Dear Editor,
Improvement in relations with Pakistan has been a priority of India’s foreign policy by every government. Any initiative towards it by a ruling regime is historically condemned by those in opposition. Primarily, the squabbling is to deny the credit to one another for concluding an amicable agreement over J and K. In its short span, the Modi dispensation has changed its stance in a seesaw manner regarding dialogue with Pakistan under Nawaz Sharif. A similar inconsistency was seen during the NDA-1 rule under Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Lahore visit, Kargil episode, attack on Indian Parliament and the fiasco at Agra. Manmohan Singh and General Musharraf undertook concerted negotiation which paved the way for an understanding to resolve the vexed issue. An out-of-box solution with three cardinal guidelines, ie “no redrawing of borders,” “no status quo on Kashmir” and “making borders irrelevant” was almost thrashed out by Indian and Pakistani interlocutors. The BJP comparing Modi’s Lahore trip with Manmohan Singh’s dream of “breakfast in Kabul, lunch at Lahore and dinner back at New Delhi” is being quoted out of context. Redemption of that dream would be a mirage until belligerence between the two ceases.
Lt-Col Bachittar Singh (Retd)
Via-e-mail
