New Delhi, Apr.8 (ANI): The statements made by Pakistan High Commissioner at the Foreign Correspondent's Club in New Delhi on Thursday have baffled many on both sides of the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC). How could a high commissioner call off; something way above his pay grade?
Moreover, an ambassador's job profile explicitly makes it clear that he or she is posted to represent his country's views and to promote relations with the country to which he or she is posted. So, what was Abdul Basit exactly doing?
The Pakistan High Commissioner was invited to the Foreign Correspondent's Club as a guest. From the beginning to the end of the statement made by him, he said that unless Kashmir problem is "solved", relations between India and Pakistan will not improve. The solution that Pakistan wants is supposedly a plebiscite, but what it actually wants, is complete accession of Kashmir. High Commissioner Basit left it unsaid, but his tone and tenor made it quite apparent.
Ever since his appointment as Pakistan's high commissioner to India, Abdul Basit has shown that he is a hawk on Kashmir. The grapevine has it that Basit's relations are stronger with the 'establishment' in Pakistan rather than with the elected government of Nawaz Sharif.
Indeed, even before the event at the Foreign Correspondents Club in New Delhi, phone calls had gone out to some reporters to "be there" as they would get "masala", a common enough term among reporters for some explosive story.
Just the previous day, India's Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar had said in the capital that "Terrorism" was the central issue in the relationship and all interactions between the representatives of both countries.
However, High Commissioner Basit, barely 24 hours later, remarked that "cherry picking on issues would not work".
India is annoyed with Basit batting above his pay grade. There will be a diplomatic fallout, but unfortunately what gets hit is the India-Pakistan peace process, which seemed to have been top-driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Not anymore, it seems.
