India can indeed assist Zardari if he can help himself and the democratisation of Pakistan by gaining full control of his country’s national security policy and redefine it in the long-term interests of the people of Pakistan. If Zardari is prepared the walk down that difficult road, India should be prepared to make it easier for him. But as Mukherjee reminded the nation, India does not have the power to transform Pakistan’s internal politics. It is up to the Pakistanis themselves.

India is right in waiting to see if Zardari can prevail over the terrorist groups and their benefactors in Pakistan’s security establishment. If he can’t, India will have to start walking up the first steps of an escalatory ladder. The post Mumbai pause, then, is a delicate moment that won’t last too long.

The writer is a professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

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