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Indo-Pak talks and the troubled relationship between Modi and Sharif
Here’s a brief history of the troubled relationship between PM Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif since Modi took charge of the Prime Minister’s office:
Despite many meetings between India and Pakistan to ensure that talks over prolonged issues go smoothly, a breakthrough remains elusive.
Though India appeared to extend an olive branch by allowing a Pakistan joint investigative team probe the Pathankot attack on Indian soil, trouble is brewing yet again.
At an event in New Delhi on Thursday, Pakistani’s envoy to India, Abdul Basit said, “I would say the dialogue is suspended.”
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, diplomatic talks with Pakistan at various levels have fallen through several times.
A brief history of the troubled relationship between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif:
May 2014
Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif attends Narendra Modi’s swearing-in as the Prime Minister of India. Sharif says the two nations had an opportunity to turn a page in their history of troubled relations.
However, around 800 incidents of ceasefire violations at the border were reported in the first year of Modi government.
July 2015
The two PMs meet at a summit in Russia, marking an uptick in high-level bilateral contacts following a prolonged freeze in ties. They agree to national security adviser-level talks.
August 2015
Peace talks between India and Pakistan collapse hours before they are scheduled to start. Pakistan pulls out after India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj says the talks will not take place if Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz does not drop plans to meet separatist Hurriyat leaders.
November 2015
Modi and Sharif briefly meet on the sidelines of the COP21 summit on climate change in Paris. Not much of what was talked about during this “courtesy meeting” was known as there were no delegates from either country around.
December 2015
o A secret meeting between the NSAs of the two countries in Bangkok helps put bilateral engagements back on track.
o Swaraj visits Islamabad to attend a summit and holds talks with her counterpart Aziz.
o Modi springs a surprise by flying to Lahore to meet Sharif on his way back from a brief visit to Afghanistan. On Twitter, Modi makes public his plans to meet Sharif on the Pak PM’s birthday.
January 2016
o Suspected Pakistani militants attack Indian Air Force base in Pathankot; seven Indian soldiers are killed. The attack leads to stalling of the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan.
o Sharif orders the formation of a high -profile joint investigation team to probe the “specific and actionable” evidence provided by India.
March-April 2016
The Pakistan joint investigation team (JIT) visits India to investigate whether there are any Pakistani links in the Pathankot attack.
April 2016
Pakistan says its JIT visited the “crime scene” but witnesses from the Indian security forces were not produced before the probe team.
o Pakistan says the dialogue process with India has been suspended and hints there is no possibility of allowing an NIA team to visit Islamabad to probe the Pathankot terror attack.
