To begin with, someone will have to take responsibility in South Block for letting matters go adrift. It is fashionable to talk about how the Obama administration is getting it wrong, how Richard Holbrooke is unable to see through the “Pakistani game” and how India has successfully defied tacit US pressure to drag Kashmir into the AfPak conundrum. But ever since Obama took charge, India’s policy response has been more reactive than strategic. While it was right to make itself heard, there was little attention paid to what needed to be done next, given that Washington was going to go ahead with its plans anyway. It was obvious that Pakistan had launched a diplomatic counter in Washington, playing on Obama’s stated campaign objective of refocussing the war on terror to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Much as it resents being clubbed with Afghanistan, the Pakistani leadership was able to make the point that it cannot be seen to be outdone by New Delhi, by having to admit, investigate and punish the Pakistani roots of terrorism directed against India. In return, it would try its best with the war on its western borders, and India must understand that Pakistan is paying an even heavier price in this campaign.

India did resort to some hectic lobbying in ensuring that the US Bill for releasing aid to Pakistan lays the condition that Islamabad will prevent terrorists from using its soil to launch attacks on India. The specific mention of this was there in the first version of the so called PEACE Act proposed by the House Foreign Relations Committee head Howard Berman, but counter diplomatic pressure has witnessed a dilution of language. There are clear contradictions in Obama’s AfPak policy which aims to strengthen the civilian government in Islamabad but is dependent on the Pakistan army to succeed in defeating the Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces gaining ground there. Now, New Delhi realises this but is still to put in place a strategy which keeps the US more than just mindful of Indian concerns.

... contd.