Bilawal’s visit to India a silver lining: US think tank

KARACHI: Criticizing the Indian attitude towards Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's recent visit to India, the foreign media has termed it a loss of hope to break the ice between the two countries.

It was in the interest of Pakistan to attend the SCO summit in India. The general elections are going to be held in both countries in 2023 and 2024, therefore an exchange of harsh words between the politicians was meant for the public.

Bilawal was very careful about the visit as his rival political party PTI had already blamed him for compromising on the Kashmir cause. In the given situation, any government, which chooses to dialogue with India, would face backlash in the country.

Some forces are bent upon ruling out any possibility of dialogue between the two countries. Despite of harsh stance of the Indian foreign minister, some Pakistani businessmen are optimistic about the revival of trade between the two countries. In view of Indian behaviour, it is expected that PM Shehbaz won’t attend the leaders conference to be held in India in July. The US, British, German and Indian media published articles on Bilawal’s visit to India.

According to a report of VOA, every party kept the other party in the dark on the bilateral issues. Michael Kugelman of Wilson Centre, a US think tank, said that if Pakistan is criticising any member of SCO, it is supposed to be India. However, he termed Bilawal’s visit to India as a silver lining. It was in the interest of Pakistan to attend the SCO summit.

British newspaper Independent writes that Indian attitude towards Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's recent visit to India has lost the glimpse of hope to break the ice between the two countries. The Indian foreign minister turned down the meeting with his Pakistani counterpart. The visit was being viewed as signs of reconciliation amid bitter border relations. The Indian foreign minister levelled the allegations of terrorism on Pakistan.

German News Agency DW quoted experts as saying that Bilawal’s visit to India could pave way for the dialogue between the two countries in future. The visit could be seen as positive development amid complicated issues. It was a lost opportunity to break the ice between the two countries. Bilawal was very cautious about his trip to India given the political backlash back in Pakistan.

Indian Express wrote that the first visit of any Pakistan foreign minister in 11 years could not yield meaningful results between New Delhi and Islamabad. The Rajouri incident caused a dent in any positive development with regard to Pak-India relations. The incident prevented two leaders holding a dialogue.

Times of India writes Pakistani businessmen are optimistic of revival of trade between the two countries despite of harsh stance of the Indian foreign minister.

“He spoke about our policies, Kashmir issue, BBC documentary, G20 and all, except the finer details of the meeting,” said Jai Shankar during a session on ‘Foreign Policy of Modi Government’.

Shankar added, “If we have a good guest, I am a good host.”