Thaindian News

Toronto, July 4 (IANS) A Canadian-led panel of retired civilian and military officials from India and Pakistan has called upon the two countries to update the Lahore memorandum of understanding on easing tensions between them.
Called the Ottawa Dialogue and led by University of Ottawa professor Peter Jones, the initiative is part of track-II diplomacy to defuse problems between the two neighbours. Started last year, the Ottawa Dialogue has held three meetings - in Ottawa, Bangkok and Copenhagen.

In its report after the Copenhagen meeting two weeks ago, the group called upon New Delhi and Islamabad to widen the scope of the Lahore MoU, signed during Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore in February 1999, to include new-generation missiles.

The MoU binds the two nations, among other things, to give advance notification of ballistic missile tests.

“But there were no cruise missiles in the arsenal of the two countries when the MoU was signed in 1999. So we are asking them to include cruise missiles so that anyone undertaking cruise missile tests informs the other side. This is part of our overall efforts to stabilise their nuclear relationship,” Jones told IANS.

Among others measures to enhance nuclear stability in the sub-continent, the initiative has recommended a jointly acceptable lexicon of ‘nuclear terms’.

“Right now, the two sides interpret many terms - like minimum deterrent or de-mating - differently. Since many terms don’t mean the same thing to the two sides, there are dangers of misinterpretation in a crisis. We want them to evolve a common lexicon for nuclear terms,” Jones said.

Another worrisome issue, he said, is their different interpretation of their alert status.

“When they talk about their alert levels, they have different meanings. We want them to keep their nuclear weapons at the lowest possible alert level during peacetime,” he said.

Jones added that the two countries should set up so-called Nuclear Risk Reduction Centres. “These centres will serve as dedicated channels to promote understanding on nuclear issues and pass messages across to the leadership of the two countries.”

Further, these centres would also help the two countries understand the implications of new technologies for peace and stability in the sub-continent, he said.

Former Pakistan foreign secretaries Shamshad Ahmad (who signed the Lahore MoU) and Najjmudin Shaikh, former Indian foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh, former Indian Navy Rear Admiral Raja Menon, former Pakistan Air Vice Marshal Shahzad Chaudhry, and Jawaharlal Nehru University professors Amitabh Mattoo and Ramamurti Rajaraman are among members of the Ottawa Dialogue funded by Canada, Denmark and other groups.