G R O U N D   Z E R O

Why Manmohan should have invited Ashraf to lunch
Raj Chengappa

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made an ‘I have a dream’ type of speech concerning foreign policy during his first term when he said in 2007 that he looked forward to a day “when one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul.”

Well, Manmohan Singh has had meals in Amritsar and in Kabul after that, though not on the same day as he had hoped. But so far he has not fulfilled his dream of having lunch in Lahore, or for that matter stepping on Pakistan soil since he became Prime Minister close to nine years ago. Given the current “head for a head” policy towards Pakistan that the Opposition and certain sections in the ruling Congress have called for, Manmohan Singh is unlikely to fulfil his dream when his second term as India’s Prime Minister ends in May 2014.

That explains why the normally courteous and accommodating Manmohan Singh allowed his advisers to talk him out of having a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on his private visit on Sunday to pay obeisance at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the famed Sufi shrine. I am likely to be in a minority of one when I say that Manmohan Singh should have extended the courtesy of inviting his Pakistan counterpart to a meal in Delhi, whatever the national anger currently against India’s troublesome neighbour.

Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid in Jaipur on Saturday. PTI

There are, of course, powerful and convincing reasons why Manmohan Singh did not engage with Ashraf. Top among them is the fact that Ashraf, who assumed office in June 2012, will by next week demit office, making way for an interim Prime Minister as part of the constitutional requirement for the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. In that sense, Ashraf, who was always considered a ‘spare tyre’ PM, is a lame-duck leader that Manmohan Singh need not waste precious political capital over.

Moreover, after the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistan troops at the LoC this January, an act that sparked massive outrage across India, Manmohan Singh had declared that “after this barbaric act there cannot be business as usual with Pakistan”. A day before Ashraf arrived, the Indian PM pronounced aother condition in Parliament: “There cannot be normalisation in ties with Pakistan until terror activities against India from its soil are stopped.”

Manmohan Singh, who has possibly engaged with Pakistan leaders more than any other Indian Prime Minister in the recent past, was also apparently miffed at the lack of conciliatory statements from Islamabad after the beheading incident as well as the inaction against terror links inimical to India. In August 2012, Manmohan Singh had met Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the NAM Summit in Tehran, where he “underlined India’s terrorist related concerns” and sought for an “expeditious conclusion” of the 26/11 trial. It’s been six months since their meeting, but there hasn’t been any tangible movement on this front.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) headed by Salman Khurshid must have also done some cold calculations with regard to the kind of courtesies to be extended to the visiting Pakistan Prime Minister. With Ashraf considered a lightweight politician, and with no party regarded as a clear frontrunner for the general elections in summer, MEA policy wonks appear to have concluded that it was not wise to make too much of the visit. The thinking is perhaps that it would be better to wait for the outcome of the polls before India decides to seriously engage with Pakistan again.

There were other factors too. Coming under the shadow of the recent terror attack in Hyderabad, where again Pakistan terror links are suspected, and the beheading incident, Opposition parties would have pounced on the Prime Minister in Parliament if he was seen to be “soft” on Islamabad again. So Khurshid was deputed to host a lunch for Ashraf in Jaipur as “part of protocol” extended to a visiting Head of State and any feelers for a meeting with Manmohan Singh were politely turned down. A recent precedent was cited: When Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to India on a pilgrimage last month the Indian Prime Minister did not have a meeting with him.

To Manmohan Singh’s credit, he has tried his best to normalise relations with Pakistan. Twice before in his second term he has converted informal visits into serious engagements with Pakistan leaders. In March 2011, when India played Pakistan in the semi-finals in the cricket World Cup in Mohali, Manmohan Singh invited the then Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, to witness the match along with him. When Zardari paid a visit to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in April 2012, Manmohan Singh welcomed him to Delhi for a dialogue.

I believe Manmohan Singh’s natural instinct would have been to invite Ashraf to Delhi for a brief chat over tea or a meal. For Ashraf, time was running out and there was no way he could postpone his visit for a more propitious occasion. However obnoxious Pakistan has been, its Prime Minister is a guest when he comes to India. Indian culture talks of “atithi devo bhava” (treat your guest like God). By not showing Ashraf the courtesy that we as individuals would have shown to any guest who knocks at our door, we have failed to live up to our highest traditions.

raj@tribunemail.com