As the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India meet on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia conference, it was being expected that this chance would be a beacon of hope for initiating bilateral talks between the two belligerent countries. There was hope that it might result in the initiation of dialogue between the two countries that had been suspended ever since the Pathankot incident. This was the first official meeting of government representatives of Pakistan and India after the recent incidents that led to further freezing of an already strained relationship between the two states. But chance was not taken and statements of Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar proved the optimists wrong.
Pakistan remained firm on its stance that Kashmir is the core issue and requires a just solution under the UNSC resolution and wishes of the Kashmiri people. On the other side India kept repeating the same old story of non-state actors of Pakistan’s alleged involvement in terror related incidents inside India.
The meeting ended without any meaningful development. Both sides need to realize that in order to remove reservations of each other, they need to sit together. If both countries would not indulge in talks, how it will be possible to mend bilateral ties. Militant and extremist groups have for long derailed peace process whenever it has come close to meaningful development. Both countries should not militants’ success in their heinous plans.
Despite of showing serious intention to probe into the Pathankot incident by Pakistan, India’s stance to not indulge in bilateral talks is beyond understanding.
Resumption of talks is necessary to improve bilateral relations.
