External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking at the launch of Ambassador Rajiv Sikri’s book, Strategic Conundrums: The book “Reinventing India; Reshaping India’s Foreign Policy,” outlined a drastic change in India’s friendly relations with Pakistan. Jaishankar was clear that India is not returning to the model of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan. He pointed out that everything has its repercussions, and he mentioned about scrapping of Article 370, which is a stand on every issue concerning Jammu and Kashmir.
Jaishankar said, “I think days of continuous dialogue with Pakistan are over; Actions have consequences. ” He also pointed out that Article 370 was no longer in force; the question about Jammu and Kashmir was what kind of relationship could be envisaged with Pakistan now; whether one remained at the present level or moved up or down, India was no longer passive; it would respond to occurrences positively or negatively. ”
Speaking about Afghanistan, Jaishankar pointed to the strong subject-to-subject relations between India and Afghanistan that exist but, at the same time, cannot overlook the political processes occurring in the region. “Afghanistan is not the same country as it would be without Americans present there today,” he pointed out, adding that India’s policy towards Afghanistan should not be based on what history says but rather on what is going on in the world today.
While speaking of the relations with Bangladesh, Jaishankar stressed shared interests and flexibility. He said, “It has been ever a cyclical experience that we share with Bangladesh since its independence and it only requires the acknowledgement of the political change that may affect the cooperation with the current government. ”
In Myanmar, Jaishankar analyzed the regional relations issue and noted that the context of Northeast India is critical. “Myanmar is both close and far away. We need to sort out relations with the government and other parties because the region is very important. ”
This fact is also evident from how Jaishankar has expressed aspects of India’s foreign policy, which call for flexibility and situation-aware strategies.
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!