The newly appointed first ever female Foreign Minister of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar visited India for talks with the External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in New Delhi on July 27. Last year, the meeting between the foreign ministers ended on a disastrous note as the then Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi and Krishna tried to outdo each other in a joint press conference.
Khar contested her first elections in 2002 on a family seat as her father Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar, a big landowner and former parliamentarian in Punjab's Muzaffargarh town, could not participate in elections under a law introduced by ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf which required election candidates to hold a college degree. During Musharraf's rule, she became the minister of state for economic affairs. She was sworn in as a deputy FM after Shah Mehmood Qureshi was removed from the post of FM. During the time of her appointment as the Foreign Minister, she was criticised by the chief of Pakistan's Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, Maulana Fazlur Rehman who felt that the 34 year old did not have any diplomatic and political experience.
Before the meeting with Krishna, Khar emphasized that it would be her endeavour that the peace process between the two countries is result-oriented. However prior to her meeting she chose to meet top Hurriyat leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Gilani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, which did not go down well with the Indian officials.
Khar, a headscarf-wearing mother of three, was inevitably compared to Benazir Bhutto, the charismatic female prime minister of Pakistan who was assassinated when trying to regain power in 2007. She attracted widespread attention in the Islamic nation where women seldom feature in public life, and a newspaper picture of her wearing tight jeans caused a shimmer of disapproval.
However, her clothing and accessories became the talk of town rather than her political agendas and diplomatic policies. Khar's glamorous turn triggered a media swoon and became the buzz of the sub continental chattering class. "Pakistan puts on its best face," read the Times of India headline; "Pakistan bomb lands in India," quipped the Mumbai Mirror and even The Guardian. In Pakistan, the opinion was divided amid arguments about sexism, dynastic politics and the propriety of carrying a pricey handbag. Flicking through a stack of newspapers filled with her picture Khar commented that a guy in her place would never get such attention; nobody would be talking about his suit.
Highlights of the joint statement issued following her meeting with SM Krishna were:
Terrorism: The two countries agreed to fight and eliminate this scourge. They expressed satisfaction on the holding of meetings on counter-terrorism, including progress on the Mumbai trial.
Nuclear CBMs: They attached importance to promoting peace and security, including confidence-building measures and agreed to convene separate meetings of the expert groups on nuclear and conventional CBMs in Islamabad in September.
Kashmir: They agreed on the need for continued discussions, in a purposeful and forward looking manner, with a view to finding a peaceful solution by narrowing divergences and building convergences.
Cross LoC trade and travel: Travel across the divided Jammu and Kashmir will be extended on both sides of the Line of Control to include tourism and religious pilgrimages. The number of trading days enhanced from two to four per week.
Mutual trade: They emphasized the importance of early establishment of a non-discriminatory trade regime between the two countries, including reduction or removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers.
Other issues: The ministers agreed that discussions will continue on Siachen, Wullar barrage navigation project and Sir Creek to find a mutually acceptable solution to these issues. They reiterated their commitment to seeking early and amicable solutions to all these issues.
On the vexed water issue — something that analysts say has the potential to become as sore as Kashmir — Ms. Khar said both countries were one in wanting to maintain the sanctity of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). In fact, she added, it was extremely important for Pakistan by virtue of being a lower riparian State.
Khar and Krishna agreed to the continuation of the dialogue process and to the convening of a series of secretary-level meetings to resolve all the issues and promote friendly exchanges. Dates of all these meetings will be decided through diplomatic channels and will be held prior to the next ministerial meeting.
The next gigantic international task for HRK would be heading strategic dialogue with the United States where she will have to pick the thread where her predecessor left and enormous complications have developed since then.
