UK media sees Zardari-Singh meeting as a photo session

LONDON: English media reviews of President Asif Ali Zaradari’s India yatra reminded how politics in the Sub-continent remained “family-dominated” business as two heirs of the biggest political dynasties - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of Pakistan People’s Party and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi - exchanged vows and pleasantries.
Media reviews said that Pakistani President’s visit lived up to one definite expectation that it will achieve nothing substantial other than being a photo opportunity and the usual issuance of insipid statements, meaning nothing substantial. It was noted that the visit looked more focussed on forming and cementing relations between the anointed political heirs Bilawal Bhutto Zaradri, 23, and Rahul Gandhi, 41, whose grandparents Indra Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and their children Benazir Bhutto and Rajiv Gandhi were not only friends and enjoyed good rapport but also took pride in their closeness, their pedigree and the shared history. Bilawal also invited his Indian counterpart to visit Pakistan.
Asif Ali Zardari made a visit to the 12th century shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer on Sunday with his 40 strong entourage.
Media mentioned how the visit was overshadowed by the recent US offer of $10m (£6.2m) reward on Professor Hafiz Saeed, the founder of militant Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been accused of Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
Writing for the BBC, Kanwal Sibal, India’s former foreign secretary, said that the meeting between Indian Premier Manmohan Singh and President Zardari was “shorter than expected” at about 40 minutes.
The senior diplomat said the private meeting was a bland show as “India and Pakistan are already engaged in a structured bilateral dialogue” covering the whole gamut of bilateral issues and there was nothing new to be discussed or negotiated as India’s expectations from Pakistan are known very well and Pakistan’s answers are known too. “It was important for both leaders to assure their publics that ‘core’ issues had been flagged,” he wrote.
The Guardian quoted a western diplomat describing the visit as “good news after a lot of grim news”. It quoted Manoj Joshi, a Delhi-based security analyst, as saying: “Historically, whenever things have been stuck, they have eventually got unblocked. Both [leaders] are keen on a peace agenda and this [kind of meeting] means they can get together informally without the pressure of coming up with any solution.”
The Independent said “there was no major announcement, no official breakthrough” in the talks but the talks “could be the start of a new chapter for the two countries after many years of turmoil and tension”
Ajay Gudavarthy, a political scientist at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told the paper: “I think this is a new beginning that has to be taken very seriously,” he said. “The body-language was one thing, the informality was another. The informality is something that is very new.”
The Financial Times said Indo-Pak diplomatic dance is being closely watched by the US, which hopes a reduction in tensions might help bolster stability in Afghanistan. It quoted a commentator as saying that there was “no major breakthrough in terms of the specifics” but “both sides have reiterated their commitment to keep this relation on a stable track”.