Misplaced Enthusiasm - Time to call a spade a spade Posted: 02 Aug 2010 07:19 PM PDT By Sushil Vakil It is predictably  a tradition to see India flush with gushy expectations and wishful thinking every time it tries to talk peace with Pakistan. Given the UPA government’s strange obsession to appease Pakistan at any cost, it is not astonishing that India continues with its non stop efforts towards bilateral conflict resolution despite repeated humiliation by the former. It would be foolish to believe that Islamabad, which is never short of reasons to make a mockery of the dialogue process, will take steps to address India’s genuine concerns on terror. And yet, Prime Minister Dr, Manmohan Singh can see nothing wrong in pocketing insults from a terror sponsoring state that is not even remotely interested in talking peace. It is therefore not entirely surprising that the recently concluded diplomatic parleys between India and Pakistan, like others in the past failed to yield any positive outcome. However, the present situation warrants that India’s misplaced enthusiasm for dialogue with Pakistan needs to be contained. The bitter experience at the Foreign Minister level talks held in Islamabad is a pointer to the fact that the talks were deliberately designed to collapse. It confirms that Pakistan is not interested in talking peace to India and therefore will stoop to any level to foil the latter’s peace initiatives. It is clear from the statements of Pakistani Foreign Minister Mr. S. M. Qureshi that his govt. wants to wriggle out of its commitment to India on terrorism. Also, the failed talks reflected the premise that Mr. Qureshi may have been under the ISI’s pressure to spike the dialogue process. There is no gainsaying the fact that the Pakistani Army pursues its own agenda when it comes to dealing with India. So it plays spoilsports every time there is an attempt at dialogue. This was  obvious throughout the talks as the Pakistan’s Foreign Minister seemed more intent on scuttling the Indian diplomats propositions to curb terrorism in the subcontinent. Mr. Qureshi’s utterances should be an eye opener for the Indian authorities as well as those sections of media which create undue hype and hope about the dialogue. It is high time that the govt. realized that futility is all we would gain by  cajoling   Pakistan for a “Composite dialogue”. Despite presenting solid evidence of ISI’s involvement in Mumbai attacks, Pakistan is turning a blind eye to the harsh truth. Indeed, the congress led UPA has been hoping against hope. But what was more startling this time around was India’s silence during the joint press conference which allowed Pakistan to reap the diplomatic advantage while putting India in the dock. It needs no reiteration that confusion and contradiction are the essential hallmarks of India’s current Pakistani policy. Indeed, it would seem that the congress is more keen on appeasing Pakistan and the U.S., unmindful of the high price the nation has to pay time and again due to its leadership’s huge appetite for blunder. Of course, this would be in keeping with this regine’s astonishing declaration soon after coming to power that nothing, not even terrorism, would be allowed to impede the peace process. Since UPA came to power in May 2004, its flip-flop on foreign policy is too well known. At the 2006 Havana Summit, it made the absurd comment of equating India with Pakistan on terror thus giving the rogue country enough leeway to unleash its murderers fanaticism on India causing considerable  loss of lives. Then again (Continued on Page -2) the UPA govt. in its second avatar made another blunder at Sharm-el-Sheikh only seven months after Mumbai attacks, only to subsequently revert back to its earlier stand. It is therefore not surprising that this absurdity was reiterated during the external Affair’s Minister Mr. S. M. Krishna’s visit to Islamabad for the much touted “peace talks” wherein he chose to flaunt “civility” in the face of Mr. Quareshi’s obnoxious behaviour. Nor is it surprising that he failed to strongly object to Mr. Qureshi’s nasty remark equating Home Secretary Mr. Pillai with Lashker chief Hafiz Saeed right away. Inarguably the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s comparison between the hate speeches of LeT chief and the Indian Home Secretary was beyond belief and downright condemnable. Infact, Mr. Pillai did nothing wrong in saying that Pakistan ISI had played a significant role in 26/11 attacks. He only reiterated what David Headley had told interrogators in presence of FBI agents and is not a secret anymore. Clearly, this deliberate silence is not a show of civility but conveys the impression of a gutless regine that betrays an appalling lack of courage to speak up for India. As much has been proven by Mr. Krishna’s very public castigating of Mr. Pillai as well as his pathetic attempt to blame the Home Secretary rather than  Pakistan’s belligerence , for the breakdown in talks. Also significant is the fact that Mr. Krishna’s reprimand  comes within hours of the U.S. expressing displeasure over Headley’s indictment of the ISI being made public. It goes without saying that the External Affairs Minister, very much like the former Home Minister Shivraj Patil has let down the people of India. It is very unfortunate that our cynical politicians, who are busy appeasing Pakistan and the U.S in a most craven manner, have no courage to tell, let alone take on, Pakistan plainly that its army and the ISI are in cohorts with terrorists bleeding India. So where does the revived dialogue that was meant to reestablish “trust” between the two countries go from here? Keeping in view the PM’s strange obsession with trying to engage Pakistan in talks this is definitely not the end of the familiar cycle of rhetorical battles. Mr. Krishna has invited Mr. Qureshi for the next round of talks in New Delhi. So rest assured, we can look forward to many more bilateral dialogues in future despite the fact that the recent round of talks came to an acrimonious end . It is high time New Delhi puts its foot down and desists from participating in future talks.