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No hard bargains in business between two unequals
Blasphemy: 52 ‘murdered’ in 2 decades in Pak: Report
Christian girl Masih freed
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14-yr-old kills six in Kabul
london latitude
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Pakistan panorama When it comes to Pakistan's relations with India, it is advisable not to be cynical. You might then be able to see some good in small things that are styled as diplomatic achievements. Only with this mindset can one appreciate the conclusion of the Indian External Affairs Minister's visit to Islamabad.
SM Krishna and his Pakistani host foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar were able to materialize two agreements. A more organized and expanded visa regime would allow a larger number of people from more diverse backgrounds to move across the borders while artistes from both sides would be facilitated by governments under the rubric of cultural exchanges. However, beneath this thin layer of cooperation, a tricky bilateral situation continues to poison minds and sow ill-will in hearts. Two days before the visit, I had the occasion to sit with senior representatives of the Pakistan foreign office in order to understand their measure of the visit. After everyone had mouthed the usual mantra of "slow but steady" came candid admissions that diplomats are not winning this game of negotiations for peace. On the full spectrum of weightier issues like Kashmir, peace and security, Sir Creek and Siachen, they had nothing positive to report. The trade front, where substantial progress has been registered in the last six years, too seems retarded by the over-hang of paralyzed negotiations in these areas. These were dark assessments born from a gripping awareness that Pakistan's engagement with India was no longer business-as-before, and certainly not a business between two equals. Negative narratives There is every reason to believe that the pre-visit assessments were not framed in the context of that particular event, but were rather more durable understandings that officialdom in Islamabad have developed in the last couple of years. There was more than one reference to past meetings in which the Indian side was believed to be "arrogant" and sometimes even "completely rigid" when it came to finding mutually acceptable solutions to solvable problems like Sir Creek and Siachen. To the extent, each official narrative recounts the negatives of the opponent and paints itself in glamorous colours, such descriptions must not be taken at face value. Embattled neighbour But the special value of official pessimism about prospects of a real breakthrough with India resides in the context of the prognosis. There is a deep and wide sense in Pakistan that India sees itself as a surging and peaking power in this part of the world fuelled by a steady economic growth, and, more than that a brand perception across the globe that India has arrived. Delhi also sees Islamabad mired in internal disorder and a crippling economic crisis reinforced by a war against armed groups whose horses never seem to tire, nor do their supplies run out. Delhi also watches with great interest and (if not immense pleasure) the cat-and-mouse game going on between Washington and Islamabad as Afghanistan sits on the brink of another long bout of civil war. These factors form Delhi's view of Islamabad and define the substance of its diplomatic overtures to an embattled neighbour. There is little reason or logic in conceding any ground on any controversial issue if the opponent is weak and it is not in a position to optimally focus on the challenge of tough negotiations. Fabian tactics It is difficult to imagine how such assessments can inform a more purposeful diplomatic dialogue with India. Obviously, if those in Islamabad's corridors of decision-making are badly cut up over what they perceive Delhi's Fabian tactics to wear out Islamabad's stance and dilute its position on the negotiating table, there is hardly any room left for a holistic peace regime to be established. Nor can there be a result-oriented back-channel to work the miracle that the standard dialogue process is unable to deliver. Most negotiations in this environment would be an exercise in managing the status quo or its up-gradation for optics. The fact of the matter is that it is not India that has hemmed in Pakistan and has slowed the talks process to the point of making them almost meaningless. Islamabad itself is the cause of the snail-paced talks that keep on going round in circles and never break new ground at large scale. All foreign policy is an extension of domestic politics. The senselessness of Pakistan's domestic scene is its biggest negative in negotiations with India. Incompetent hands soiled with folly and constantly raised for financial help are hardly in a position to drive hard diplomatic bargains.
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Blasphemy: 52 ‘murdered’ in 2 decades in Pak: Report
Fifty-two persons have been extra-judicially murdered on charges of blasphemy in various parts of Pakistan since 1990, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) has said in its latest report. The report titled: 'Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan; Historical Overview', said that ever since the introduction of stringent amendments in blasphemy laws under General Ziaul Haq's rule, more people suffered from communal clashes than ever in the sub-continent. The number of blasphemy-related incidents shot up during Zia's rule, during which 80 cases were reported to the courts compared to only seven such cases during the British rule from 1851 to 1947. Since 1987, more than 247 blasphemy cases were registered or raised, directly affecting the lives of some 435 people. Of these 52, 25 were Muslims, 15 were Christians, five were Ahmadis, one was Buddhist and one was Hindu.
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Christian girl Masih freed
The 14-year-old Christian girl, Rimsha Masih, accused of blasphemy was released on Saturday from the Adiala Jail and airlifted to an unknown place under strict security. A district judge in Islamabad had ordered Rimsha's release on bail on Friday. A special helicopter was sent by the Interior Ministry to the Adiala jail from where Rimsha was flown to an unknown place. The next hearing of the case will take place on September 16, while the additional sessions court has ordered the IG Islamabad to appoint an honest senior police official for investigations.
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Kabul, September 8 The bomber wore a vest packed with explosives and rode right up to the NATO gates on a bicycle, underscoring the insurgents' ability to strike deep inside the Afghan capital, ahead of the withdrawal of most foreign combat forces by the end of 2014. The Kabul Police, in a statement to media, said the bomber was 14-year old, without giving details. The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, but denied they had deployed a teenage bomber, saying instead he was a 28-year-old who targeted the Kabul offices of the CIA. The US embassy in Kabul said in a statement that using "the most impressionable and vulnerable", such as a teenager, to carry out such attacks revealed the true nature of the insurgents. — Reuters
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london latitude How the mighty have fallen in London, where India House, which used to echo to the commands of political giants like Vijaylakshmi Pandit, Krishna Menon and P.N. Haksar, is now a shadow of its former self. Despite a newly arrived and widely respected high commissioner, Jamini Bhagwati, the building remains shabby looking from both the outside and inside; in fact the grey walls with elephant motifs have a lackluster feel that repel rather than invite the attention of the outside world. Invitations to India House functions seem to be less frequent and the functions themselves have a distinct lack of pizzazz. By all accounts the staff at India House is simply responding to the way their work is perceived in Delhi for whom London is currently less important than it used to be. In other words — to use a more polite expression — using our best diplomats to engage with the British political and diplomatic establishment is way, way down in India's priorities. This apparent downgrading of India's diplomatic mission is in part a reflection of the diminished importance of the UK, India's former colonial master, which no longer rules the waves. It does not require a genius to understand the greater significance ion the 21st century of countries like the United States, Russia, Germany, China, perennially hostile Pakistan and even oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Far more than the UK, political and economic decision taken in the capitals of these countries may and often do affect the day to day life of Indian citizens. Inevitably, ambitious IFS officers seek postings in those other capitals that are likely to enhance rather than hinder their careers. Many of these officers are classy professionals, easily among the best in the world, but too few are currently posted to London. At the last count there were only three or four attached to the Indian high commission. Most of the rest of the staff are seconded from other ministries on temporary assignments to London. Those IFS professionals who should be posted to London choose to overlook the language and cultural advantages of being posted to the British capital, the historic mother capital of the English speaking world, a key city within the EU and the heart of a country that is still a permanent member of the UN Security Council. For them there are other considerations to be taken into account when choosing a foreign posting, including education and housing. Not all state-run schools are of inferior quality, but all too often that depends on the area of London where the school happens to be located. Small wonder then that high quality IFS officers of young or early middle age, when offered a choice, prefer to take themselves and their families to those parts of the world that are politically more important and offer better living conditions than London. The lack of interest in a London posting is nowhere more evident than in the high commission's press and information wing, which is supposed to deal with overseas Indian journalists and the British media. Previous luminaries who have been in charge of this wing have included such literary and media stars as Khushwant Singh, but in more recent years the job has been allocated to those suffering from serious medical problems (good quality private health care is available for all diplomatic staff), or less ambitious types who work on a 10.30-4pm basis. Meanwhile the press and information wing has perfected another technique for keeping its distance from the Indian overseas media This consists of sending out round robin messages to Indian journalists via the Indian Journalists Association, or IJA. Small wonder that life continues to drain out of India House. The downgrade The apparent downgrading of India's diplomatic mission is in part a reflection of the diminished importance of the UK, India's former colonial master, which no longer rules the waves. By all accounts the staff at India House is simply responding to the way their work is perceived in Delhi for whom London is currently less important than it used to be.
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When it comes to Pakistan's relations with India, it is advisable not to be cynical. You might then be able to see some good in small things that are styled as diplomatic achievements.
Nowata