Indian foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s visit to meet his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry in Islamabad has resulted in a partial restoration of dialogue between the two states.
Both countries must now maintain a regular flow of conversation, instead of a stop-start diplomatic process, and begin to increase the tempo in bi-lateral relations.
India had cancelled talks with Pakistan last summer after a series of misunderstandings and relations deteriorated further with tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) following clashes between the armed forces of the two nations.
The resumption of communication must now quickly graduate to the foreign ministers’ level because another unwarranted interruption will only lead to diplomatic ambiguity, which in turn will thwart progress towards a state of peace and harmony.
Stability along the LoC must be maintained at all costs. Bullets claim military and civilian lives but they also form an audit trail towards establishing that peaceful overtures seem to exist only on the surface without a substantial investment being made towards it.
If both countries establish a clear blueprint for peace then the effects will be manifold and across a broader spectrum, including the region.
