ISLAMABAD:
After mulling the pros and cons with his aides and confidants in the
cold light of day, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has accepted
Indian Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi’s invitation to attend his
swearing-in ceremony on May 26.
Sharif’s decision has
been hailed as a step in the right direction to give peace a chance. He
will stay in the Indian capital for a day after attending the
swearing-in ceremony.
This will be Sharif’s first meeting
with Modi, a newcomer to Delhi, as the Indian leader spent most of his
time in Gujarat as its chief minister away from the diplomatic scene in
New Delhi even when the BJP was in government.
A final
decision from Sharif came five days after Modi sent an official
invitation on May 21, giving the prime minister here enough time to
consult his aides, cabinet members and the Foreign Office.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has welcomed the decision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
The
BJP spokesman said it was very good news that Nawaz Sharif had accepted
Modi’s invitation. “This would mark the start of a new relationship
between Pakistan and India,” he added.
As usual, amongst
the Saarc leaders who will be represented at the oath-taking, all eyes
will be on Sharif and his every move will be relayed live by TV cameras.
In fact, regional leaders have traditionally complained that Pakistan
and India hijack Saarc summits.
Kashmiri leader Omer
Abdullah captured this predicament in a tweet when he wrote: “Can’t help
feel sorry for others taking oath or attending because the only photo
op that will matter now will be the Modi-Sharif handshake”.
Criticism
of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha will be apparent from Tamil
leaders in India who had insisted that Rajapaksha should not be invited.
The
final decision was taken on Friday night after a meeting between
Sharif’s troubleshooter Shahbaz Sharif and army chief General Raheel
Sharif in Lahore so that all stakeholders were on board and the
announcement was made by the prime minister’s office on Saturday
morning. Luckily, hawks like Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar were kept
at arm’s length.
The final decision was also delayed as
Sharif was keen that instead of just crossing over the eastern border
for a photo-op, an opportunity should be there for a bilateral meeting
with the prime minister-designate to make a fresh beginning.
After
all, Sharif is on record as saying that he will enter into a fresh
trade agreement with India once a new government was in place.
Also
important for Sharif would be to get a commitment from Modi, known to
think outside the box, that now was the time to restart the composite
dialogue so that a series of uninterrupted talks could give a boost to
bilateral relations.
When Sharif lands in New Delhi
airport on Monday, his hands will be strengthened as he will have the
backing of not only the people of Pakistan, but all the major political
parties and the security establishment which controls relations with
India.
The same day as a gesture of goodwill, Pakistan
will be releasing 150 jailed Indian fishermen, a time-old tradition in
which human beings are used by both countries as pawns.
Except
for the fringe and ignorable elements outside the democratic process,
like the Punjabi jihadis, especially the Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s Hafiz Saeed
who opposes the visit, everyone has rooted for Sharif to go into a
meeting with Modi.
Sharif, says a statement from his
office, would be accompanied by his security and foreign policy team for
whom this will also be their first meeting with the incoming Indian
government.
According to the Foreign Office, Sharif will
meet with Modi on Tuesday morning. The prime minister will also call on
the President of India before returning home later that evening.
Sharif’s aides have been cautioning that no big announcements are expected.
As
usual, the Indian electronic media has become ballistic, first taunting
Sharif to be his own boss and now bringing up all past disputes and
insisting that Modi should be firm with Sharif.
Modi’s slogan during elections was, “Terrorism divides, tourism unites” — an issue which is of great urgency for both countries.
Outside
the election rhetoric, the BJP is responding more like a government in
charge with one senior leader Arun Jaitley saying that the invite
showcases India’s faith in both democracy and greater integration of the
region.
“The invitation to all leaders of Saarc nations
to be present at the ceremony is to showcase Indian democracy and its
strength to the world at large. It is a democracy event and should not
be viewed through the prism of bilateral issues between countries,” he
added.
While diplomatic sources in Delhi tell The News
that the little known wife of Modi has already been given protocol
befitting the future prime minister’s wife, in Pakistan two women stood
out on the social media asking Sharif to take a bold step and respond
positively to Modi’s invite.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif was
encouraged by the stance of the PPP and one of its leaders Ambassador
Sherry Rehman and passed her tweets on to Sharif.
“Good news, moving on from stalemate Nawaz Sharif, Narendra Modi to hold bilateral meeting on May 27”, tweeted Rehman.
Responded
Maryam,” I personally think cordial relations with the new Indian govt
should be cultivated. Will help remove psychological barriers, fear
& misgivings.”
In New Delhi, Siddarth Varadarajan, a
former editor and now at the Shiv Nadar University, said: “A giant leap
for Modi and Nawaz Sharif, a small step for India, Pakistan, but here’s
hoping that from small steps will come bigger ones. Now let’s not burden
this event with a rush of expectations just yet”.
Others like defence and security analyst Ejaz Haider is not impressed.
He
told The News: “Sharif would have done well to send Speaker of the
National Assembly perhaps accompanied by his National Security Adviser
instead of going himself. That way he would have responded to the
gesture graciously while signalling that Pakistan retains its own
position within Saarc and by extension in relation to India and its
aspirations within and beyond the region”.
He sees a
‘deeper irony’ saying that while the PML-N government backed off from
movement on trade, which would have been a substantive development, it
has walked right up to a table which looks great but where the serving
is only for Mr. Modi.”
