Talks with Pakistan wise step, says PM’s envoy Lambah

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister’s special envoy SK Lambah on Friday stressed on the need to re-engage with Pakistan, noting that it was unwise not to talk to a neighbour with a growing nuclear weapons arsenal and worsening political instability. While acknowledging that cynicism over dialogue was understandable given Islamabad’s inaction against 26/11 perpetrators, Mr Lambah said engaging Pakistan made sense as its “polity is fragile and its interest in peace at this stage, uncertain.”

“Not engaging a neighbour with 180 million people, strong antagonism towards India...and worsening instability is not a wise choice...We can defend ourselves against hostility but instability in the neighbourhood can have unpredictable consequences,” Mr Lambah warned while delivering the annual R N Kao Memorial Lecture organised by the external intelligence agency, Research and Analyses Wing (R&AW) here.

Recalling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to improve ties with Pakistan on the principle that “borders cannot be redrawn but we can work towards making them irrelevant,” Mr Lambah said the ball is now in Islamabad’s court. “We will be willing to pick up the threads,” he added. Arguing that diplomatic engagement was necessary with all of India’s neighbours, the special envoy in the PMO noted how the Soviet Union and the US never stopped talking to each other even at the height of the Cold War. “Today, China and the US seek ways and means to maintain channels of communication, even at times of strain, especially between their militaries,” he recalled, concluding that though engagement does not always guarantee success, rejecting it comes in the way of achieving long-term goals.

It is in this context that Mr Lambah called for sustaining engagement with China despite “the challenges that emerge from time to time.” A similar approach was needed with Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bhutan and the Maldives as they “go through with their own political transitions,” he added. Even as he pushed for engagement with all neighbours, Mr Lambah suggested that economic integration of the neighbourhood be intensified with attractive investment offers and removal of non-tariff barriers. Enlisting SAFTA and economic cooperation pacts with ASEAN as a group as initiatives that support integration with our neighbourhood, the special envoy sought exploring of similar avenues with West and Central Asia.

Calling for greater road and air connectivity with the immediate neighbours, Mr Lambah emphasised that Indian businesses should be encouraged to invest in neighbouring countries, with emphasis on livelihood projects. “Prosperity in the neighbourhood and increased linkages with India will enhance our security and act as a trigger for development of border states,” he noted.