India-Pakistan relations have hit such a low that the whiff of a chance of a visit to Islamabad by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even to attend a Saarc summit, provides enough drama for the chatterati. To be fair, the occasion of a Saarc summit has in the past been used to break a bilateral India-Pakistan logjam. Then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf broke the ice at the Kathmandu Saarc and Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousaf Raza Gilani at Thimphu.
India-Pakistan diplomacy is often a game of smoke and mirrors. As there is no formal decision for Mr Modi not to travel to Islamabad in November, India’s high commissioner in Pakistan, Gautam Bambawale, was technically correct when he said on Monday that he could say nothing about the future but as of now the Indian PM was looking forward to attending the Saarc summit.
The following day the Indian spokesman noted announcements of this nature weren’t made so far in advance. It is evident that India has as yet not decided.
Among the reasons that has led to a serious dip in bilateral ties is the fact that the Pakistan Army under Gen. Raheel Sharif has the whip hand over the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and the Army isn’t too keen now that bilateral relations improve. However, Gen. Sharif is due to retire shortly. New Delhi may prefer to get more clarity about Pakistan’s internal dynamics before the PM takes a call on his travelling to Islamabad.
