India - Pakistan Talks

Flag Lowering Ceremony at Wagah Border

Last week's talks (July 16, 2010) between Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna ended in a deadlock over Islamabad raking up human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi's insistence that Pakistan give a time frame for completing trial of the Mumbai attackers. There was no concrete agreement or understanding between the two sides on any of the issues that tense up the relations between the two nuclear powers.  

After the talks both sides were upset. Pakistani foreign minister bluntly stated that the Indian foreign minister lacked mandate to discuss and deliver on majority of issues concerning both the sides. He also seemed quite upset on repeated telephonic contacts with higher authorities in New Delhi by the members of the Indian delegation during the talks. On the other hand, the Indian foreign minister tried to become a spin doctor by saying that the talks were fruitful and that he was successful in conveying India's concern on terrorism to the Pakistani side. Later on he was criticized by the Indian opposition parties for failing to make terrorism the core issue of the talks. He was also accused of giving enough space to the Pakistani foreign minister for scoring debating points during the press conference after the talks in Islamabad. 

It is pertinent to note that the Indian minister S.M. Krishna invited his Pakistani counterpart for the reciprocal visit to New Delhi later this year. But the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi went on to state that he won't visit the Indian capital for talks to waste his time if the Indian delegation  lacks the mandate to discuss the core and central issue of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The hostility between the two countries is 63 years old. Both the countries have fought three full scale conventional wars plus the ever continuing proxy wars in Kashmir, Baluchistan and other parts of the sub-continent. Both countries have experienced terror related violence perpetrated by the non-state actors on both sides of the border. However, the majority of people in both countries seek peaceful relations with each other despite acrimonious fusillades by their governments and media. Hence, the will of the people is supreme and must be realized by their respective governments. Indo-Pak peace and friendship is not going to be easy but it is achievable. India, being a bigger country with more than .5 million military presence in the Kashmir valley, must remain committed to peace talks with Pakistan. The ball is in Indian court.