A day after the Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers agreed on more talks to rebuild a mutual trust fractured by the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the media on both sides of the border was abuzz with news of the dialogue having collapsed.
Though Qureshi and Krishna agreed to meet again, the back-and-forth rhetoric both in media or out of it did little to assuage the tension between the nuclear-capable neighbors.
India insists further talks with Pakistan are only possible once Islamabad convinces New Delhi of its intention to prosecute the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.
India and Pakistan are blaming each other for not achieving a major breakthrough. Both have taken closed-door diplomacy to an expectant media who waste no time in interpreting the hostile undercurrents from their grim faces.
In a press briefing on Friday, Qureshi said India was not mentally prepared for talks and that Krishna kept interrupting talks to take calls from New Delhi.
Former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh had once said “an accomplished diplomat thinks twice before saying nothing.”
The issues between the two neighbors – from Kashmir and Afghanistan to their checkered history – are too complicated and both sides have too much to lose at home if they seen to be compromising their stand. Diplomacy and dialogue are just means to keep tensions from escalating. Peace and normalcy are fanciful words for the region.
Has the goal of the India-Pakistan talks shifted to aggressive posturing and one-upmanship before the media, taking away from much-needed measures to bridge the trust gap?
Are peace-building measures while a hostile climate exists between New Delhi and Islamabad a futile effort at diplomacy?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteanother sick statement by a pakistani head . i wonder everytime they make a move .
ReplyDelete