Too early to drop one's guard

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TOO EARLY TO DROP ONE�S GUARD

By Atul K. Thakur
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Tuesday, June 18, 2013

India must work closely with the newly-elected Nawaz
Sharif Government in Pakistan. But, while it must explore
enhancing relations in areas of trade, New Delhi must
remain vigilant all the time

Mr Nawaz Sharif�s return to power and his exuberant
shower of constructive announcements offer hope, both to
the Pakistani people as well to those in India wanting to
improve relations with Pakistan. But India has had a
mixed experience dealing with democratic regimes in
Islamabad � at the start, things appear to be promising
but suddenly the relationship turns sour. This was the
case with Mr Sharif�s previous stint as Prime Minister,
when friendly summits and goodwill trips to Pakistan by
the NDA leadership were reciprocated with heavy
infiltration in Kashmir.

Also, Mr Sharif, groomed under the cunning shadow of
former President Zia-ul-Haq initially had little problem
with limited military-political interface within the
Pakistani establishment. His perception changed, however,
after his Army chief Pervez Musharraf�s coup d'�tat in
the post-Kargil days. While in exile, Mr Sharif has
supposedly become more gentle, practical and reliable.
So, he exudes hope to the crowds in Pakistan as well as
to the Congress-led UPA regime in New Delhi, which has no
strategic foreign policy for the South Asian
neighbourhood.

But let us not forget that the root cause of pessimism in
Pakistan lies in the fact that this country knows not how
to live with rational actions. Today, Pakistan exists
somewhere between the grim world of Saadat Hasan Manto
and Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

Continues at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/too-early-to-drop-ones-guard.html

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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