Prime Minister Abbasi was treated to a rather frosty reception at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London. Not from the British government; he held one-on-one talks with Boris Johnson. Oh well, one cannot always have everything. India’s Narenda Modi was reportedly turning on the charm as he schmoozed his way through several bilateral meet-and-greets under the banner of ‘neighbourhood first’. These included, but were by no means restricted to, the Bangladeshi PM, the Seychelles president, the Solomon Islands PM, the Gambian president and the Australian premier. Conspicuous by its absence was a pull-aside with Abbasi. This was a grave misstep. To be fair, the Pakistani PM had the last ‘laugh’ when pro-Kashmiri and pro-Khalistan activists burned the Indian national flag in Parliament Square. Though of course there is nothing at all amusing in civil society actors trying to centre-stage the question of New Delhi’s military occupation of the disputed territory only to have the cause itself entirely ignored. Ditto regarding those supporting the Sikh separatist movement. For Modi’s only response was to take his British hosts to task while demanding those behind the symbolic attack be brought to book. That Prime Minister Abbasi did not seek a private meeting with his Indian counterpart is unfortunate. Not least because New Delhi was quick to link Pakistan to the incident. But above and beyond this, it was a missed opportunity. The global tide of sympathy is turning — albeit gradually — against the world’s largest democracy playing brutal jailor for so long. Indeed, there could not have been a more appropriate setting given that the Commonwealth of Nations rose from the ashes of the decline and fall of the British Empire. In the aftermath, London has, through this grouping of 53 nation states, tried to project its soft power worldwide in term of democratic values, respect for human rights and the rule of law. David Cameron rather ungraciously ruled out adopting the role of honest broker or otherwise in Kashmir on the grounds that his country’s role as colonial master was to blame for a lot of the world’s problems. And while never a truer thing was said — apology is no substitute for responsibility. For it is all too easy to sit around the table and talk of how unjust laws on homosexuality in the former colonies were imposed by the Brits. Such self-serving absolution will not cut it. Especially not on Kashmir. And not in the post-Brexit climate. Nevertheless, the ultimate burden must fall to Pakistan and India; preferably within a UN framework. This means both sides being prepared to have round upon round of uncomfortable discussions. This is particularly important for Islamabad considering that there is still no endgame in sight across the western front. Yet if Pakistan is part of the solution to the Afghan quagmire — then so, too, must India be for Kashmir. Though in a way that Israel is not when it comes to the question of Palestinian statehood. For there is a difference between staying silent and adopting the moral high ground and getting one’s hands dirty to negotiate peace. * Published in Daily Times, April 21st 2018.