Mission goodwill

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Mission goodwill

Friday, 04 October 2019 | Pioneer

Mission goodwill

Between S Jaishankar and Ajit Doval, India’s diplomatic offensive is well-planned and is delivering results

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is on a tour of the Middle-East where he is meeting heads of several Arabian nations. This, in conjunction with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s confabulations in the US, is the culmination of a well-planned diplomatic offensive undertaken by India in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. This clearly proves that a global strategy was well in the pipeline before Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to bite the bullet on Jammu & Kashmir. After years, possibly decades of losing the diplomatic initiative to Pakistan, we have finally adopted a well thought-out strategy of engagement, one that is paying dividends.

Of course, there is no doubt that several pro-Pakistani elements have infiltrated the establishment in several nations, from their foreign ministries to the media. The latter is clearly evident in the way several “neutral” foreign media organisations have been operating on the Kashmir front. However, after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s disastrous trip to the US, where he threatened  a nuclear war, he has had a loss of face. This cost that country’s UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi her job even though she survived several regime changes in Islamabad. India’s quiet strategy, with back-channel meetings and engagement with think-tanks as well as with nations previously hostile to the country, is now yielding results. Doval’s charm offensive in the Arabian peninsula in the light of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on Kashmir will definitely blunt the negative tilt. At the same time, this mission, coming at a time when Pakistan’s economy is on the verge of collapse, could also mean that the terrorist nation will find it difficult to raise funds to survive. Clearly, India is trying to score a point at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which freezes aid to nations that are into terror funding, and pile up as many votes as possible against Pakistan and blacklist it. With our neighbour having China and Turkey’s guarantees, we are working on newer member-nations like Saudi Arabia. And since China has the current chair of FATF, the Government is sparing no effort to reach out to all 39 members. This is the first time in a decade when India has had such a well-coordinated diplomatic initiative. Its earlier diplomatic moves were usually a post-facto fire-fighting mission. It helps that India’s External Affairs Ministry is led by a career diplomat who has already proven his worth as the best Minister in the current Cabinet. Doval’s stellar work in stabilising the situation in the Valley will allow him to negate the propagandists, several of whom are from New Delhi. In fact, India’s dramatically improved ties with the Arab nations is one of Modi’s top diplomatic achievements as they have developed despite its closeness with Israel. Now comes the difficult task of managing the situation in the Valley for which the Government has to ensure a return to normalcy and a meaningful engagement with civilians.

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