TO TALK OR NOT TO TALK

The Pune bomb blast on Saturday comes just ten days before the Indo-Pak foreign secretary level talks were scheduled to take place. This will be the first diplomatic engagement between the two countries post 26/11. But the Pune blast has again raised the issue whether ‘To talk or not to talk to Pakistan’.

For the record, the Indian government has maintained that the talks are on, even as investigating agencies are gathering evidence to get leads about the suspects. The most startling aspect of this whole incident is that on the 5th February, Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s (group waging war against India) deputy chief, Abdul Rehman Makki in a public rally stated that the war against India was not restricted to Kashmir but would also include cities like

‘Pune’. This merely 10 days before the actual attack comes as a shocker for many in India. This incident has again raised doubts about Pakistan’s inability in taking action against terrorist fundamental groups based out of Pakistan.

But the talks must go on. Yes, it is true that Pakistan has failed to clamp down on terror groups and nor has it made any significant progress on the 26/11 case. But without talks India won’t be able achieve anything. Till now India was banking heavily on the US to pressurize Pakistan. But the fact remains that for the US, Afghanistan is the priority. The only support India can expect is intelligence support from the US investigating agencies. Any major political step is out of question. India will have to carry out its battle alone.

Stopping people to people contact, breaking sporting ties is a wrong strategy. Let all the cultural, art & sporting activities continue but on a diplomatic level the agenda for the talks have to be focused. Pakistan will not act unless India discusses the concerns of Pakistan. Its take two to tango & therefore it is imperative for India to discuss valid concerns of Pakistan. If Pakistan wants to discuss Kashmir, no harm in discussing it as long as the demands are valid & practical. No point trying to achieve something very significant on that front which both the nations have failed to achieve for over 6 decades now.

The focus should be on two issues- 1) Working together to eliminate terror groups out of Pakistan, which Pakistan also claims to be a victim of.2) Easing tension on the Kashmir border. Many would argue that the focus should be only on cross border terrorism. Then let’s be realistic, Pakistan will never act if you make them feel that only India has genuine concerns and Pakistan does not. But yes, the stipulation attached to these talks should be that the dialogue will move forward only if both the sides act upon what has been discussed. E.g. - If Pakistan has agreed to take legal action against the 26/11 suspects and India has agreed to ease up military forces on the Kashmir front then there must be a timeline attached. If either side fails to deliver then the other side should also revoke the steps taken by it. But dialogue is the way forward with a focus and objective.

The Pune incident is a chilling reminder that terror groups can still strike at will and will try every bit to create hurdles as far as peace is concern between both the countries. But it’s high time that both nations display maturity in their approach. I know that it’s not as easy as it sounds but the cruel reality remains that other than this option both the nations have no other choice!!