A very good step

Unlike insinuations that Nawaz’s Delhi yatra was a failure, Nawaz wrote to Mr Modi that he had returned much satisfied

India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi had surprised one and all, given how he fulminated against Islamabad weeks earlier on the campaign trail. There was a justifiable sense of apprehension in Pakistan over his ascension to Delhi’s throne because of his perceived role in the infamous Gujarat pogrom. Also besmirching his reputation was his vituperative rhetoric against India’s minority communities, giving a sense of unease both at home and abroad.

But, as they say, the responsibility of handling statecraft mellows one to a great degree, so might be the case with Mr Modi. One evidence of this was provided in his statesmanlike gesture of inviting all South Asian leaders to his grand ‘coronation’. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, after a few days of dithering, accepted the invite and used the occasion to advance bilateral agenda. For such opportunities do not arise every day. The feel-good ambience created by that rendezvous needed to be sustained further. To that end, Prime Minister Nawaz has written a letter to Mr Modi expressing satisfaction with their ‘meaningful’ first meeting saying he looked forward to working with him on all unsettled matters. Mr Modi has replied to the letter, expressing his intention to work with Mr Sharif for a better future and also condemning the attack on Karachi airport.

Unlike insinuations that Nawaz’s Delhi yatra was a failure where he was lectured on reining in cross-border terrorism, the prime minister wrote to Mr Modi that he had returned much satisfied with their “meaningful exchange of thoughts” on matters of bilateral and regional interest. He struck the right chord when he expressed the belief that “in our concerted efforts lies the welfare and prosperity of the two nations”. The missive, we believe, will serve to keep engaged a neighbour with whom our ties remain in the realm of unpredictability, as indicated by the Indian prime minister’s response.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2014.

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