Modi-Sharif meet: Thaw in frosty ties

The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at Ufa was not expected to produce much given the deterioration in bilateral relations over the past year. However, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise; the hour-long interaction between the two prime ministers was a welcome ice-breaker. Interaction was cordial, a marked change from the frosty handshake during the Saarc summit at Kathmandu in November last year. At Ufa, the two sides agreed on meetings between their National Security Advisors, the heads of India’s Border Security Force and Pakistan’s Rangers, and their Director-Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs). Tensions have spiralled in the wake of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control in Kashmir. These have seriously jeopardised bilateral ties. The proposed talks between the NSAs, the DGMOs, etc should help prevent conflagrations along the LoC and put the ceasefire back on track. The two sides have also agreed to expedite the trials of those accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. India has been upset over Pakistan’s cavalier attitude to punish the accused. This attitude was underscored yet again recently when a Lahore court let off prime accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi on bail. India raised this during the Ufa meeting and Sharif seems to have agreed to address India’s concerns in this regard. He asked for more proof of Lakhvi’s involvement in the terror attacks and India is reportedly sending voice clips of the accused as evidence.

However, Sharif’s request for ‘more evidence’ suggests that Pakistan is not about to shift away from its stalling strategy. This has been its ploy to avoid convicting Lakhvi and others as well as cracking down on anti-India terror outfits. Recently, the Sharif government refused to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a Lashkar-e-Toiba front, arguing that there is “no evidence” to link it to LeT. Respected Pakistani dailies are flooded with the ‘evidence’ he claims to be looking for. What is missing is not evidence but courage, resolve and political will that the Pakistani establishment needs to find to act against all kinds of terrorism, including that directed against other countries.

Modi has accepted Sharif’s invite to the 2016 Saarc summit in Islamabad. The first visit by an Indian prime minister to Pakistan in over 15 years, it will be a significant one. But to be truly historic, the Modi-Sharif meeting during this visit must move beyond pleasant rhetoric to produce substantial achievements. This will be possible only if the two sides rein in their hawks and seek common ground.