Let’s keep in touch with Pakistan, was the unanimous voice of former TCA diplomats Raghavan, Sharat Sabharwal, G Parthasarathy and former national security adviser Shivshankar Menon at the launch of Satinder Lambah’s book on Wednesday night.
The book, In Search of Peace: India-Pakistan Relations Under Six Prime Ministers, (Penguin Random House India; Rs 799) was written by Lambah, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan between 2005 and 2014, published posthumously. Lambah died in June 2022, at the age of 80.
Menon said that both India and Pakistan are part of each other’s internal politics whether they like it or not. He suggested that India should try to establish people-to-people contacts, and even consider the trade aspect between two countries, even if bigger geopolitical issues remain.
Raghavan said both countries could at least start fresh with the resumption of high commissions from each other. Pakistan had announced in 2019 that it would suspend bilateral trade and also expel Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria, a day after New Delhi stripped off Jammu & Kashmir of special status and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Bisaria was part of the audience on Wednesday at the launch, which was also attended by former Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, former R&AW AS head Dulat, former Vice President Hamid Ansari and a host of diplomats and political leaders.
Menon also said that there is no way that India can bypass Pakistan’s army; and that he has to deal with the Army, while he adds that it is convenient for the internal politics of both sides today to maintain a “controlled and managed hostility.”
Parthasarathy also echoed Raghavan’s view that both countries should bring back high commissioners to begin with. “Diplomatically, India is in a good state; let’s keep our doors open,” he commented.
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