Ties with Pakistan top on new Foreign Secy’s agenda

New Delhi, August 1
Veteran diplomat Ranjan Mathai today took over as India’s new Foreign Secretary, saying he had been mandated to pursue “substantive dialogue” with Pakistan to “restore trust and confidence” in the country’s relationship with the neighbouring country.

Mathai, a 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, said he considered “constructive cooperation” between India and its immediate neighbours as one of his priority tasks.

Mathai, a former Indian Ambassador to France, took over from Nirupama Rao, who has been named as the country’s envoy to the
United States.

Mathai has held several important posts during his diplomatic career, including Ambassador to Israel and Qatar and Deputy High Commissioner to Britain, besides serving at the Indian embassies in Vienna, Colombo, Washington, Tehran and Brussels. In between, he was the Joint Secretary in the MEA in charge of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Maldives.

Mathai takes charge as the country’s top diplomat at a time when India is confronted with several challenges on the foreign policy front with new equations emerging in the international pecking order.

The dialogue with Pakistan, no doubt, has made some progress since it was resumed in February this year. Mathai will have to keep the dialogue process on track and, at the same time, use all his persuasive skills to nudge Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage. It will, of course, be an uphill task.

His other major challenge would include strengthening the dialogue with China for an amicable settlement of the boundary dispute as well as other contentious issues.

The row over stapled visas to Indian residents from Jammu and Kashmir has still not be resolved despite Beijing giving assurances to New Delhi that it was taking steps to put an end to the issue.

The evolving situation in Afghanistan presents a serious challenge to India, what with attempts being made to reintegrate the Taliban into the mainstream of the Afghan society. Mathai and his team will have to ensure that the US and the Karzai regime remain committed to following the red lines drawn for the reconciliation with the Taliban.

The resolution of the political impasse in Nepal and an amicable settlement of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka would also put Mathai’s vast experience to test.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit Bangladesh next month. Mathai has his task cut out to put the relationship with Dhaka on the fast track.

MEA officials recall that Mathai had played a critical role in the Indo-Bangla Ganga Water Sharing accord during Sheikh Hasina's first stint as the PM when he was the Joint Secretary at the South Block. This water accord is India's only successful such pact in South Asia to date.

The recent decision of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) to deny access to enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technologies to countries which have not signed the NPT has caused serious concern in India. The new foreign secretary would have to ensure that the US, France and Russia, which have signed nuclear deals with India, stand by their commitment that the new guidelines of the nuclear cartel would not come in the way of their nuclear cooperation with this country.

India will have to also use the opportunity of holding the Presidency of the UN Security Council for August to bolster its campaign for a permanent seat on the high table. The top Indian diplomat will also be called upon to give a strong push to India’s campaign for a permanent seat at the UNSC during the UN General Assembly session next month. Mathai is considered a quiet diplomat who does his job without making a hue and cry. His colleague recall how he was instrumental in persuading France to become the first country to sign the nuclear deal with India within days of New Delhi getting a nuclear waiver from the NSG in September 2008.

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News

Nirupama Rao has been made US ambassador. What u think is it good step???

Nirupama Rao was to retire this year if she had stayed as the FS. she quite literally walked away with an extension for good two years now, all done very smartly. it is how india works, if you can network your self well around with the powers that be, you get rewarded out of turn.

Singapore's Foreign Service division is bigger than India's. That says it all.

Disgusting... But then what was I expecting from a terrorist-loving, divisive, communal and colonial minded political party?

What is so disgusting ?

"Ties with Pakistan top on new Foreign Secy’s agenda"

This my friend, this is disgusting. Height of spinelessness and shamelessness despite having hundreds of massacres being conducted by the other country through terrorism in our country. What the Gandhian principle of "walking the extra mile" was known, is called disgusting cowardice in realistic world.

how to catch up china must be top-ajenda of new foregin secy then ties with pakistan. pakistan is of no importance to us

Why people get hyper at these routine news is just not understandable. after 10 years (that is pak exists till then) we will be saying the same things. Its all routine statements not to be taken too seriously. Nothing is going to happen in the end we all know that.

Are you saying the opposition would cut off all diplomatic ties with Pakistan and bomb them instead? Surgical strikes maybe with Sukhois?

No I am saying that it would have been better to simply retain the "snubbing silence" that was announced by the GOI after 26/11. Let's see why I am saying this:

- We're going to give them dossiers after dossiers
- Pakistanis will keep denying everything and ask more proof
- GOI will again send copies of evidences and demand action
- As a token of symbolism, Pakistan puts the wanted terrorists under house arrests
- India would demand them to be extradited
- Pakistan would conjure a fake list of "wanted men" with idiotic and irrelevant names like Bal Thackeray, Varun Gandhi, Modi, Vajpayee, Advani, Praveen Togadia, Ashok Singhal etc that are not even in any wanted list on this planet.

-- And the story will keep going on with our metropolitans being bombed everytime as recent Mumbai blast....

There are better ways than Sukhois and surgical strikes in which Pakistan can be destroyed. And I am sure that if you think a little in that direction, you'll be surprised to find that to flatten them you just need to smile on the surface and think smart. Do the damage from within. I leave the thinking to you and am sure you'll get what I am trying to say.

Unfortunately this is not congruent with real life diplomacy, which is why no Indian government (no matter which party) is going to go through with it. Do you honestly think these people are stupid? If snubbing Pakistan and/or taking an open hostile approach was a long term feasible venture for India any political party would have jumped to exploit that opportunity for the sake of populism. But that isn't the case. Like it or not Pakistan is an unstable country that shares a border with India and there has to be a free flowing diplomatic channel. For the sake of basic safety if nothing else. Expecting anything else I'm afraid will only lead to disappointment.

You keep ranting about political parties when in fact there is no argument to be made. I get it you hate the congress; good for you, but to assume that any opposition would act differently is grossly incorrect. The BJP has capitulated to hijackings, terrorism etc. when they were in power too. Not because they are terrorist pakistani lovers, but because they were faced with reality. So all this ranting is nothing more than a canard.

As a side note, no Pakistan link was found to the recent Mumbai blast. India has it's own problems with terrorism which should not be confused with Pakistan for the sake of convenience or gratification.

Having said all of this it is highly unlikely that there will be any flourishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. Other than an open diplomatic channel there is nothing to be gained there and I'm sure everyone is well aware of this.

Pakistan is a pariah state, and rightly so. This will not change for the foreseeable future and neither will the status quo stalemate between India and Pakistan. But that does not mean diplomats from either country won't keep grinning and shaking hands in front of a camera for the sake of realpolitik.

This is undoubtedly a frustrating and precarious situation, but it transcends political parties. India has to and will keep engaging Pakistan no matter who comes into office. Pinning everything on a political party you hate is pointless and draws away from the real problem at hand.

But not attacking also has its share of perks. What is the usual killer to an attention-seeker. Complete ignoring. This means no ties of any sort. Any infiltration attempt is to be retaliated in the way it is done now; fired back and killed. Simple. Let them keep sending more terrorists, we will keep shooting them and their border guards.

Again with the stupid Kandahar case. Don't you see the objective where 170+ lives were saved? It was a fiasco from negotiation point of view but it saved Indian lives. How difficult is that for you to understand? Like I said, BJP is not Israeli government; but it has had harsher positions whenever needed against threats of the country.

What reality are you talking about? "maintain ties with us or we will send terrorists and nuke you"? Isn't that a little bit absurd?

Many "domestic terrorists" are a result of sleeper cells in India gone independent. What happens when the central control loses all the command over fringe agencies? They go haywire and out of control. SIMI and IM are two fine examples. Since Pakistan has barely any control on its own territory and government with civilian parties, military, supreme court all claiming to be centers of command, these terror cells wherever Pakistan planted have gone out of control.

I fail to see the whole point other than this why should we waste our time, money and energy on a failed state that is on the verge of implosion and doom. Silly don't you think?

Realpolitik is applicable where something has to be gained from the relationship. Pray tell me what have we gained from Pakistan since independence? N-O-T-H-I-N-G. That's what we've gained. 5 wars, thousands of terrorists, hundreds of bomb plots, deaths of thousands of innocent Indians.. That's what is the gift from Pakistan.

Realpolitik with China is reasonable because we have massive trade and economic ties with them. With the prospects of trade reaching a $100 billion mark, it naturally becomes critical to play the "smart guy" game with them. But seriously, what realpolitik are you trying to apply to Pakistan?

Why? For what gains? For what benefits? To avert what threats? To do what? There is simply no bloody reason. As a country there is simply no damn reason to do it. If Arabs and Israel can do this, why can't we? For what reason? Just because a few thousand Indians have relatives in Pakistan and they didn't choose to go? We didn't force them to stay in India and they were free to go. They made their decision to live in India and choose country over these relatives. So let it be.

Listen, this engaging Pakistan is a waste of taxpayers' money. Embassies, consulate offices, and other things cost millions to make and maintain. I know Embassies are used to gather intelligence but if there is a complete blockout, what harm could we incur?

check this link..4 indian soldiers have been beheaded by paki border area team and carried away their heads..... shocking...Chindits

You hate Pakistan and want nothing to do with it and basically wish it didn't exist. Well get in line because there's going to be a long wait. If ignoring Pakistan were that easy it would have been done already. You do not seem to understand the realities of diplomacy. You are conflating livingroom chatter with real life problems.

Nothing you desire is going to happen, and if you think a political party can change it then you're going to be sorely disappointed. India will have to keep talking to Pakistan like it or not.

And I must reiterate, not all of India's domestic problems with terrorism ought to be blamed upon Pakistan for the sake of convenience or gratification. This is a pointless venture.