Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar deserves credit for coping with some of the problems plaguing his state. However, his visit to Islamabad cannot be expected to have much impact on relations between India and Pakistan. Chief Ministers of Indian states go abroad from time to time to invite foreign investment in their bailiwicks. But Nitish Kumar has no such mission. Pakistani entrepreneurs can hardly be expected to invest in distant Bihar. Kumar will be in Pakistan for as many as eight days. He will meet top Pakistani leaders like President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the iconic Imran Khan. Islamabad obviously considers the visit to be important. New Delhi has also taken special care to plan the programme for his trip.
Few can expect the visit to have a diplomatic significance. Kumar is not likely to discuss the impediments to bilateral talks between India and Pakistan. It will be mostly a person to person contact. Nitish Kumar’s political fortunes are to some extent at stake. Pakistan may attach particular gravity to his rising political charisma. It is very much on the cards that he will be a dominant figure on the Indian political scene after the parliamentary elections in India next year. Although in the NDA, he has a secular spirit. Kumar’s ambition is not confined to his own state. In fact, he is already a national figure. India-Pakistan relations are important to people of both countries. Visits of heads of Indian states to Pakistan can indirectly contribute to the process of achieving bilateral amity.
