‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’
When Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s new foreign secretary sits down to formally begin negotiations with Pakistan after a break of over six months, he will do well to remember this old proverb. The Pakistanis will be the most generous hosts he has encountered, certainly more hospitable than the Chinese or the Russians, two countries the Foreign Secretary is extremely familiar with. But as he savours the saag with makai ki roti and chhikarr cholay (the FS is vegetarian, so no kebabs for him), he will have more than just a gastronomic minefield to navigate.
The Pakistanis have been telling anyone who would care to listen, both publicly and privately, how desperate they are to re-start the talks. One part of this is due to internal dynamics and the other part due to external influences. The internal dynamics changed, some say irrevocably, after the Peshawar attack where more than a hundred schoolchildren were killed. This was Pakistan’s 9/11 moment. The moment where the country and its leadership finally realised that they cannot carry on with this bogey of feeding the terror machine and yet crying victim whenever the machine turns on them.
For India, no matter how the Modi government couches it, ‘SAARC yatra’, ‘cricket diplomacy’ etc, the fact is this is a resumption of bilateral talks.
For India, no matter how the Modi government couches it, ‘SAARC yatra’, ‘cricket diplomacy’ etc, the fact is this is a resumption of bilateral talks.
via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1vWUIIN
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