Daily Times

Indian diplomacy continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. As if its crass handling of the Pakistani delegation at a meeting hosted in Goa was not enough to stroke its ego, the virtual summit of SCO Council of Heads of State became yet again a venue for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relish in his thinly veiled swipes at Pakistan and even China. Until now, India has made light of a meeting held between the defence chiefs, foreign ministers and even the premiers of the member states of an organisation believed to finally set forth a thaw in the frosty relations. While these petty attacks may earn some brownie points back home, New Delhi clearly needs to do some homework as to the type of leadership it wishes to assume in the international community. Catchy slogans and engineered campaigns can only go so far and if India actually wants to stay true to its promise of being Incredible, it would be a pretty logical move to think beyond the “Illogical.” That a host nation decided to torpedo the much-talked-about potential of a huge geographic bloc just because its nasty critiques of immediate bordering countries would be celebrated by homegrown hawks speaks volumes about the enormous challenges pounding down SCO’s doorstep. In order to effectively harness the sustainability of reforms like inter-currency trading, transfer of digital technologies and building a partnership of dialogue, the key leadership would have to sit together to think of some solution to such irritants. There are some who call on Pakistan to put its own house in order before expecting its estranged cousin to take a worthwhile leap. The overly-emotional suspension of trade, for instance, continues to outweigh reason and all economic gains. But our side of the fence cannot be expected to extend olive branches if the Modi leadership appears contented with its warpath. India might not need a lending hand in resolving its money matters but fanning the flames of enmity can never be pursued as a reasonable foreign policy. *