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Few had anticipated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, to break the ice as firmly, decisively and with such aplomb as they did when they met for an hour in the Russian city of Ufa on Friday morning.
The two leaders seemed to have overcome recent months of strained bilateral ties. They talked for an hour on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Sharif invited Modi to attend the next South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation summit in Islamabad next year, which the Indian PM accepted. Modi, if he were to visit Pakistan, will be only the fourth Indian PM to do so and the first since 2004.
The Beijing-based SCO on Friday admitted both India and Pakistan as full members.
A succinct but landmark joint statement issued after the meeting between Modi and Sharif came as a surprise. In a departure from the recent trend of India-Pakistan statements focusing on low-hanging fruit such as increasing people-to-people contact, the Ufa statement addressed the more contentious issues of terrorism and an increase in cross-border ceasefire violations.
According to the joint statement, the two sides agreed to “discuss all outstanding issues”, “condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate with each other to eliminate this menace from South Asia”. They also “agreed to discuss ways and means to expedite the Mumbai case trial (in Pakistan), including additional information such as providing voice samples”.
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The talks underscored Modi’s ability to surprise both his core supporters, as well as critics when it comes to foreign policy matters. With Pakistan agreeing to address New Delhi’s concern on terrorism, the joint statement signalled Sharif's commitment to better India-Pakistan relations despite being embattled by domestic woes.
Troubles of the Pakistani PM include Pakistani Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri returning to Pakistan and preparing to launch renewed anti-government protests. Also, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan’s criticism of the Sharif government continues. And, the Pakistani army is involved in a war of attrition against rebels in Baluchistan.
According to Friday’s joint statement, the two sides decided their respective national security advisors, India’s A K Doval and Pakistan's Sartaj Aziz, would meet in New Delhi to “discuss all issues connected to terrorism”. Aziz, also the advisor to the Pakistani PM on foreign relations, is respected by the Pakistani defence establishment. To de-escalate tension at the border, an early meeting of the director generals of the Indian Border Security Force and the Pakistani Rangers would be held, followed by a meeting of the respective director generals of military operations. It was also decided fishermen in each other's custody, along with their boats, would be released within 15 days. A mechanism to facilitate religious tourism will also be put in place.
The two foreign secretaries, S Jaishankar of India and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry of Pakistan, took turns to read the statement but refused to field questions. Pakistan’s commitment to share voice samples comes in the backdrop of New Delhi protesting the release of Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi from a Pakistani jail. Lakhvi is said to have masterminded the 26/11 Mumbai attacks from a control room in Karachi.
At a meeting of the UN sanctions committee in June, India had sought action against Pakistan for Lakhvi being given bail. Though India argued this violated a UN resolution, China blocked the move on the grounds that India didn’t provide sufficient information in this regard. Recent developments that have contributed to improving ties between the two neighbours include the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi postponing plans to hold an Iftar gathering to which Hurriyat leaders had also been invited.
In August 2014, India had called off foreign secretary-level talks, after the Pakistan high commissioner met Hurriyat leaders on the eve of the discussions. Earlier this year, Foreign Secretary Jaishankar had visited Islamabad as part of his ‘SAARC Yatra’, while Modi had phoned Sharif to wish him at the beginning of the holy month of Ramzan.
It was at Modi’s invitation that Sharif attended his oath-taking ceremony in New Delhi on May 26 last year. In November, the two leaders didn’t hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Kathmandu. At that time, Pakistan had opted out of the SAARC agreement on motor vehicle movement. Asked whether he was happy about his meeting with Modi in Ufa, Sharif said “yes”. The Pakistan foreign ministry termed it a “positive development”. The US, too, welcomed the meeting as well as the joint statement.
In New Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the PM for his “statesmanlike approach” in engaging Pakistan at a diplomatic level. “The joint statement is a step forward towards normalising bilateral relations. However, the future outcome will be keenly watched,” Singh tweeted.
The Congress’s Anand Sharma said claims of a breakthrough were “laughable”, adding the Modi government’s Pakistan policy was inconsistent. While Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray termed the Modi-Sharif meeting “unfortunate”, the Peoples Democratic Party, the BJP’s ally in Kashmir, welcomed it.
