The talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in Delhi went off without a hitch. It was decided that Singh would visit Islamabad soon. The peace process was renewed with great tenacity. The cloud over the 2008 Mumbai attack was largely blown away. Zardari fulfilled his wish to make a private visit to Ajmer Sharif. Both Delhi and Islamabad made it clear that it was not a summit. No declarations were made. But some areas of agreement were identified before Singh visits Pakistan. There has been a lull in cross-border Jehadi terrorism. Zardari has liberalised Pakistan’s trade policy towards India. Singh had indicated that he would visit Pakistan only if there were positive signals from Islamabad. The PM’s decision to visit Pakistan makes it clear that he has received such signals.
There are of course a great many glitches. The army, the militant groups and the host of opponents that Zardari has in Pakistan will try to block the peace process. On this side of the border, the BJP, conservative elements in the Congress and hawks in the bureaucracy will try to scuttle efforts at normalisation. What is to the good is that there is a solid trade agenda to promote economic integration. India wants perpetrators of the Mumbai violence to be chastised. Pakistan’s terrorist infrastructure has to be demolished. Pakistan for its part wants a political gesture on the Kashmir issue, especially on the Siachen dispute. Manmohan Singh may not be able to deliver all this. Both Singh and Zardari need to mobilise domestic political
