Delhis dilemma

India suspended the dialogue with Pakistan following the terror attacks on Mumbai at the end of November 2008. After Singh was re-elected as prime minister in the summer of 2009,he tried to revive the talks but had to back off amidst domestic political resistance. In early 2010,the PM chose to go ahead,despite the lack of progress in Pakistan on bringing the plotters of the Mumbai attack to justice. The PMs two-pronged strategy involved pressing Pakistan on terror while making progress wherever possible. As a result,there has been big movement on liberalising bilateral trade relations and promoting people-to-people contact. Pakistan is on track to begin normal trading relations with India by the end of this year. Krishnas visit saw the easing of travel restrictions across the border for the first time in four decades. The two sides also agreed on additional confidence-building measures to expand commerce and contact on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistans current civilian leadership,led by Asif Ali Zardari,has broken many domestic political taboos to deepen ties with India. But there is no denying that Zardari,who has no control over Pakistans national security policy,cant address Indias concerns on terrorism. Delhis policy,then,of linking the PMs visit to Pakistan with justice in the Mumbai case,is designed for failure. It may also antagonise the friendliest civilian government in Islamabad that India has seen in a very long time. Singh and the Congress leadership must remember that Atal Bihari Vajpayee,in his six-year tenure as PM,travelled to Pakistan twice,despite the awful state of bilateral relations. The possibility that Singh might not go to Pakistan at all after nearly a decade in power could point to the gap between the Congress partys liberal postures and its lack of political courage in seizing the initiative.