.Not only did the Vajpayee government open talks with the Hurriyat leadership but also with the most powerful military commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Majid Dar. Of this experience he said in his book My Country, My Life, “I found the Hurriyat leaders to be genuine, earnest and to some extent, open-minded in their interactions with me”. The media, citing military sources in the Valley, has suggested that the Army had not even been consulted in arriving at the decision. Malik (Retd), under whose command the Kargil intrusion by Pakistan was beaten back, was forthright in his language when he criticised the idea of restricting the use of the highway for civilians.A former Army chief, Gen.In contrast, today we have the so-called “surgical strike”, which has not deterred terrorism; we have Balakot as retaliation for Pulwama (whose efficacy is a matter of raging debate) as far as Pakistan is concerned, and restraining civilians from accessing a highway that goes past their homes in the case of the people of the Kashmir Valley. This is not a complex theorem from Euclid’s geometry.

From the BJP’s perspective, the people of Kashmir appear to qualify just so perfectly for the “terror” tag because, on account of the Centre’s adamant refusal to bring politics into play (so unlike the Vajpayee and the Manmohan Singh governments), some of their youngsters are running an insurgent campaign.K. Indeed, for him — it seems to this writer — going to war may have been the easier option, considering the ideological school he came from.Recently, when announcing that the highway — which is the lifeline for the people of the Kashmir Valley — will not be open to civilians on two days of the week, it was officially stated that this was necessary from the security point of view since preparations had to be made for the Lok Sabha elections, during which period, it was said, more troops will be needed. Not letting the people of Kashmir use the national highway that links to their China Flexible universal neck for kitchen Suppliers own major city is a part of the same syndrome.In short, those who matter in Delhi, and their bailiffs in the Valley, are playing with fire. Besides, even the Army does not think of it as necessary.Keeping the people of Kashmir off the road which is their lifeline is, for a party like the BJP, a way to inform its core constituency across the country in the election season that it is capable of acting tough with “anti-national” elements, unlike its political opponents, whom it seeks to represent as being hand-in-glove with Pakistan and with terrorists.

The present ruling party at the Centre, its fount of inspiration, the RSS, and the government of the BJP, are all about shouting from the rooftops that they act “strong” when it comes to national security. The people of Kashmir were beaten up so that the BJP and its government may have the chance to give the impression of being tough on terror.Looking back, Vajpayee seemed acutely conscious that he must have the people of the Valley on his side, rather than let them be trapped by extremist ideologies. The other — and perhaps no less significant — reason is that these people are of a religious faith with which the thinking of the saffron group has never been in accord, not to put too fine a point on it.V. Many elections have been held in Kashmir and the need to keep civilians off the highway was never felt.In BJP-controlled Jammu, a curfew had to be imposed to protect the Kashmiri people living in the largest city of their own state.It’s quite unbelievable. As Radha Kumar reminds us, “To further underline the government’s commitment to peace, Vajpayee led an all-party delegation to Pahalgam, with George Fernandes and Congress president Sonia Gandhi”.

Under relentless attack over the Uttarakhand crisis, the BJP on Wednesday countered the Congress by raking up the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam, in which the names of the party top brass, including its president Sonia Gandhi, has also cropped up.Hitting back at the ruling party, the Congress also rejected the allegations against Mrs Gandhi and Dr Singh, saying that “we reject it with the contempt they deserve”. Mr Sharma also claimed that a businessman “close to” Mr Modi had entered into an MoU with AgustaWestland, but he refused to name him. The BJP’s Kirit Somaiya will raise it in the Lok Sabha, while another BJP member will bring it up in the Rajya Sabha.On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with AgustaWestland to supply 12 AW101 VVIP helicopters to the Indian Air Force over allegations of kickbacks by it for securing the deal..The CBI has, meanwhile, approached the external affairs ministry seeking the help of diplomatic channels to get a copy of the Italian court’s ruling in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. Let them take my name, I am not afraid, says Congress president Sonia Gandhi on AugustaWestland issue.“No one should make loose comments (about) the Congress president and the former PM, whose integrity and intellect was never in question,” Congress’ Rajya Sabha deputy leader Anand Sharma said.

Chidambaram has been questioned.However, Sonia Gandhi rejected allegations linking her and party leaders in the AgustaWestland chopper deal bribes and said she is not ‘afraid’ of being ‘cornered’ on the issue.Media reports said an Italian court ruling stated how the firm lobbied with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her close aides, besides then NSA M. Antony, to name the party leaders allegedly involved in the scandal. “When the primary allegation came out in the media, we immediately ordered a CBI inquiry.Congress President Sonia Gandhi was described as the 'driving force' behind the copter deal.5 years in jail for false accounting and corruption in the sale of 12 VVIP helicopters to India for over Rs 3,600 crores, while former CEO of Finmeccanica’s helicopter subsidiary AgustaWestland, Bruno Spagnolini, has been handed a four-year sentence.Here are the live updates:12 pm: We have nothing to hide. He said the BJP had been making irresponsible statements and wild allegations and the Congress was not going to accept this.”10 am: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge says, “We are ready to discuss AgustaWestland issue in Parliament.The Milan court of appeals, which overturned a lower court’s order, sentenced Finmeccanica’s former chief Giuseppe Orsi to 4.10:30 am: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says, “There is no case, my party will respond. He also asked the government why it had removed AgustaWestland from the blacklist it had been put by the UPA government. The then UPA government had also barred Finmeccanica and its group companies from taking part in any new defence contract bidding.

Mr Antony asked the Narendra Modi government to fast track the probe into the scam and find out the truth as the UPA government had cancelled the contract and ordered a CBI investigation into it.11:35 am: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 12 pm minutes after uproar by the Congress members when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy speaks on AugustaWestland scam.”The ruing party will also raise issues like Ishrat brass faucet aerator Jahan case and Aircel-Maxis deal to target the Congress within Parliament and outside. Mrs Gandhi was described as the “driving force” behind the deal in these court papers.K. We won the case and got back all the money we paid in advance by bank guarantee,” Mr Antony said. Are they from your party or not Please come clean,” the minister said. BJP MP Anurag Thakur will raise it in the Lok Sabha, and Bhupender Yadav will bring it up in the Rajya Sabha."I am not afraid of anyone cornering me as there is no basis to that.Attacking the Congress over the VVIP helicopter scam, communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked the defence minister in the Manmohan Singh government, Mr A. Mr Chidambaram has been accused of changing the affidavit to conceal Ishrat’s alleged terrorist links. Chidambaram is also likely to come under attack by the BJP over the affidavits filed in the Ishrat Jahan case. Why are the bribe-takers silent Antony should answer if the leaders of the Congress are involved or not. We cancelled the contract and fought the case in the Milan court

But will doing nothing help?According to a former high commissioner, not having a dialogue doesn’t give India any leverage against Pakistan; it isn’t a kind of punishment that will prompt Pakistan to be more amenable.Some in the top brass of the Pakistani Army still harbour dreams of avenging the humiliation of 1971 and Kargil. What’s more, millions of Pakistanis are smitten by Bollywood divas while Pakistani singers have scores of fans in India. That wasn’t surprising.The writer is a retired Indian diplomat.At a recent congregation at the India International Centre, New Delhi, a majority of attendees responded in the negative when asked if India and Pakistan will ever have good neighbourly relations.A former diplomat suggested that technology could be a facilitator in forming good neighbourly relations between the two countries.Can these young men an women be the agents of de-radicalisation?Naysayers dismiss such woolly-eyed romanticism of peaceniks; it is bound to fail, they say.Isn’t it true that in the past 70 years no matter how fiercely the two countries have fought, how many lives have been lost and whatever they might have said against each other, sooner or later, India and Pakistan have returned to the discussion table? While right now no one can predict when the bilateral dialogue will be resumed, it will happen some day for sure.There also is a need to engage the China Wholesale brass faucet aerator Factory Pakistan Army in direct talks, but we haven’t yet figured out how that can be done.5 billion. They remind how Pakistan had funded the Khalistani movement in the late 1980s and is forever trying to revive it. The only redeeming factor was the optimism shown by a handful of individuals in the hall. Why? Because there is no denying the fact that, in the long run, having cordial relations with Pakistan is in India’s national interest. May be not like the United States and Canada but, at least, as neighbours who have learnt to live with each other peacefully. According to the chambers of commerce, in spite of turbulent bilateral relationship, India-Pakistan annual trade is estimated at $2 billion; the unofficial figures claim this figure to be $4. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and China’s increasing role in Pakistan, especially in the running of Gwadar port, is a cause of concern for India.

They repeat the already established narrative about India-Pakistan relations: the creation of Pakistan and the horrors of Partition; Pakistan’s sinister designs since 1947: intrusion by the Rangers/Army, the conflicts of 1965, 1971, Kargil and terrorist attacks at the Red Fort, our Parliament and 26/11 in Mumbai. They point out, and rightly so, that Pakistan hasn’t yet taken any action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack and is unlikely to do so. No matter how faint this optimism might seem at the moment and how thick and blinding might be the fog of scepticism, it does give us a ray of hope. Similarly, India can exploit its growing warmth with Iran and request it (Iran) to reason with Pakistan not to waste its meagre resources in fighting India through a proxy war. He could also be nudged to pressure Pakistan to shun terrorism as a state policy. They also talk about how dismally the government capitulated before the hardline protesters leading to the resignation of its law minister; the existence of hundreds of terrorist camps and Pakistan’s use of terrorism as a part of state policy.All Prime Ministers of India, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi, have tried to have closer relations with Pakistan. However, it is believed that the sons of generals in Pakistan aren’t too keen to follow in the footsteps of their fathers; they would rather explore success in other fields; this reflects a generational change in their attitude. Many of them have built industrial empires by projecting false threats from India and fuelling anti-India sentiments.

On the social front, there are thousands of families whose relatives are living across the border, and they always look forward to easing of tensions between the two countries as it would make connecting with their family on the other side of the border hassle-free. Further, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman seems determined to project his country’s image as a modern nation. Besides, it has also been funding militant activity in Jammu and Kashmir for years.Now is the time to foster our relations with Pakistan. Thanks to Chinese support, Pakistan probably has more nuclear weapons than India. The United States is exasperated with Pakistan for its half-hearted fight against terrorism; terrorist attacks against Chinese nationals in Pakistan are on the rise and though China has repeatedly blocked Masood Azhar’s inclusion in the UN list of terrorists, deepening Chinese apprehension about the dangers posed by Pakistan-based terrorists in its Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province should be exacerbated to our advantage. They will flag the known reality that the Army and the ISI call the shots in Pakistan while the elected civilian government has no say in matters related to foreign affairs and defence.They are right: Pakistan wants no role for India in Afghanistan. The GenNext on the two sides of the border, hooked on social networking sites as they are, propelled by their aspirations to partake the fruits of the 21st century, free from the rancour, bitterness and infectious hatred flowing from memories of the past, could possibly form an “Internet community” to interface, interact and share things of common interest to help overcome mistrust and generate a degree of understanding and appreciation of each other in today’s context and, in the process, sow the seeds of friendship which can better relations between the two neighbours. Pakistan’s aspirational generation can’t remain blind to India’s progress and the high esteem it commands internationally; the youngsters question why it wasn’t the case with Pakistan