April 01, 2011 8:52:32 PM
Mohali talks achieve nothing at all
He came. He saw. He left (with a grumpy face). That pretty much sums up the so called ‘ground-breaking’ meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, at Mohali on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan. Touted to be another glorious example of ‘cricket diplomacy’ — a terribly flawed foreign policy tactic with an equally ambiguous track record of success — the meeting achieved absolutely nothing that could possibly make a significant contribution towards improving bilateral ties between the two countries. But of course, Mr Singh and his Government would like us to believe that a new ‘spirit’ was born and we must rejoice in the tremendous potential it holds. Mohali, they call it — after that stadium where it was conceived and following in the tradition of the ‘Thimphu spirit’ and and the ‘Spirit of Sharm el-Sheikh’. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao described the newborn as an “extra positive and encouraging spirit” while the Congress gushed about the “goodwill gesture” — Mr Singh’s spontaneous invitation last week was to celebrate the spirit of sport — that led to, well, another spirited development. Yet for all this spiritedness and in spite of all the good cheer that the Congress-led UPA regime is desperately trying to inject into India’s body politik — which would much rather just ‘bleed blue’ — the harsh truth is that nothing has changed since Wednesday. No progress has been in real terms; no memorandums, no joint statements, not even any empty promises. Just plain talk. Now Mr Singh would like us to believe that idle chatter was exactly the point of it all, that nothing more was expected from his little garden party; and then, he will present his entire argument in the context of “ancient animosities” which one must leave behind to seek a “permanent reconciliation” so that we can live happily ever after. And his loyal coterie will be enchanted by the fairytale version of events.
But real politics is not a fairytale. Bilateral ties between two nuclear armed countries that have fought four wars in six decades is definitely no child’s play. And this is particularly evident in the fact that in reports that have emerged since the meeting, there is a lot of talk about everything good and happy but there is no mention of the hard issues. Apart from a vague statement that the two leaders had “extensive discussions on all outstanding issues” including all “core issues”, there was no comment on what exactly they talked about. Did they speak about Kashmir? About Siachen? About the Pakistani terror networks that wreak havoc at home and abroad? Did Mr Singh remind Mr Gilani that Islamabad is yet to hand over evidence about the Pakistanis who terrorised Mumbai less than three years ago? Or, has this Government, in its eagerness to be seen as the bearer of the proverbial olive branch, decided to let Pakistan off the hook once again? A grateful Mr Gilani has hailed the meeting as an opportunity to build “mutual trust and respect”. How exactly he plans to do that when Pakistani terrorists are constantly planning to bomb our cities, our ports, our planes and our people is beyond understanding. Perhaps Mr Gilani has shared his plans with Mr Singh while his boys on the field battled it out with our men in blue — and lost.
Mohali talks achieve nothing at all
He came. He saw. He left (with a grumpy face). That pretty much sums up the so called ‘ground-breaking’ meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, at Mohali on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan. Touted to be another glorious example of ‘cricket diplomacy’ — a terribly flawed foreign policy tactic with an equally ambiguous track record of success — the meeting achieved absolutely nothing that could possibly make a significant contribution towards improving bilateral ties between the two countries. But of course, Mr Singh and his Government would like us to believe that a new ‘spirit’ was born and we must rejoice in the tremendous potential it holds. Mohali, they call it — after that stadium where it was conceived and following in the tradition of the ‘Thimphu spirit’ and and the ‘Spirit of Sharm el-Sheikh’. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao described the newborn as an “extra positive and encouraging spirit” while the Congress gushed about the “goodwill gesture” — Mr Singh’s spontaneous invitation last week was to celebrate the spirit of sport — that led to, well, another spirited development. Yet for all this spiritedness and in spite of all the good cheer that the Congress-led UPA regime is desperately trying to inject into India’s body politik — which would much rather just ‘bleed blue’ — the harsh truth is that nothing has changed since Wednesday. No progress has been in real terms; no memorandums, no joint statements, not even any empty promises. Just plain talk. Now Mr Singh would like us to believe that idle chatter was exactly the point of it all, that nothing more was expected from his little garden party; and then, he will present his entire argument in the context of “ancient animosities” which one must leave behind to seek a “permanent reconciliation” so that we can live happily ever after. And his loyal coterie will be enchanted by the fairytale version of events.
But real politics is not a fairytale. Bilateral ties between two nuclear armed countries that have fought four wars in six decades is definitely no child’s play. And this is particularly evident in the fact that in reports that have emerged since the meeting, there is a lot of talk about everything good and happy but there is no mention of the hard issues. Apart from a vague statement that the two leaders had “extensive discussions on all outstanding issues” including all “core issues”, there was no comment on what exactly they talked about. Did they speak about Kashmir? About Siachen? About the Pakistani terror networks that wreak havoc at home and abroad? Did Mr Singh remind Mr Gilani that Islamabad is yet to hand over evidence about the Pakistanis who terrorised Mumbai less than three years ago? Or, has this Government, in its eagerness to be seen as the bearer of the proverbial olive branch, decided to let Pakistan off the hook once again? A grateful Mr Gilani has hailed the meeting as an opportunity to build “mutual trust and respect”. How exactly he plans to do that when Pakistani terrorists are constantly planning to bomb our cities, our ports, our planes and our people is beyond understanding. Perhaps Mr Gilani has shared his plans with Mr Singh while his boys on the field battled it out with our men in blue — and lost.
The New Indian Express
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