Modi’s US visit
Modi has shown little interest in improving bilateral relations with Pakistan, preferring the hostile status quo
If one saw Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden or sitting around a dinner table with President Barack Obama at the White House, one can be forgiven for forgetting that it was only four months ago that he was still barred from entering the US. A lot has changed since then. For the US, it is a simple case of pragmatism; it is difficult to expect the US to overlook Prime Minister Modi’s indiscretions in the 2002 Gujarat riots now that it has to deal with him as a strategic partner. The US has good reasons to seek better relations with India. Both countries prefer to see an economically integrated Asia without China as its dominant power. Both also consider Islamic extremism a threat and are prepared to take steps to curb it. There is much in the way of mutual interest, but has been hampered by India’s ambivalence over foreign investment, protectionist policies, trade agreements and a stuck civil-nuclear agreement. The US, aware of Prime Minister Modi’s patchy human rights record, may also have trouble addressing that inconvenient past. Still, that President Obama took him on a private tour of the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial is hardly indicative of a cold shoulder. Cautiously, both countries are looking to better relations, despite the obstacles.
The same cannot be said for Pakistan and India. Prime Minister Modi’s speech at the UN General Assembly flatly declined Pakistan’s call for new approaches to resolving the Kashmir dispute and also reprimanded the Pakistani prime minister for mentioning Kashmir at the UN, which India considers a ‘bilateral issue’. Prime Minister Modi also repeated allegations of Pakistan’s ties to terrorism. While the General Assembly was always an opportunity for Indian and Pakistani leaders to meet on the sidelines, this time unfortunately, such a meeting did not materialise. Apart from inviting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration, the Indian leader has shown little interest in improving bilateral relations with Pakistan, preferring the hostile, aggressive status quo.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2014.
The same cannot be said for Pakistan and India. Prime Minister Modi’s speech at the UN General Assembly flatly declined Pakistan’s call for new approaches to resolving the Kashmir dispute and also reprimanded the Pakistani prime minister for mentioning Kashmir at the UN, which India considers a ‘bilateral issue’. Prime Minister Modi also repeated allegations of Pakistan’s ties to terrorism. While the General Assembly was always an opportunity for Indian and Pakistani leaders to meet on the sidelines, this time unfortunately, such a meeting did not materialise. Apart from inviting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration, the Indian leader has shown little interest in improving bilateral relations with Pakistan, preferring the hostile, aggressive status quo.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2014.