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| India-Pakistan |
| It should be more than a charade |
| 2010-03-06 |
| If the events of the past week are any indication, our policymakers have to be delusional to harbour any hope of a meaningful dialogue with India on Kashmir or on the incrementally desperate water dispute. As if the cold shoulder given to Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir by his Indian counterpart, Nirupama Rao, was not enough, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recently concluded visit to Saudi Arabia was the mea culpa. It has become abundantly clear that we might consider Kashmir to be the core issue to be discussed with New Delhi, the Indian leadership considers "Pakistan-based Islamic terrorists" its core concern. The resumption of composite dialogue has been predicated with "Islamabad's response over combating terrorism." Washington's pressure on New Delhi to resume a meaningful dialogue with Islamabad, stalled since the Mumbai attack in November 2008, has been cleverly deflected by the Indian prime minister's recent sojourn to Riyadh, the first by an Indian leader since 1982. Manmohan Singh sweet-talked his way in his meeting with King Abdullah. While addressing Saudi Arabia's quasi-parliament, the Shura Council, he made the right noises about ties with Pakistan, with the caveat that Islamabad acted decisively against terrorism. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #2 More of a pantomime, then? |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-03-06 09:38 |
| #1 urged the Pakistani leaders to forge unity amongst themselves to thwart the menace of terrorism "endeavor to persevere" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-03-06 08:10 |