For India there are only two inter-connected objectives in Pakistan. They are to defeat those who organise violent extremism against India and promote a democratic transformation in Pakistan.

All our political energies must be directed towards these goals and not frittered away in an endless debate about secondary questions on either procedure (when and where we might talk to Pakistan) or form (bilateral or trilateral).

The test for our Pakistan strategy must be the same as the one laid down by Deng Xiaoping for China’s economic policy. It must catch the mice.

The writer is a professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of

International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore express@expressindia.com