Talks can resume only if Pakistan lets go of terror

Should India accept Pakistan’s rather plaintive plea for talks on the sidelines of the 6th Heart of Asia summit being held in Amritsar December 3-4? Sartraz Aziz, the foreign affairs advisor to Pakist

Should India accept Pakistan’s rather plaintive plea for talks on the sidelines of the 6th Heart of Asia summit being held in Amritsar December 3-4? Sartraz Aziz, the foreign affairs advisor to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, will be among the 40 delegates attending the ministerial summit. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani will preside over the conference, aimed at bringing peace and development in war-torn Afghanistan, and enhancing regional cooperation. India is one of the 14 participating countries.

The 17 supporting countries include the US, the EU, Canada and Japan. India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Aziz at the last conference in Islamabad, and the two sides agreed to resume the composite dialogue, now called the comprehensive bilateral dialogue.

But the ensuing attacks on the Pathankot airbase and Uri army camp by Pakistan-trained terrorists ensured that the talks never got off the ground. This was followed by India’s surgical strikes along the Line of Control in Kashmir, the beheading of Indian troopers by terrorists and the resumption of crossborder shelling.

While the shelling has eased after India’s massive retaliation last week targeting Pakistani outposts, the mood on both sides is still belligerent. This time, since Swaraj will not attend the summit due to health reasons, India is likely to be represented by Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh.

The Pakistani delegation might get a somewhat frosty reception not just from India, but also Afghanistan, which has long argued that Pakistan’s support to the Taliban was the root cause of trouble in that country. As for India, a senior offi cial categorically stated that “We have told Pakistan several times that terror and talks cannot go hand in hand. A bilateral at this point is out of question. The Heart of Asia conference is about Afghanistan and we will focus on that.”

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com