Yes,no,minister

As the government’s handling of the Pakistan policy draws political flak,External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna must accept much of the blame. The criticism is coming not just from such expected opposition quarters as the BJP,but also from all those who expect a measure of competence in diplomatic dealings,including with Pakistan. It must worry Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that his foreign minister is not above disregarding nuance in this country’s foreign policy for the sake of trivial one-up-manship.

Home Secretary G.K. Pillai’s remarks charging Pakistan’s ISI of orchestrating the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai came on the eve of Krishna’s visit to Islamabad. Whatever the widsom of such disclosures,they were now in the public domain and Krishna had enough time to digest this surprise and anticipate the reaction as he went into talks with his Pakistani counterpart. The subsequent chronology,however,is not a very flattering report card for the minister. At their joint press conference in Islamabad on July 15,Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi held that Pillai’s comments were “uncalled for”,and indicated that Krishna shared the assessment. Under fire thereafter for not countering that impression of agreement and also Qureshi’s attempt to equate India’s foreign secretary with Hafiz Saeed,a terrorist sought by India for 26/11,Krishna chose to take the higher ground,saying India did not want to get into a slanging match with Pakistan. Yet,a few days later he courted mediapersons to make his pique against the home secretary public. Pillai,said Krishna,could have waited for his return from Pakistan. Read any which way,this was a submission of agreement with Qureshi’s statement at the press conference in Islamabad holding the home secretary responsible for a diplomatic fiasco.

Krishna may yet explain the flip-flops embedded in his statements and silences. He may also explain whether he has earned the dubious distinction of launching the first political assault on a serving civil servant since Rajiv Gandhi publicly ticked off the then foreign secretary,A.P. Venkateswaran. But put together,the developments of the past fortnight confirm Krishna’s leadership of the ministry of external affairs as somewhat underwhelming. He clearly lacks the knack to look beyond the prepared script,the presence of mind to cope with surprises,and manage the aftermath — part of the basic skill-set of any official,let alone a foreign minister.