Editorial: Sharif’s outreach

Credible and measurable action, and not empty words, is important to break the ice and revive talks.

Hyderabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extending an olive branch to India, offering “serious and sincere” talks to resolve all bilateral issues including Kashmir, is significant for its optics but there is nothing on the ground to suggest that Islamabad is willing to give up its long-standing strategy of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Though the tone and tenor of his remarks, made during an interview with Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV, appears conciliatory, it must be pointed out that resumption of dialogue cannot happen at gunpoint. It is credible and measurable action, and not empty words, that is important to break the ice and revive the talk process. Sharif’s talks offer, coupled with China lifting its block and agreeing to designate the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) deputy chief Abdul Rehman Makki as a global terrorist at the United Nations Security Council, is, no doubt, an important signal to the international community. The timing of Sharif’s offer is also significant as it comes amid reports of a deepening economic crisis in Pakistan, a situation akin to that of Sri Lanka with its dollar reserves running low and concerns rising that it might even default on its debts. However, New Delhi must keep a close watch on the delicate interplay between Pakistan’s civilian government and the army, which has an overarching influence on the foreign affairs policy, before formulating any response. Sharif and his elder brother and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, have consistently said that Pakistan has to make peace with India and that normalising ties would benefit Pakistan’s economy.

However, this is the first time that a Pakistani leader has specifically said that “Pakistan has learnt its lessons” from its three wars with India, which had only brought “more miseries, unemployment, poverty”. Even while offering talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Sharif followed a drearily familiar trope on Kashmir, reeking of duplicity and deception. He sought to internationalise the issue of abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir which is purely an internal matter of India and also spoke about what he called human rights violations in the Valley. By adding a rider that peace was not possible with India until the resolution of ‘Kashmir dispute according to the UN resolutions’, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief has demonstrated an obsessively narrow approach that has traditionally characterised Islamabad’s policy towards India. Any suggestion of a third party involvement in bilateral matters is totally unacceptable for India. The Pakistani PM said he had asked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the United Arab Emirates, to use his friendly ties with New Delhi to bring the two sides to the table to discuss all outstanding issues. The Pakistani leadership must bear in mind that cross-border terrorism is the single most important issue that needs to be tackled for the normalisation of bilateral ties.

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