Neither U-turn nor stalemate

Seven months after India cancelled the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was in Islamabad leading analysts, including firm Narendra Modi backers such as those from the Vivekananda Foundation stable, asking what had changed for New Delhi to have effected this ‘U-turn’.

Seven months after India cancelled the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar was in Islamabad leading analysts, including firm Narendra Modi backers such as those from the Vivekananda Foundation stable, asking what had changed for New Delhi to have effected this ‘U-turn’. The decision to reopen dialogue, announced days after Modi and US President Barack Obama held closed-door talks, led to some rapid conclusions about the source of this encouragement. Though frequent consultations are always helpful, Jaishankar’s foray to Islamabad as part of the first leg of the SAARC Yatra to Thimphu, Dhaka and Kabul was too thin a cover to mask the main purpose.

Though basic issues of contention between India and Pakistan remain unresolved, the changes in the neighbourhood alone justify the Foreign Secretary's peregrination. The new Afghan President does not bear the baggage of previous sins committed by Pakistan and the US. This helped him sign a pact to permit US troops to stay on and also conduct night raids against Al-Qaida and Taliban as also the emerging Islamic State cells. Pakistan twice sent the army and ISI chiefs to Kabul, an exceptional gesture considering the animosity during the Karzai era. In the North, China has engaged with states bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan while Moscow has held talks on defence and security with Islamabad.

All these factors necessitate an assessment and dialogue with the principal actors to enable course correction in India's wider approach to the region. After talks in Pakistan, Jaishankar hinted at the possibility of opening dialogue on line issues, a demand being pushed by the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. True the Mumbai case file in Pakistan is open, its masterminds still nurtured by its deep state, those incarcerated a hair's breadth from being let out and the Pakistan Foreign Office unrepentant over consulting Hurriyat . At the same time, militants have been unable to plot and execute mayhem on Indian soil with impunity. This factor, the fast-paced developments in the region and the need to resolve bread-and-butter issues in bilateral ties should justify Jaishankar’s ongoing visit.