It’s not the right time for PM- Sharif talks
It might be in the fitness of things if
the government gave some sign of understanding the sense of injury on the beheading of Indian soldiers in January and the killing of five jawans
earlier this week
Defence minister A. K. Antony has recanted his statement within just 48 hours. Following Tuesday’s killing of five Indian soldiers on our side of the Line of Control, Mr Antony’s statement in Parliament had spoken of the handiwork of “men wearing Pakistan Army uniforms”. That had kicked up an uproar. The Opposition thought that the government was giving Islamabad an easy ride so that the prospective talks between the Prime Ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in September was not compromised.
Such was the whiplash in Parliament that Mr Antony was compelled to change his tune by Thursday. He pointedly noted that Tuesday’s ambush was the work of a special unit of the Pakistan Army and an outfit based in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir, indicating that nothing happens in our neighbouring country about such matters without the direction of its Army. The incident would have an impact on India- Pakistan relations, and also on India’s attitude to developments on the LoC, Mr Antony observed. Evidently such a drastic change in outlook is linked to the government’s desire to be on the side of public opinion in the run- up to the Lok Sabha elections, and is likely to have been the consequence of the Congress Party’s pressure on the government, as indicated by Sonia Gandhi’s sharp reaction to the killing of our soldiers.
It is not a little surprising that the government was found wanting in factoring in the public mood to begin with, especially on the eve of going to the country. The Opposition, in contrast, has shown maturity. While it was on the attack with the word “go”, on Thursday Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the whole country stood with the government on the Pakistan question.
It appears the government has done some hard background work with the principal Opposition party and persuaded it not to insist that the proposed September talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif be cancelled even after the defence minister’s somersault. Even so, it might be in the fitness of things if the government gave some sign of understanding the sense of injury among the people on the beheading of Indian soldiers in January and the killing of five jawans earlier this week.
Mr Sharif’s observation on Thursday that both his country and India needed to take effective steps to avoid incidents on the LoC, and his invitation to New Delhi to engage constructively with his government, is intended to salvage the September talks, but it equates the aggressor with those attacked. Dr Singh needs to find a way to avoid the meeting, and instead find ways to engage at a lower level.