Rules of engagement

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh���s remarks on the joint Indo-Pak statement in Sharm-el-Sheikh seem to have firmly laid down the broad contours of how the government intends to engage with Pakistan. Indeed, the PM���s intervention, in retrospect, may well be considered seminal on many counts.

Perhaps the most immediately significant part of the articulation ��� even as the basic position that any normalisation of ties was impossible if Pakistani territory was used to plan and launch terrorist acts in India was reiterated ��� was that there is, indeed, no alternative to having a nuanced engagement with Pakistan. But the very fact that even such a truism ��� on the desirability of two neighbouring nations engaging each other rather than living in mutual hostility ��� was called a ���sell-out��� by some detractors points to difficulties inherent in any change in the political discourse on Indo-Pak ties.

Indeed, in a larger perspective, hawks in both nations would naturally be more comfortable in reverting to hostilities. And there is, surely, sufficient scope to harbour suspicion against Pakistan, or to doubt the possibility of the civilian government in Islamabad being able or willing to completely dismantle the terror network. But there are also some apparent changes.

This is the first time Pakistan has not just acknowledged that its nationals and a group based inside its territory were behind a terror attack in India, but has also formally reverted to New Delhi on the state of the investigations into the case. There is, therefore, certainly a case to be made out that the stated policy of bringing ���bilateral and multilateral instruments��� to bear on Pakistan has yielded better results than ever before.

An important part of this policy has been, as the PM pointed out, to stress the bilateral side of things. Given the nature of the set-up in Pakistan, New Delhi has also needed to offer some support to the civilian leadership, along with applying a judicious amount of pressure. Manmohan Singh indicated that he has, despite what critics might say, a certain vision for South Asia. Not without reason did he mention sharing that vision with former PM A B Vajpayee. Certainly, such a nuanced approach seems, simply, the best possible one for the foreseeable future.