It's difficult for India to resume dialogue with Pakistan
Last week when slogans of "Pakistan Murdabad" were heard during the funeral procession of martyred Kashmiri soldiers in the Valley, J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti called for a dialogue with Pakistan. According to her, there was no other option to stop the "bloodshed" in the state.
Having said that, Mehbooba Mufti was quick to add that she would be "labelled anti-national, but she was ready to bear the insult to bring peace and harmony to Valley. But the question is, why would she be called anti-national? Didn't Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself repeatedly say that he wants peace with Pakistan?
Did he not extend the hand of friendship to Nawaz Sharif immediately after he became the prime minister and invited the Pakistani PM to his swearing-in ceremony?
Didn’t PM Modi spend a few hours in Lahore in his search for peace in the Valley when he was returning from Kabul to Delhi? Therefore, nobody should be calling Mehbooba Mufti anti-national.
The J&K CM has been talking about resuming dialogue with Pakistan, but since the time she has assumed power after the death of her father, Mufti has neither understood the methods of governance nor has she understood where does the obstacle come from every time efforts are being made.
If she had the understanding of running a government, she would have dealt the situation with a heavy hand and would not have let it spill out of hand when stone-pelters virtually paralysed Kashmir.
As far as the issue of resuming dialogue with Pakistan is concerned, the first question that arises is, who should the Indian government talk to? At one point in time, political pundits even suggested that a dialogue would be meaningful only if the Pakistan Army chief was involved in the talks (because it is no secret that Pakistan’s foreign policy, and especially those related to India, have never been in the hands of the elected PM of Pakistan).
Congress prime ministers for decades made the same mistake and talked to the elected prime ministers of Pakistan while the Pakistan Army chiefs were busy preparing for war.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee tried to talk to Pervez Musharraf despite knowing that he was the "mastermind" behind Kargil infiltration. At the time, even though the talks were unsuccessful, at least Musharraf had come to Agra and openly admitted that until the issue of Kashmir was resolved, jihadi terrorism will not abate.
Recently, Musharraf admitted that he does not see Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist, but as a hero. Why not, when the Pakistan Army itself has for years supported terrorists like Hafiz Saeed. But today, the problem is bigger since the jihadi terrorists are no longer under control of the Pakistan Army.
Over the years, the situation has changed in Pakistan. Jihadi organisations have attacked the Pakistan Army bases and attacked Islamabad too. So, today if Narendra Modi is to start the process of dialogue with the Pakistan Army chief, then it is quite possible that the talks may turn out to be futile.
This is because jihadis will continue to spread terror in India from Pakistan's soil.