Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Why Swaraj-Qureshi meeting was cancelled?' that was published in Newsband

Why Swaraj-Qureshi meeting was cancelled?

A meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in New York next week, was called off by India. The reasons are recent attacks in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based groups, and stamps issued by the Pakistani postal service that glorified Kashmiri terrorists.

Since the beginning of the year, 13 Border Security Force jawans have been killed along the Line of Control and the International Border. In the same period, more than 20 policemen belonging to J&K police have been killed by terror groups backed by Pakistan. Equally bewildering is the subject of the stamps of Kashmiri terrorists.

Is the cancellation of the meeting, not just for the domestic audience but also for the international community which is watching the India-Pakistan relationship very closely? Until the general election in India in 2019, Delhi and Islamabad should have used this period to bring down tensions. The situation on the LoC warrants immediate attention.

Is there is a lack of consistency on our part in dealing with Pakistan? In fact, this has been our problem since Nehru's days. The current government has comparatively shown more consistency than all the other previous governments, including that of Vajpayee. Even then, the proposed meeting of Ms. Sushma Swaraj with her Pakistani counterpart at UNGA was most unwarranted.

There is a general feeling in our country that a fresh start must be made whenever the political head changes in Pakistan. This has been proved utterly wrong on every single occasion from the days of Jinnah & Liaqat Ali Khan. And, yet, we have not learnt any lesson.

Political will is one of the most important factors for the overall development of both the neighbouring countries. Peaceful coexistence between the neighbours is most important for growth and prosperity. Hence both the nations should go ahead with negotiating process and thus towards the economic prosperity.

Some countries like Ethiopia- Eritrea; & North Korea- South Korea could resolve long pending issues recently through peaceful negotiations. Such processes would lead to uninterrupted progress. But India and Pakistan have not been resolving long pending issues. Both of them should be humble and solve all the problems for a better future. Solutions are within our attitudes. There is a saying: it’s not your aptitude but your attitude that determines your altitude.

Probably, our government has taken right decision not attending Now York meeting. As we have been observing for so many years Pakistan based groups always play double role. India should continue with No Nonsense attitude. Congress is just not In a position to take pro India decision. For them India is Gandhi family.

The question is whether India will boycott the SAARC summit due in Islamabad later this year? Probably there will be no dialogue with Pakistan till the general election. So, for half a decade, the peace process has been on ice. The senior military and intelligence officials, should be tasked to maintain a very rudimentary channel of communication with their counterparts, to forestall any major disruption in the next six months.