PAKISTAN NEWSPAPERS ON CANCELLATION OF INDIA-PAKISTAN TALKS

Dawn: “Unfortunate and bizarre as the eventual Indian response to Pakistan’s offer for dialogue has been, it remains true that talks are the only rational path that the two South Asian rivals can take. Prime Minister Modi’s BJP is the front runner in next year’s general election in India, so it would behove the party and its leadership to demonstrate sensible leadership instead of engulfing South Asia in deeper uncertainty and even fear.”

Express Tribune: “The recent geo-strategic environment has also complicated their already troubled relationship. With India’s growing tilt towards the US and Pakistan’s closeness with China, the trust deficit between Islamabad and New Delhi is also growing. Observers are sceptical if the two countries will be able to resume full spectrum of dialogue given the parliamentary elections in India next year.”

The Nation: “Where is this aggression coming

from and what does it mean? Maybe we should give a benefit of doubt to the BJP and assume that this rhetoric does not mean anything other than populist pre-election strategy. Unlike in Pakistani politics, where Indian issues have never been a strong talking point, in India, bashing Pakistan and furthering anti-Pakistan rhetoric has been a strategy that unfortunately wins votes. Perhaps the fact that India initially accepted Pakistan’s offer for a meeting indicates that the Modi government might not be completely hostile to a conciliatory approach; it just does not deem it feasible a few months before the elections. The untimely withdrawal of the acceptance of talks by the Indian government, which was right after outrage by the Congress party and other rivals, could mean that this was just a U-turn on a controversial decision. Perhaps India is not so different from us after all.”