Your editorial “Talking to Pakistan” (Feb 10) is right in saying that governments should be prepared to talk to each other even when there are serious and sharp differences. Talks, however, are useful only when both the parties are sincere in working towards finding solutions. We need to be practical and go by the ground realities. Four wars and all bilateral talks during the last 63 years have failed to change Pakistan’s stubborn attitude on Kashmir and its hostility towards India. India’s priority is tackling terror while Pakistan has made it clear that its priority is the issue of Kashmir.
On the terror front, Pakistan has already declared that it cannot guarantee that there will be no more 26/11-like incidents in future and, in spite of all anti-terror rhetoric by Pakistani leadership for the consumption of the world community, terrorist outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba rallied only a few days ago in broad daylight in Muzaffarabad, and declared continuance of jihad against India till Kashmir is liberated.
India needs to become prudent, self-dependent and militarily capable to retaliate.
MC Joshi, Lucknow
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