Sushma’s Pak Visit: Touches a Raw Nerve, Yet Has Few Deliverables

Nothing substantive will emerge after Sushma Swaraj’s much-hyped visit to Pakistan, writes Vivek Katju.

Speaking in Parliament on her visit to Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took the emotional route. She said, “The underlying sentiment on which I am confident that this House concurs fully, was that the continued estrangement of the two neighbours was a hurdle to the realisation of our shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous region.”

No rational person can disagree with this view. However, does the Pakistani army, which finally decides the country’s India policy, share this vision? No. For its thinking is rooted in the idea that India is an eternal threat and, therefore, an enemy forever.