Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik, on Sunday, concluded a significant visit to New Delhi with a visit to the Nizamuddin dargah in the heart of Delhi, ‘praying for peace’. The timing of Malik’s visit was significant on two counts – one, it came less than a month after the execution of Ajmal Kasab, the main accused of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and two, it would get followed by an India-Pakistan test series, the first in last five years.
Cricketers have been the best known ambassadors of Pakistan in India, and New Delhi had managed to convey its angst to its neighbour following the Mumbai attack by keeping Pakistan players out of the high voltage IPL. In a tit-for-tat move, the Indian establishment had said it had no control over ‘non-state players’ referring to IPL franchises not bidding for Pak players.
The minister, on the last day of his visit, refused to yield from his earlier stand when asked what action he will take against LeT founder and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafeez Saeed. ‘We need substantial evidence — still waiting for that,’ Malik said. However, he also admitted Saeed was an ‘irritant’ in the peace process between the countries. New Delhi, on its part, held firm to the position that Pakistan must act against Saeed. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, on Saturday, ticked off the visiting minister saying he would visit Pakistan only after action has been taken in the 26/11 terror case including prosecution of Saeed.
Despite getting a bad press earlier on Friday for his remarks of weather being responsible for Captain Saurabh Kalia’s death during the Kargil operations and comparing Babri mosque demolition to 26/11 attack, to his credit, Malik was able to salvage the situation by making quick amends. He inadvertently managed to give ammo, though, to principal opposition BJP, whose senior leaders Arun Jaitely and Narendra Modi, from the midst of their poll campaign in Gujarat, slammed the government for ‘not showing guts’ to counter the visiting minister.
Pakistan, in the last phase of Gujarat poll campaign, has suddenly come to attain political centrestage with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi entering into a verbal duel on the Sir Creek case. Malik’s visit and initial blabber added more grist to the BJP’s Gujarat campaign.
However, the visit would have to be looked beyond the Gujarat prism. Probably union minister Farooq Abdullah could just be right in calling the sojourn a ‘good beginning’. Abdullah said: ‘I think it is a good beginning. Let’s hope that visa regulations become better, people are able to easily come and go and business is increased between the two countries.’
Cricketers have been the best known ambassadors of Pakistan in India, and New Delhi had managed to convey its angst to its neighbour following the Mumbai attack by keeping Pakistan players out of the high voltage IPL. In a tit-for-tat move, the Indian establishment had said it had no control over ‘non-state players’ referring to IPL franchises not bidding for Pak players.
The minister, on the last day of his visit, refused to yield from his earlier stand when asked what action he will take against LeT founder and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafeez Saeed. ‘We need substantial evidence — still waiting for that,’ Malik said. However, he also admitted Saeed was an ‘irritant’ in the peace process between the countries. New Delhi, on its part, held firm to the position that Pakistan must act against Saeed. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had, on Saturday, ticked off the visiting minister saying he would visit Pakistan only after action has been taken in the 26/11 terror case including prosecution of Saeed.
Despite getting a bad press earlier on Friday for his remarks of weather being responsible for Captain Saurabh Kalia’s death during the Kargil operations and comparing Babri mosque demolition to 26/11 attack, to his credit, Malik was able to salvage the situation by making quick amends. He inadvertently managed to give ammo, though, to principal opposition BJP, whose senior leaders Arun Jaitely and Narendra Modi, from the midst of their poll campaign in Gujarat, slammed the government for ‘not showing guts’ to counter the visiting minister.
Pakistan, in the last phase of Gujarat poll campaign, has suddenly come to attain political centrestage with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi entering into a verbal duel on the Sir Creek case. Malik’s visit and initial blabber added more grist to the BJP’s Gujarat campaign.
However, the visit would have to be looked beyond the Gujarat prism. Probably union minister Farooq Abdullah could just be right in calling the sojourn a ‘good beginning’. Abdullah said: ‘I think it is a good beginning. Let’s hope that visa regulations become better, people are able to easily come and go and business is increased between the two countries.’