Indus talks set to end Pak chill

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 21

The India-Pakistan narrative is slowly edging back to a state of normalcy, considering the indications coming from some quarters.

After the acrimonious exchange of words on the Indus Water Treaty, sources said a meeting was likely to take place soon on the Permanent Indus Commission. Talks scheduled for the commission that were to be held last year were suspended after the Uri attacks.

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It is learnt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on restarting the bilateral dialogue. At a meeting the PM had last week with a visiting delegation from the UK, the PM, people present in the meeting told The Tribune, recalled with positivity the trip he made to Lahore in December 2015.

He also pointed out that the attacks took place soon after as there were forces in Pakistan that did not want peace in the region. But he also felt there were positive forces in Pakistan. Modi spoke about the menace of terrorism and of Pakistan’s role in it. But, he also expressed optimism that talks should resume and said India was ready to compromise wherever India felt was in its best interest. The PM, sources said, wanted to extend a hand of peace towards Pakistan, and cited the example where an international court decided against India in a maritime dispute with Bangladesh and India accepted the verdict. The PM was referring to the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) dispute regarding the delimitation of the maritime boundary between India and Bangladesh that was delivered in 2014. The tribunal awarded Bangladesh 19,467 sq km of the 25,602 sq km sea area of the Bay of Bengal and India abided by the verdict.

India and Pakistan are all set to become permanent members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year when the meet is held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in June.

Both Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are expected to travel to Astana for the SCO meet. Indications from both sides are this will serve as an ideal opportunity for the two leaders to meet on the sidelines and break the ice. But some groundwork needs to be done before that and the Indus Water Commission meet and the PM’s own comments are the first steps in that direction.