TOMORROW`S date will not be marked as a red letter day in any calendar, but March 9 represents an important landmark in Pakistan`s turbulent judicial and political history.

On that day last year, Musharraf summoned the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, and demanded his resignation. Musharraf`s arrogance and the judge`s defiance precipitated a crisis that the country has yet to resolve. But the world does not stand still while Pakistan wrestles with constitutional issues. One of the matters that have been put on the back burner while the Musharraf government struggled for survival is the peace process with India.

As many of us prepare to write Musharraf`s political obituary, one of the things we must give him credit for is a serious and concerted effort to make peace with our neighbour. Granted, it was his disastrous Kargil adventure that plunged ties to their lowest ebb.

But after seizing power, he pushed hard to normalise relations, and if he ultimately failed to solve the Kashmir problem, he did put some creative ideas on the table. The next government has been freed of the anchor of the UN Security Council resolutions that bogged down previous efforts at peace-making.

A number of reasons prompted Musharraf. Firstly, the realisation that after the disastrous failure of the Kargil operation, there was no military solution to the Kashmir issue. Secondly, the growing corporate interests of the army demanded peace if the net worth of the officer corps was to increase at a healthy rate. And finally, the military high command has come belatedly to the conclusion that the existential threat to Pakistan comes not from India, but from our own home-grown extremists and terrorists.

This last point has been conclusively driven home by the deadly wave of suicide bombings directed mostly at the armed forces and the security apparatus. The recent attack at the Naval Staff College in Lahore has underlined the fact that far from defending us, it is our soldiers, sailors and air force personnel who are under siege. Against this backdrop, it makes eminent sense to normalise relations with India, thereby permitting military resources to be diverted to the northwest of the country where the real threat lies. So when Asif Zardari suggested in a recent interview with an Indian TV channel that we put Kashmir on the back-burner and focus on trade and travel, he was saying something obvious.

Predictably, a number of Kashmiri leaders have condemned this suggestion, accusing the PPP of abandoning their struggle. However, after 60 years of tensions, wars and bitterness, surely it is time to move on. The reality is that with time, the balance of power has tilted irrevocably in India`s favour.

One would have to be particularly ignorant not to note the rapid progress India has made, not just economically and militarily, but also diplomatically. Today, Pakistan is completely isolated on the Kashmir issue, and we have run out of options and ideas.

For decades, Pakistan has pushed a single-point Kashmir agenda. Since 1948, we have virtually defined ourselves as a nation by our stand on Kashmir. Surely we owe it to ourselves and to our children to break out of this suffocating straitjacket, and get on with life. Kashmiri leaders have vowed to carry on their struggle even if they receive no help from Pakistan. This, of course, is their prerogative. But as Zardari said in his interview, we can no longer be held hostage to the Kashmir issue to the detriment of our own defence and our own economy. Free trade and travel between India and Pakistan will open up unexplored vistas, and will, hopefully, kick-start our moribund economy.

A normalisation of ties might prove to be beneficial for Kashmiris as well as Indians and Pakistanis. New Delhi will no longer need to station hundreds of thousands of security personnel in the Valley, reducing the human burden of military occupation. Without a threat from Pakistan, India will no longer have a motive to secure a pro-Delhi government in Kashmir. This could spell a return to normal politics that gives space to all interest groups. And Kashmiris would be free to travel across the soft border that the Line of Control could become.

Thus, improved ties between the two countries is a clear win-win situation, a no-brainer if ever there was one. However, getting there from here is no easy task. On both sides, there are hawks who will resist a political settlement tooth and nail. For intelligence agencies and the military, Kashmir has long been a bread and butter issue. But the post 9/11 scenario has ensured that no country in the region will reduce its armed forces anytime soon. Armies will need to be re-trained for anti-terrorist and guerrilla operations, but given our worsening security environment, there is no pressure for cuts in the defence budget. So the vast defence establishments on both sides have no need to fear for their jobs if and when India and Pakistan learn to live like normal neighbours.

Fortunately, both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari are on the same wavelength on ties with India. This should make it possible to persuade their large constituencies that peace is in Pakistan`s best interest. Indeed, there are now relatively few in the country who believe in endless confrontation with India. Apart from a few retired generals and ambassadors who are regular fixtures on TV talk shows, and who fulminate against Musharraf for having made unilateral concessions over Kashmir, hardly any sensible people regret the steps he has taken.

Most Pakistanis today view the rising tide of terrorism with alarm; they have witnessed India`s dramatic growth over the last 15 years; and they continue to suffer under appalling living conditions. They all yearn for a better life, and this is the reason why they have thrown out the Musharraf/Chaudhry combine. It is the clear responsibility of the government about to be formed to deliver on its promises of good governance, employment and education. As voters have shown in their millions, they are no longer prepared to be fobbed off with words, and want action.

It will be no easy task to address the many problems Pakistan faces today. But the crucial first step is to normalise relations with India.