Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan once again extended a hand of friendship to India at the inauguration of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on Wednesday. Significantly, Khan said that his government, Pakistan Army and the other political parties were on the same page as far as a relationship with India was concerned. He also talked about Kashmir being the only issue between the countries. Earlier, Pakistan foreign office had talked about inviting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the SAARC summit in Pakistan. But there has been no positive response to Islamabad’s overtures from India. Apart from sending two ministers to attend the inaugural ceremony of Kartarpur corridor on Pakistan’s invite, New Delhi has ensured that their visit in no way conveys its intention to resume the engagement. The foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has ruled out dialogue and participation in SAARC summit based on the Kartarpur initiative and the Ministry of External Affairs also pulled up Pakistan PM for dragging Kashmir issue at the groundbreaking ceremony of the corridor.
Also, while the Kartarpur corridor preparations were on, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election speech in Rajasthan said India will never forget 26/11 and that the country was looking for an opportunity to bring the perpetrators of the atrocity to justice. Such rhetoric and the statements jar with the initiatives like the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
Earlier in September New Delhi had dramatically called off the meeting between the foreign ministers in New York after agreeing to them following a letter from the Pakistan PM. The reason cited was the killing of three policemen in Kashmir and issuance of the stamps in honour of the slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
Going forward there is little hope that the two countries will resume the dialogue. More so, when India looks forward to holding its general election next year. The period is thus hardly conducive for a dialogue. But the continuing deterioration in the relations between the two countries is not a good thing either. This has created a situation fraught with possibilities of a larger conflict between the neighbours, both nuclear armed.
Once again rejecting the offer of dialogue is thus a wasted opportunity. Hinging the prospect of dialogue on the condition that first the issues troubling one country should be unilaterally addressed by the other country is the hardly practicable strategy. The two countries have to work together in a sustainable dialogue to sort these issues out. Here is hoping the neighbours get back to some kind of engagement in near future driven by a genuine urge to resolve longstanding issues. This is the only way to end the perpetual hostility between the two countries.
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