The recent hawkish stance adopted by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the ongoing violence in Kashmir Valley has baffled policymakers in India. Over the last two years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sharif had established a personal bond that thrived on a visible bonhomie and a vocal commitment to resolve all the outstanding issues between the two neighbours. As their relationship plummets to new lows with each passing day, diplomatic sources believe that Sharif chose to go for “India bashing” after his name figured in the Panama papers of “black money holders” and the domestic opinion turned against him for his many failures.
Sources feel that India never expected Sharif to go for such belligerent posturing given the fact that he and Modi shared a “wonderful” relation, which promised to achieve some breakthrough in the frosty bilateral ties. “We never expected that Sharif would act so ungracefully,” sources said.
Referring to the personal bond that the two leaders shared, sources pointed out that minutes before Sharif was to be wheeled into a private operation theater in london on May 31 for a heart surgery, he called up Modi and sought his best wishes. Incidentally, a day before Modi had already called Sharif and wished him a speedy recovery.
“Sharif treated Modi as a family member then, because in such a situation anyone will seek good wishes only from near and dear ones,” sources said.
Sources said that the two leaders developed such mutual trust that when Sharif asked Modi on December 25 last year to fly down to lahore from Kabul for a stopover visit to attend a family function, the Indian Prime Minister took the plunge without consulting the Foreign Secretary, the National Security Adviser or the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan. Sources said that Modi only called External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, discussed the matter with her, and decided to oblige Sharif by paying a visit. Sources said the Indian High Commissioner was informed at the eleventh hour, and he could not even reach lahore airport to receive Modi. “This was an unprecedented gesture, where the Prime Minister took the call all by himself to visit an inimical neighbour without caring for his security. The Prime Minister acted in good faith. He could never have imagined that one day Sharif will act so funny,” said a source.
Sources pointed out that not only Modi but Sushma too had reasons to take the Pakistani leadership at face value. During her visit to Islamabad on December 8-9 last year, to attend the Heart of Asia Summit, Sushma had a detailed meeting with Sharif. Before that, she was also invited for a tête-à-tête with Sharif’s family.
Sources said that Sushma received an emotional hug from Sharif’s mother who addressed her as “a courier of peace.” Sharif’s daughter and granddaughter were present in what was like a family reunion.
After the emotional handshake and hug, when Sushma sat down with Sharif and her counterpart Sartaj Aziz, the outcome of their discussion was more than positive. The Pakistani PM reportedly directed Aziz not to insist on including anything in their joint statement that could make Sushma uncomfortable.
Sushma may have returned to India feeling elated and hopeful of improving relations with the neighbour. After such a warm and emotional reception, she could not be blamed for overlooking the fact that the Pakistani leadership was a past master at backstabbing and treachery.
Sources said that India has so far not been able to figure out what has brought about such a sudden change in the attitude of the Pakistani premier. Policymakers here have been able to zero in on the fact that Sharif was battling serious charges of corruption following the revelations that he and his family members had stashed huge wealth in foreign banks. Also, his willingness to discuss issues other than Kashmir with India might have made him unpopular among the Pakistan Army and the radicalised domestic constituency. Fearing a backlash, he might have fallen back on the time-tested ‘India-bashing’ cushion.
Since the violence broke out in Kashmir Valley following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani, Modi has not called up Sharif. Also, so far there is no clarity whether Modi will travel to Pakistan in December to attend the SAARC summit.
The answer could be a firm ‘no’ if Pakistan continues to fuel violence in the Kashmir Valley.