NEW DELHI : The government has firmly rejected the charge that it had pursued a ‘flip flop’ policy on Pakistan during the past two years and is quite convinced that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had deliberately raised the pitch on the Kashmir issue following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani in early July to deflect mounting pressure on him from his opponents to resign following the Panama paper leaks.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi deciding to skip the coming UN General Assembly session later this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is preparing herself to launch a counter-offensive if Mr Sharif indulged in ‘Pakistani propaganda’ on the Kashmir issue when he addresses the meet.
Government sources said Ms Swaraj would obviously speak after Heads of State or Government had addressed the gathering and would be in the know of the statement made by Mr Sharif.
Asked how India would respond if Mr Sharif highlighted the current unrest in the valley, the sources merely stated, ”wait and watch”. However, there is no doubt in the corridors of power in New Delhi that the current spate of violence in Kashmir had been financially, morally and diplomatically aided and abetted by Pakistan.
Asked if there was any possibility of Prime Minister Modi visiting Pakistan in November for the SAARC Summit, the sources said a final decision in the matter was yet to be taken.
The sources said Mr Sharif had shown a great desire to improve ties with India after Mr Modi became Prime Minister but what ostensibly brought about a ‘sea change’ in him were factors like his sons being named in Panama papers and opposition leaders, particularly Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, targeting him.
Narrating the sequence of events in the accident-prone India-Pakistan relationship ever since Mr Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister in May 2014, top government sources said New Delhi was clear in its understanding that the country could not realise its true economic potential unless there was peace in South Asia.
That was the reason why all South Asian leaders were invited for Mr Modi’s oath-taking ceremony at which Mr Sharif too was present.
Mr Modi and Mr Sharif had established a ‘great chemistry’ between them at their first meeting itself even as New Delhi had firmly conveyed to Islamabad that it wanted to resolve all issues between the two nations through peaceful means bilaterally and that terrorism and talks could not go together.
The two Prime Ministers decided to hold foreign secretary levels talks in Islamabad on August 25, 2014 but the dialogue was called off after New Delhi took umbrage to Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit’s holding talks with Hurriyat leaders.
The two Prime Ministers picked up the threads from where they left off in Ufa (Russia) in July 2015 and also issued a joint statement in which there was no mention of Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Sharif had to backtrack on the joint statement after he faced intense heat from the opposition for ‘giving up’ the Kashmir cause.
This resulted in the joint statement being given a ‘decent burial’ by Islamabad. A planned meeting between Pakistan PM’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz with Ms Swaraj in New Delhi also became a casualty as Pakistan wriggled out of it at the last minute. (AGENCIES)
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