And the 22 envoys
India’s state minister for external affairs, MJ Akbar, clearly didn’t make the jump from journalism to the BJP to watch from the sidelines. And he’s quickly proving ideal for politics of the BJP mould. Fiercely anti-Congress, a Muslim (which gives an air of diversity) and, unlike his days as an editor, conveniently duplicitous when needed. The response to Nawaz Sharif’s 22 Kashmir envoys gives a good example. Ordinarily one would agree that Kashmir is a bilateral issue that is best settled in the subcontinent, but the statement becomes laughable when the Indians own it one day after rejecting bilateral talks on Kashmir yet again.
Granted, the idea about the envoys needs a little explaining, especially when the prime minister still does not feel the need for appointing a full time foreign minister. Nawaz is setting the stage for a powerful speech at the UN in September, no doubt. But for an organisation that, shamefully, places some of the world’s worst human rights oppressors on its human rights watchdogs because of the size of their ‘donations’, expectations should be kept at a minimum. If the organisation were worth its name, it would have taken much stronger note of the violence in Kashmir over the past few months.
Yet, still, India must take the responsibility for things deteriorating so fast this time. Time and again Islamabad extended the hand of friendship and offer of talks. And each time the Indians not just rejected, but collected ‘like-minded’ players for a fair deal of unnecessary chest thumping. Yet this is a time-buying policy at best, something so far lost on MJ Akbar and company. Eventually the Indians will have to come and talk; something that even their opposition has begun noticing. And when they do, they will have to descend from the lofty platform they have created for themselves, and look bad in the process. In politics the ‘day after’ comes more often than journalism, something that should dawn on the Indian foreign ministry soon enough.
Actually the Indian are begining to realise that they do not have to talk. Pakistan's international posturing is becoming increasingly ineffective with no takers of any consequence.
not only the Kashmir issue that has no ears out there in the world, moreover Pakistan image is further tarnished with these illegal immigrants trying to cash-in to the middle eastern turmoil and the fact that the country is unwilling to take its own citizens back is a sad situation!
It is amazing how self destructive Pakistani politicians and journalists are. Kashmiri suffer because of Pakistanis. There will definitely be a Balauchstan and Sindhu Desh.
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