Source: AT
While it is alright to insist that Geelani is an Indian citizen and that Kashmir is an integral part of India – or, that the only thing to discuss with Pakistan is its vacation of occupied territories – the ground reality is that Pakistan can be of help in calming the situation in the Valley.
Also, it is a geopolitical reality that Pakistan can be helpful if it wishes to. And Delhi has experienced more than once in the past history of the Kashmir problem that Pakistan may keep an open mind even when things look as if the chips are down.
Therefore, a phone call by Modi to Sharif in the wake of the Quetta tragedy would have made eminent sense as a tactical underpinning to Sinha’s mission, which aims at political reconciliation.
There are times when a statesman must also be a historian, for, as Edmund Burke said in his famous speech of September 22, 1775 on Great Britain’s conciliation with America, ‘Otherwise, he is a mere empiric.’