New Delhi, August 4
The next round of India-Pakistan nuclear CBMs talks begin tomorrow under the shadow of uncertainties that have erupted on implementation of the eight-point areas of cooperation agreed at the Cultural Secretaries-level talks between the two countries that concluded in Islamabad on July 27.

The Tribune understands that Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is adopting a go-slow approach on the first six points primarily because it is apprehensive of severe criticism at home. Moreover, signals emanating from Islamabad indicate that the Pakistan government is unsure of the extent to which it wants to and it can go with India in the normalisation of relations.

At the Cultural Secretaries-level talks which concluded in Islamabad on July 27 last, the two sides had agreed on the following eight points for promotion of friendly exchanges in various fields:

• Holding a Festival of Pakistani Cinema in India.
• Establishing an institutional linkage between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA).
• India and Pakistan cooperate as required, to counter the menace of illegal international trafficking in archaeological trafficking and cultural artefacts.
• Establishing an institutional linkage between the Lalit Kala Academy of India and the National Academy of Performing Arts of Pakistan.
• The condition of fishermen and prisoners in each others custody is a serious humanitarian concern requiring urgent attention. They may be released as soon as possible. Numbers may be determined and process initiated to release where required.
• The agreement to increase the number of pilgrims and shrines is to be implemented with immediate effect.
• To undertake operationalising of the bilateral cultural agreement of 1988 through a cultural exchange programme.
• Liberalising the grant of visas to Culture and Art personalities.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs chose not to publicise these eight points and also vetoed the Culture Secretaries’ suggestion that these points be included in the Joint Press Statement.

The fundamentalist lobbies are against opening up with India, especially on the cultural front because they fear the Indian cultural invasion. This is one of the reasons why President Pervez Musharraf has still not lifted the ban on screening/viewing of Indian films in Pakistan despite the fact that piracy of Indian films is a roaring business in Pakistan and there is a huge viewership of Indian films in Pakistan, albeit pirated. Gen Musharraf himself was presented a copy of Mughal-e-Azam when its coloured edition was launched last year.

It is against this backdrop that the Indo-Pak nuclear CBMs talks are beginning here tomorrow.