No FO level thaw
Nawaz Sharif may have some explaining to do on the domestic front, but his foreign policy posture, especially overtures towards India, has few critics. That must have taken some cajoling within his core right-of-centre contingency; primarily the Deobandi clergy, which prefers distance with India. And, since actions speak louder than words, he even avoided Hurriyat leaders during Modi’s inauguration in New Delhi.
No doubt the novelty was meant to impress upon India, and indeed the world, that Pakistan, for one, was willing to play ball, even show measured flexibility, if India were to do a little bit of the same. One thing that must have angered Delhi was Nawaz snatching the initiative from Modi. Scoring first was what Modi seemingly counted on by inviting Nawaz, but the latter was savvier, and took the first round. The frustration, perhaps, led to the unannounced, and unappreciated, press conference by the Indian foreign secretary.
But now New Delhi expects Pakistan to rule out the Hurriyat bunch once and for all. It’s either talks with them or Delhi, says India’s new government, not realising, perhaps, that Pakistan has always talked to Kashmiris before and after negotiations with India. Anything less would be unrepresentative of the Kashmiris. If India, undergoing a pretty pronounced shift to the right itself, expects its own election results to determine Kashmir policy of both countries unilaterally, then there is a far way to go indeed before Modi, too, realises the complexities surrounding the core outstanding issue. Far too many strongmen, from both sides, have tried to take extreme positions, only to find themselves back to square one sooner or later. In fact, the only time meaningful progress was made was because of Pakistan’s de-escalation efforts during Gen Musharraf’s time, but years of hard work were suddenly lost when the Indians did not respond in kind. Modi must now realise that whoever wants real progress on India will be seen advancing, and the side that wishes replays of the same old cycle will also be exposed. Best to advance wherever possible; and FO level talks are a good start.
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