A Seismic Shift in Indias Pakistan Policy

New Delhi has shifted its approach toward talks with Pakistan. The implications stand to be
huge.
The much-hyped National Security Adviser (NSA)-level talks between India and Pakistan
scheduled for this week may have collapsed even before they could formally start. But the Modi
government managed to convey the message that it has been successful in reshaping the terms of
New Delhis engagement with Islamabad, perhaps forever. This is a seismic shift in Indias
Pakistan policy and should be recognized as such.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met in Ufa,
Russia on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last month. They
issued a joint statement in which they condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to
cooperate with each other to eliminate the menace of terrorism from South Asia. It would have
been an ordinary meeting but for the fact that it was the first between the two leaders since May
2014 and came after increased border hostilities in the past few months and Indias cancellation
of secretary-level talks last year. When Modi held his first meeting with Sharif in Delhi soon
after becoming prime minister in May 2014, the two decided to hold secretary-level talks which
were scheduled for August 2014. But those talks were cancelled by India after Pakistans
engagement with Kashmiri separatists. So after more than ten months, the Modi governments
decision to re-engage Pakistan was seen by some as New Delhis on again, off again approach
towards Pakistan while others hyped it as being a gamechanger and a breakthrough.
At Ufa, Modi and Sharif agreed to hold a meeting of their top security advisers to discuss
terrorism. But there were other steps as well, including meetings of the director generals of
Indias Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers to stabilize the border, release of fishermen
in each others custody, and a mechanism for facilitating religious tourism. Additionally, Modi
accepted Sharifs invitation to the South Asian regional summit, which is going to be held in
Islamabad next year. The trip will not only be Modis first visit to Pakistan after coming to power
but it would also be the first time an Indian leader would visit Pakistan since Atal Bihari
Vajpayee in 2004.
Pakistans agreement to expedite the 2008 Mumbai terror attack trial and no specific mention of
Kashmir was viewed as a major diplomatic victory for India and a sign of a changing mindset in
Pakistan. But the euphoria collapsed within hours as Pakistan went back on a number of its
commitments. Sharifs national security adviser made it clear that more information would be
required to resume the trial of Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind behind the 26/11
Mumbai attacks. Lakhvi, operational commander of the now banned organization Laskhar-eTaiba (LeT), is among seven persons charged with planning and helping carry out the 2008
Mumbai attacks. Much to Indias consternation, he was released from jail in April, after a court

order dismissed detention orders issued against him. Islamabad also reiterated that there could
not be any dialogue with India unless the issue of Kashmir was on the agenda.
Days before this weeks meeting of the two NSAs, it had seemed that both sides were provoking
each other to cancel the talks. Pakistan expected that India would allow its national security
adviser Sartaj Aziz to meet with the Kashmiri separatist leaders during his visit to Delhi. And
India made it clear that it would not be appropriate for Aziz to meet the leaders and briefly
detained some of them to buttress its point. And finally, Pakistan decided to call off the talks after
the Indian foreign minister reiterated that bilateral talks could not take place if Pakistans
national security adviser did not drop plans to meet Kashmiri separatist leaders.
Ever since coming to power in May 2014, the Modi government has been gradually reshaping
underpinnings of Indias Pakistan policy. It appears to have recognized from the very beginning
that a quest for a durable peace with Pakistan is a non-starter. All that matters is the management
of a neighbor that is more often than not viewed as a nuisance by Delhi. For India, the real
challenge is China which has pledged $46 billion worth of investment in Pakistan and recently
blocked Indias move to seek action against Pakistan for release of Lakhvi in the Mumbai attack
trial at a meeting of the UN Sanctions Committee.
After years of ceding the initiative to Pakistan, the Modi government wants to dictate the terms
for negotiations. It has reached out to the Pakistani civilian government even as it has decided to
underline to the Pakistani military the costs of its dangerous escalatory tactics on the border
with massive targeted attacks on Pakistani forces along the border. And now with its latest move
of drawing clear red lines for Pakistan, it has sent out several signals to various interlocutors. To
Pakistan, the message cannot be clearer: There are only two parties involved in the dispute. The
separatists leaders of Kashmir have no locus standi in the matter and India retains the levers to
marginalize them should the need arise. In one stroke, New Delhi has made separatists hardliners
redundant and Pakistan will find its old tactic of wooing the separatists will no longer pay it any
dividends.
The Modi government has also underscored, for the international community, the Pakistani
Armys continuing primacy in setting the agenda for Islamabads India policy. Nawaz Sharif,
however well-intentioned, is yet to demonstrate that he can take on the all-powerful military
when it comes to India. This was soon evident when border tensions rose soon after last months
meeting with Modi and even suggestions from the Pakistani Army that it has shot down an
Indian drone which later turned out to be Chinese made DJI phantom 3.
At a time when Indian foreign policy horizons are widening and New Delhi is self-confident
about its own role in the world, the Modi government has decided to leave it to Pakistan to
choose if it wants to engage with India. If Pakistans only instrument of choice remains
terrorism, then the Indian military is ready to tackle it. Indian diplomacy has more important
things to worry about.