Ignoring the usual deal breakers: Modi sarkar is on right track with Pakistan

Look at the embarrassing paradox. India-Pakistan bilateral relations and the complications are the same as they were exactly a year ago. And yet, the response of the Narendra Modi government is drastically different than it was a year ago, though the circumstances remain exactly the same then and now. In the run up to the 23-24 August NSA-level talks in New Delhi, the Pakistani envoy in New Delhi has invited Kashmiri separatists to meet the Pakistani national security advisor Sartaj Aziz. Aziz arrives in New Delhi on 23 August for talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval – the first ever instance of a structured meeting between the NSAs of India and Pakistan. Exactly the same development had rocked India-Pakistan ties around this time last year when India had unilaterally called off the foreign secretary-level talks on the same grounds. [caption id=“attachment_2399990” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI image[/caption] External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had then thundered at the time,“Either you talk to them (Kashmiri separatists) or you talk to us.” That was the line drawn by the Modi government, then barely three-months-old, on engaging with Pakistan. Today, Pakistan has cocked a snook at India by resorting to the same tactic. But lo and behold, the Modi government has not even bothered to issue an official reaction to the familiar Pakistani provocation, let alone coming up with a retaliation. What this means is that the Modi government’s Pakistan policy has come full circle. It is the Modi government that has eaten crow. The difference this time around is that it has not come up with a similar knee-jerk reaction and called off the NSA-level talks. This is not surprising, nor is it unprecedented. This is not the first time when a government has reversed its policy vis-a-vis Pakistan, nor will it be the last time. Government policies are not cast in stone and cannot be. Policies change, mutate, evolve. Everything is in a flux. Everything is changing all the time. The only constant is change. Therefore, the Modi government cannot be faulted for erring in its Pakistan policy just as the Manmohan Singh government, now viewed in retrospect, cannot be faulted for the Sharm-el Sheikh “shame” of 2009 when the UPA government had put on paper Pakistan’s concerns on the Balochistan issue and said that Pakistan too was “a victim of terrorism”. The real intent then and now was similar: to make a sincere attempt to smoke the peace pipe with Pakistan. The Sharm-el Sheikh episode eventually exploded in the face of the UPA government and the India’s concession to Pakistan proved to be a snowflake in an oven.  The UPA government then was left with no option but to bury the Sharm-el Sheikh spirit forever. The Sharm-el Sheikh episode proved to be such a disaster that the then prime minister Manmohan Singh, born in Pakistan, could not visit Pakistan despite his best intentions. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi finds himself in the same snake pit. Chances are that he too may meet Manmohan Singh’s fate while dealing with Pakistan.  But that should not scare or deter the Modi government. All signs indicate that the Modi government will not flinch from going ahead with the NSA-level talks. This despite many provocations by Pakistan which are familiar: playing the Kashmiri separatists card, upping the ante on the terror front and stepping up cross-border firing as well as infiltration of terrorists. What has taken place between August 2014 (when India unilaterally called off foreign secretary-level talks) and August 2015 is that the Modi government has been on an important learning curve. Instead of hedging or just keeping mum, the Modi government needs to tell the world upfront that it erred in cancelling on its own the foreign secretary-level talks and this mistake won’t be repeated. There is no substitute for diplomatic talks. The Modi government has realized that Pakistan has been trying its best to create circumstances that will force it to call off the NSA-level talks and it would be playing into their hands if it were to do it again. This way the Modi government can turn its weakness into a strength. Nobody expects the upcoming NSA-level talks to be a roaring success or a game changer. If the talks bring forth a positive outcome it will be a bonus. But Pakistan needs to be given a message that its game plan is clearly understood in India and New Delhi won’t oblige Pakistan with another knee jerk reaction of cancelling NSA talks, whether they yield results or not. The bottom line is this: yes,PM Modi’s Pakistan policy is riddled with holes but he is on the right track.