Rajnath Singh’s Islamabad visit to attend the Saarc ministers’ meeting has predictably added to the frost in India-Pakistan relations in the aftermath of Pathankot. The expectations weren’t very high anyway, but what may have fouled the atmosphere further were the differing perceptions on Burhan Wani’s killing in Kashmir. Pakistan’s glorification of terrorists and its propensity to see them as “good” or “bad”, such as the distinction it draws about the Taliban, have been noted internationally.
Ironically, Pakistan says it believes in resolving issues through dialogue, but simultaneously harps on the “killing of civilians fighting for freedom in Kashmir”. Given the varied Indian views on “poster boy” terrorist Wani, Pakistan was bound to take advantage. Despite this, India had no choice but to stress all this again at a meeting of key South Asian ministers under whose direct ambit comes the difficult task of tackling terrorism in the region.
It wasn’t as if India said anything different on an issue it has raised across the world, through Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others. In that sense, the so-called “blacking out” of Mr Singh’s speech by Pakistan was not particularly germane to the issue. Pakistan’s less than gracious behaviour as a conference host — its interior minister not attending the lunch he hosted — is a pointer to its defensiveness on terrorism and its pivotal role in the movement of drugs between southeast and southwest Asia. India may now have to realign its position vis-à-vis Pakistan given its hostile attitude to New Delhi’s overtures.
