Modi wades into Pakistan ties - Indian Punchline
The possibility of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi in Delhi on Monday cannot be ruled out.
The invitation to Sharif is, arguably, the first major foreign-policy decision taken by Modi and it needed gumption to take such a decision, considering how his ardent followers are counting on him to destroy Pakistan and scatter it from the face of the planet.
Sharif will be conscious of the audacious move by Modi, and being a savvy politician who is far more experienced than Modi in international diplomacy, will estimate that he has nothing to lose and probably something to gain by making a day-long trip to Delhi.
It takes two to tango and Sharif won’t want to be seen on the world stage as the one holding back. This is one thing. Far more important, “Mian” Nawaz Sharif will expect a meeting with Modi.
This is where Sharif holds the upper hand. Modi will be called upon to spell out, away from the hurlyburly of election and keeping his hawkish expert-advisors and the excited mob on the social networking sites guessing, how he calmly visualizes the India-Pakistan relationship as prime minister.
Hopefully, Modi has collected his thoughts. If not, he’s making a false start and it could prove provocative. The impressions that Sharif carries back with him to islamabad will determine the alchemy of the relationship in the weeks and months to come.
To be sure, Sharif is keen to move forward with India. The back channel contacts so far make him curious. But for Modi, it is a high risk-venture to discuss India-Pakistan relations with Sharif without any worthwhile response from Pakistan so far on the Mumbai attacks.
Modi’s followers will wonder, ‘How can he open a new page just like that with Pakistan as if they died in vain in Mumbai six years ago?’
Modi’s starry-eyed followers are in dazed silence. Ironically, his move to invite Sharif has been applauded so far not by his own camp but by the Hurriyet leadership in the Valley and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah .
Couldn’t there have been a less risky way for Modi to make his first move to engage Sharif, away from the limelight? The biggest danger is that this whole thing may end up as a publicity gimmick. If so, the initiative passes into the hands of the so-called “non-state actors” in Pakistan to set the tempo of the relationship.
Modi, therefore, having waded into the shark-infested waters, should be ready with a “road map” for India-Pakistan relations when he meets in Sharif.
That “road map” cannot of course be highly specific with milestones and so on. But it should all the same be one that is convincing enough for Sharif to work on.
The point is, Sharif too has a problem back home in wresting control of Pakistan’s policies toward India and Modi’s past doesn’t help matters, either. Modi should realize that, too, without having to be defensive.
How would a “road map” look? Now, Mod’s followers are going to pounce on me and flood me with hate mail branding me an “ISI agent” and so on, but let me nonetheless suggest three “talking points”, which should make a good start.
First and foremost, Modi could articulate his priority to build a meaningful economic partnership that is of mutual benefit and which could genuinely help Pakistani economy’s recovery and get that country on board his development plank.
If possible, Modi should flag our interest to revive at the earliest the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. There cannot be any single project that holds such potential to make Pakistan a “stakeholder” in relations with India.
Second, Modi should acknowledge that his government has inherited the useful discussions held on J&K by the previous government and hopes to build on it.
Third and most important, Modi should underscore in categorial terms without any ambiguity that India does not want a proxy war in Afghanistan. He will be going an extra league if he were to take note of Pakistan’s legitimate interests in Afghanistan, but it is worthwhile to do that, because there is no single issue that impacts Pakistan’s internal security more.
Finally, it will be a productive outcome if Modi and Sharif can decide on a trusted system of getting through to each other on a regular basis so that they could steer the relationship in the direction they set.
Sharif is one hundred percent certain to extend an invitation to Modi to visit Pakistan. Modi should accept the invitation and express his willingness to undertake an early visit, without adding caveats.
The paradox is that Modi may have a big mandate, but is actually working on the Pakistan ties within a very tight timeline. There is not a day to lose, because the current euphoria over Modi’s triumphal victory cannot last long.
The ground reality is that it is well-nigh impossible for Modi to deliver on the economic side in a near future so as to meet the high expectations of the Indian people. (Reuters). Once the inevitable disappointment in the public mood sets in, the temptation will always be there on the part of the BJP (and its mentors the Sangh Parivar) to take the easy route and revert to the divisive politics of communal polarization — and, if that happens, a flashpoint could arise in no time, given the window of opportunity it would provide for the “jihadi” groups and the “non-state actors” in Pakistan who are waiting in the wings
The possibility of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi in Delhi on Monday cannot be ruled out.
The invitation to Sharif is, arguably, the first major foreign-policy decision taken by Modi and it needed gumption to take such a decision, considering how his ardent followers are counting on him to destroy Pakistan and scatter it from the face of the planet.
Sharif will be conscious of the audacious move by Modi, and being a savvy politician who is far more experienced than Modi in international diplomacy, will estimate that he has nothing to lose and probably something to gain by making a day-long trip to Delhi.
It takes two to tango and Sharif won’t want to be seen on the world stage as the one holding back. This is one thing. Far more important, “Mian” Nawaz Sharif will expect a meeting with Modi.
This is where Sharif holds the upper hand. Modi will be called upon to spell out, away from the hurlyburly of election and keeping his hawkish expert-advisors and the excited mob on the social networking sites guessing, how he calmly visualizes the India-Pakistan relationship as prime minister.
Hopefully, Modi has collected his thoughts. If not, he’s making a false start and it could prove provocative. The impressions that Sharif carries back with him to islamabad will determine the alchemy of the relationship in the weeks and months to come.
To be sure, Sharif is keen to move forward with India. The back channel contacts so far make him curious. But for Modi, it is a high risk-venture to discuss India-Pakistan relations with Sharif without any worthwhile response from Pakistan so far on the Mumbai attacks.
Modi’s followers will wonder, ‘How can he open a new page just like that with Pakistan as if they died in vain in Mumbai six years ago?’
Modi’s starry-eyed followers are in dazed silence. Ironically, his move to invite Sharif has been applauded so far not by his own camp but by the Hurriyet leadership in the Valley and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah .
Couldn’t there have been a less risky way for Modi to make his first move to engage Sharif, away from the limelight? The biggest danger is that this whole thing may end up as a publicity gimmick. If so, the initiative passes into the hands of the so-called “non-state actors” in Pakistan to set the tempo of the relationship.
Modi, therefore, having waded into the shark-infested waters, should be ready with a “road map” for India-Pakistan relations when he meets in Sharif.
That “road map” cannot of course be highly specific with milestones and so on. But it should all the same be one that is convincing enough for Sharif to work on.
The point is, Sharif too has a problem back home in wresting control of Pakistan’s policies toward India and Modi’s past doesn’t help matters, either. Modi should realize that, too, without having to be defensive.
How would a “road map” look? Now, Mod’s followers are going to pounce on me and flood me with hate mail branding me an “ISI agent” and so on, but let me nonetheless suggest three “talking points”, which should make a good start.
First and foremost, Modi could articulate his priority to build a meaningful economic partnership that is of mutual benefit and which could genuinely help Pakistani economy’s recovery and get that country on board his development plank.
If possible, Modi should flag our interest to revive at the earliest the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. There cannot be any single project that holds such potential to make Pakistan a “stakeholder” in relations with India.
Second, Modi should acknowledge that his government has inherited the useful discussions held on J&K by the previous government and hopes to build on it.
Third and most important, Modi should underscore in categorial terms without any ambiguity that India does not want a proxy war in Afghanistan. He will be going an extra league if he were to take note of Pakistan’s legitimate interests in Afghanistan, but it is worthwhile to do that, because there is no single issue that impacts Pakistan’s internal security more.
Finally, it will be a productive outcome if Modi and Sharif can decide on a trusted system of getting through to each other on a regular basis so that they could steer the relationship in the direction they set.
Sharif is one hundred percent certain to extend an invitation to Modi to visit Pakistan. Modi should accept the invitation and express his willingness to undertake an early visit, without adding caveats.
The paradox is that Modi may have a big mandate, but is actually working on the Pakistan ties within a very tight timeline. There is not a day to lose, because the current euphoria over Modi’s triumphal victory cannot last long.
The ground reality is that it is well-nigh impossible for Modi to deliver on the economic side in a near future so as to meet the high expectations of the Indian people. (Reuters). Once the inevitable disappointment in the public mood sets in, the temptation will always be there on the part of the BJP (and its mentors the Sangh Parivar) to take the easy route and revert to the divisive politics of communal polarization — and, if that happens, a flashpoint could arise in no time, given the window of opportunity it would provide for the “jihadi” groups and the “non-state actors” in Pakistan who are waiting in the wings
