Dear Editor,
US President Barack Obama’s acceptance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations on 26th January is Modi’s biggest diplomatic success.
Obama will be the first US President to be the Chief Guest at the function. The visit will further improve India-US ties and be an opportunity for India to make the US President more aware of its problems, particularly of cross-border terror emanating from Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly urged Obama to take up the Kashmir issue with India during his visit to New Delhi, and referred to his own visit to India earlier this year, which, according to Sharif, was aimed at taking Pakistan-India relations forward. But it was Pakistan which, by meeting Kashmiri separatist leaders, forced India to cancel the Foreign Secretary level talks.
M.C Joshi
via-e-mail
