Normalising ties?

Although S Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan with an aim to fulfil SCO commitments came with a caveat of not holding bilateral talks, Pakistan could grab the opportunity to rebuild fractured ties

- JAYANTA GHOSAL

The Minister of External Affairs for India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, visited Pakistan for the first time in almost a decade. He touched down in Islamabad, marking a historic moment as the first Indian External Affairs Minister to visit Pakistan after nine years. But Dr. S Jaishankar's travel to Pakistan had nothing to do with the country that sponsors terrorism. Jaishankar had announced there is no room for bilateral talk between the two nations. Instead, they should actively interact with all other SCO members, particularly those in Central Asia. India respects its commitments towards the multilateral platform—the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and decided to nurture that by attending the meeting.

Diplomacy is a never-ending loop in the Indo-Pak relationship. Although it may seem straightforward, diplomacy has many more facets. The Indo-Pak relationship has always been turbulent, with Kashmir being one of their main points of contention. Not to forget, a senior diplomat once said that the India-Pakistan relationship always ends up in a snake-ladder situation. Since 1947, both nations have been standing on the two edges of a seesaw. After the emergence of Pakistan followed by the Partition of India, the India-Pakistan relations can be referred to as a tug of war.