Author: Gaurav C. Sawant
Publication: Dailymail.co.uk
Date: July 9, 2015
URL:           http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3155353/HAWK-EYE-PM-Modi-no-talks-terror-stance-Pakistan.html
 
Despite Pakistan’s nuclear sabre rattling, not taking action against Jamat-ud-Dawa, tension along the LoC, and targeting Indian interests in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Ufa, Russia, today.
 
One day before the meeting, Pakistani forces violated the ceasefire in North Kashmir, killing one BSF constable in sniper fire.
 
Climbdown
 
Modi is in the line of fire with the Congress hitting out at a series of flip-flops and U-turns in his engagement with Pakistan. The engagement began with high hopes, with Modi inviting Sharif for his swearing-in ceremony, but they came crashing down when foreign secretary level talks were called off when Pakistan engaged with the Hurriyat.
 
Pakistan has stuck to its guns, insisting it will continue to engage with the Hurriyat, and upped the ante by denying a visa to Naeem Akhtar of the PDP. They then rubbed it in by claiming the Hurriyat is the true representative of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
 
There was a climbdown by India, which said Pakistan can talk to the Hurriyat - but not ahead of official talks.
 
The diplomatic grapevine is abuzz with the US repeatedly nudging India to engage with Pakistan. The government is hemmed in, with even China backing Pakistan on 26/11 plotter Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, and vetoing India’s call for action against the terror perpetrator at the UN.
 
Modi has repeatedly said Goli baari ke beech awaaz sunai nahi deti – terror and talks are not possible together. The two heads of government engaged even at the Dhuli Khel retreat on the sidelines of the SAARC meet in Kathmandu in November 2014.
 
Is there a change in India’s stance? Will India continue to engage with Pakistan despite terror? Pakistan has stuck to its script by continuing to engage with the Hurriyat and taking no action against India centric terror – either in 26/11 or dismantling the terror infrastructure. Attacks on Indian interests in Afghanistan have only intensified.
 
The US has confirmed Pakistan is using proxies to target India. General Joseph Dunford, the nominee for US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that Pakistan continues to rely on terrorist outfits as proxies to serve as an instrument of national security policy
 
SAARC
 
India is trying to play a bigger role on the world stage. At the regional level, PM Modi tried to engage with Pakistan at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu but with Pakistan-sponsored terror continuing unabated, New Delhi moved forward at the sub-regional level – engaging with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal.
 
The prime minister has made it clear that SAARC will no longer be held hostage to Pakistan-sponsored terror in the region and regional development will be encouraged – with or without Pakistan.
 
New Delhi is also engaging extensively with China, Afghanistan, Central Asia and other world nations. According to top government sources, Modi does not want world powers to talk down to India on the need to engage with Pakistan. So India will continue to talk about resumption of talks in a terror-free environment.
 
The impression among strategic experts is that Pakistan is sticking to its guns and continues to hoodwink the world despite being the epicentre of terror.
 
Pakistan is doing this as it feels India’s political leadership buckles under pressure. India should withstand this pressure and produce evidence of Pakistan sponsoring terror to tell the world to put pressure on Pakistan to stop its nefarious activities.

 
Unilateral concessions achieve little, and further embolden the bully.
 
Photo-op
 
The Modi government is also deftly attempting to outflank Pakistan in the Islamic world. The appointment of Asif Ibrahim, former Director of Intelligence Bureau, as India’s pointman for Af-Pak and the Middle East, is seen in the light of India strengthening its footprint in the region.
 
Even Pakistan’s closest friends in the Middle East are wary of Islamabad being the ‘Walmart of Terror,’ so India’s deepening engagement in the region will be mutually beneficial to both parties.
 
Top government sources tell me the meeting in Ufa will be a little more than a photo-op and at best may signal resumption of talks about restarting the dialogue process.
 
Even within the government, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is for engagement with Pakistan to know what is happening on the other side of the border, but the strategic community is very keen on the need for disproportionate punitive strikes to counter terror and violations of ceasefire.
 
This is the line that Modi is expected to follow. Hard talk but harder punishment, if Pakistan does not walk the talk on terror.
 
There is a new enemy at the gates. The Islamic State, the IS. There may only be a trickle right now – a few boys from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan joining the IS, but intelligence agencies fear that if the finger is not put in the dyke, terror will come flooding in – affecting Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
 
This could well be the ice-breaker. Prime Minister Modi’s message to Nawaz Sharif is expected to be clear. Pakistan-sponsored terror is holding up the development of this entire region. If Pakistan can close the terror tap, a task easier said than done given that the Army calls the shots in Pakistan, then the region can see a new dawn.
 
For that, Pakistan will not only have to take action against not just Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakvi, but also take demonstrable action against the India-centric terror infrastructure.