An emerging maturity

Indian diplomat's statement that recommencement of talks is not linked to Pathankot incident is welcome & encouraging

That an Indian diplomat has said, on the record, that the recommencement of the talks between Pakistan and India is not linked to the Pathankot incident and its investigation is both welcome and encouraging. There was the diplomatic equivalent of a sharp intake of breath after the attack, followed by a slow exhale rather than the stereotypical and absurdly ritualised sabre-rattling and drum-beating that both sides are prone to under such trying circumstances.



Those that carried out the attack did so in all probability in the hope of getting just that — the usual suspects acting out the predetermined script leading to the complete collapse of what are the most promising talks for many years. But it has not happened that way this time around, and something very different is in the making. This positive message came via India’s new envoy to Pakistan, Gautam Bambawale, who was speaking to journalists on February 15. The foreign secretaries and national security advisers of both countries are still in touch and a meeting will happen, all in good time.

It must be assumed that immediately after the attack, India weighed the options that it was confronted with. There seemed little doubt that the attack had originated in Pakistan, but was unlikely to have the Pakistan government or any of its agencies as its prime movers. Keeping the talks going is a potential win-win for both countries at a time when there is a regional churn that was prompted by the American ‘pivot towards the Pacific’, a change of government in Kabul and the rapid emergence of China as a large hinge on which much turns. There was nothing to be gained by breaking off the talks. In Pakistan, a decision was made to take a more pragmatic line than otherwise, not to go into ‘ostrich mode’ and instead offer to cooperate with the Indians in the investigation into the incident. Both sides made cautious moves outside the box. This points to a new maturity in the thinking of those that manage relations on both sides. The Pathankot incident could have been fatal for bilateral relations, but it was not. Long may such maturity continue to develop.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th,  2016.

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