Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Experts of international relations have ruled out possibility of the resumption of dialogue process between Pakistan and India in the near future, saying the recent interaction between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was just an exchange of Eid greetings.

Ambassador Aziz Ahmad Khan, Former High Commissioner to India while talking to Daily Times said that in the telephonic conversation Modi just conveyed his Eid greetings to PM Nawaz just as he did with other Muslim state leaders on the eve of Eid.

When his attention was drawn to last week’s statement of PM Modi in which he claimed that there are “different types of forces operating in Pakistan”, and asked rhetorically if one has to draw a line or set conditions for dialogue, will it be “with the elected government or other actors?”

Khan said that this was an old Indian rhetoric about who to talk in Pakistan — either the civilian government or the military. He said that in Pakistan like anywhere else the government talks with other countries’ foreign offices and consults and get an input from other stakeholders like the military, the intelligence and the commerce ministries etc.

The former diplomat said that whenever India does not want to hold talks they give such types of statements and make lame excuses.

He said earlier India made a mantra of terrorism and said terrorism and dialogue cannot go together.

“I think these are all excuses not to start a dialogue with Pakistan. Rather Pakistan should ask India whether it has to start a dialogue with the RSS or the Indian government” he added.

He said Pakistan after the Pathankot incident made a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which also visited India and shared information with the relevant departments of India. Contrary to it India’s progress on the Samjhota Express incident was very slow.

He said currently the resumption of an early dialogue between India and Pakistan did not seem possible and if they were resumed they would not be fruitful.

ZA Qureishi, head of department of International Relations, Preston University said that the Indian PM contacted Nawaz Sharif only to convey his Eid greetings and also about inquiring about his health.

He said currently the Indian attitude towards Pakistan was quite aggressive and any positive progress looked remote in the backdrop of the current Indian posture.

He said Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swraj, during her Pakistani visit in December last year announced a resumption of comprehensive dialogue, but no dialogue has resumed.

He said India wanted the isolation of Pakistan. India also had support of the United Sates, despite the fact that the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) came into existence against the Indian nuclear explosion in 1974. Now, the US was supporting India’s membership in the NSG. India also in collaboration with Iran and Afghanistan constructed the Chabahar port to compete with Gwadar port.