The good work done by the Prime Minister in smoothening ties with Pakistan — one can think of his surprise visit to Pakistan as one example — has been undone, first by the Home Minister with some ill-thought-out remarks, and now by the stand of the Finance Minister indicating that he is likely to skip the SAARC meet (“Jaitley likely to skip SAARC meet”, Aug.18). Additional remarks by the Defence Minister are not going to help matters either. The situation in Kashmir is getting out of control and the trust deficit between India and Pakistan is only widening. The casualty in this sad episode is the SAARC cause. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the very ideology of SAARC has been hit. In contrast, China is on a mission to improve relations with almost all its neighbours, in short the SAARC family. New Delhi needs to take a broader perspective and be balanced.
A.V. Narayanan,
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