PM’s Pakistan Outreach Ends in Predictable Whimper

Political extremists and opposition parties vilify Indian or Pakistani leaders who try for improved ties with between the two countries. India’s prime minister cancelled a meeting between the two foreign secretaries after a Pakistan High Commissioner met with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference on pursuing self-determination for Kashmir, an area of bitter dispute between India and Pakistan. Cancellation was shortsighted, suggests Siddharth Varadarajan, writing an opinion essay for New Delhi TV. Reasons for the cancellation could include frequent ceasefire violations in the region – or a lack of confidence on the diplomatic front, he argues. “What makes the Indian decision even more problematic is that New Delhi is fully aware of the domestic criticism Nawaz Sharif faced after his May…visit to India,” Varadarajan writes. “Sharif was pilloried for not raising the issue of Kashmir in public and for not meeting the Hurriyat. By reacting the way it has, the Modi government has inadvertently strengthened the hands of Pakistan's military and the political ecosystem it supports.” – YaleGlobal