<b>Letters:</b> Diplomacy and timing

Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif were seen engaged in deep conversation in Paris last week, it was difficult to guess that a high-level meeting of their national security advisors (NSA) would follow in less than a week, that too in a third country, Thailand.

Diplomacy by its very nature cannot be carried out in the public glare. Yet if it is practised so stealthily as to strengthen the perception that there is lack of clarity on charting out the directions of such a diplomacy, it becomes a matter of public ridicule.

Considering that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was in Islamabad on December 8 to participate in the Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan, the timing of her visit - only a day after the meeting of the NSAs of the two countries - would likely generate talk about India-Pakistan ties.

One hopes the Bangkok meeting between the NSAs of the two countries, which was kept under wraps till the last minute, helps reduce hostilities along the Line of Control.

S K Choudhury, Bengaluru
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