Events Update

The much awaited Manmohan Singh—Yusuf Reza Gilani meeting has taken place. It has been analyzed threadbare. The conclusion is that the only thing that matters is that the meeting happened and that a Foreign Secretaries level meeting will take place on the sidelines of the UN meet in September. Pakistan thinks it won because the Indian opposition criticized the ‘concessions’ made to Pakistan. India thinks it played its role of mature, tolerant big brother just by holding the meeting and agreeing to further contacts without any specific details. That it did so just before the US Secretary of States’ visit might get it some brownie points. The general opinion is that the meeting was a good idea and the trend should continue till we get back to the structured dialogue and the back channel contacts.

Another much awaited meeting was the Zardari-Nawaz meeting. This took place in Raiwind with much fanfare and media hype. The meeting was President Zardari’s idea. The result was a statement of noble intentions on both sides. Again the conclusion is that it was a good idea and that this should mark the beginning of more such meetings till there is a coming together in the interest of political stability. Prior to the meeting the Prime Minister had stated a much welcomed fact that the government was neither fish nor fowl or words to that effect implying that it had to move in some direction with a balance of powers between the two highest offices. A Commission has been formed to review the Constitution and opinion is firming up that it needs wide ranging reforms even if one or two immediate steps need to be taken in the interest of political harmony.

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