two countries remain far apart in assigning identities to the terrorists and describing their background. Though the key terrorists might have been identified to have a Pakistani origin, authorities in Islamabad denied to have been associated with them. It is understandable that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would have raised this issue to the Pakistani head of state during his visit. Though one such visit is far from enough to settle these kinds of disputes, it was a first step in the right direction to manage the difficult relationship between them to dispel distrust and build a constructive partnership.

It is encouraging that the two sides have realized, through their Sunday summit, the applicability of the Sino-Indian model to their own bilateral relationship – to establish economic and trade ties as a foundation to promoting cooperation in all other aspects. Sino-India trade, standing at US$70 billions last year, serves as a stabilizer of the bond between Beijing and New Delhi. With such an ever strengthening component, China and India are more likely to maintain stable relations while shelving their border disputes and other sensitive conflicts. This could serve as a reference for others, including China's two neighbors India and Pakistan; their current trade volume of US$2 billions seems unreasonably small.

According to reports, India extended its own friendly gesture to Pakistan by offering 5,000MW electricity when Prime Minister Singh met his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, on the sidelines of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit on March 29. The energy offer could help to address Pakistan's urgent need and, according to Zeenews in India, "could be transmitted through Punjab without much delay." India is also reportedly going to provide Pakistan with a series of oil products.

These are tangible first steps in the positive engagement between the two countries. Repeating President Musharaaf's cricket diplomacy of 2005, peace and hope are emerging in South Asia again – not only for the two giants but for the entire subcontinent, including Afghanistan. As the U.S. armed forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, the troubled country's reconstruction benefits greatly from stability within neighboring Pakistan and between Pakistan and India. This, in turn, will help to maintain China's internal stability and peace in its western border regions.

This author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/shendingli.htm

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