Pakistan media hails ‘breakthrough’ revival of dialogue with India

Breakthrough diplomacy. The revival of dialogue between India and Pakistan hogged headlines in leading Pakistani news media outlets, with most publications hailing it as a breakthrough and a new journey of peace.

Ending months of bitterness, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad on December 9 launched a new architecture of engagement entitled Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue.

Commenting on Ms Swaraj’s visit, one of Pakistan’s leading daily ‘The Nation’ said, “Pakistan and India yesterday set out on a journey to ‘peace’ as Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj landed in Islamabad”. It further added saying, “This is the first visit by an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan in more than three years. It is also the first significant engagement between the two nuclear-armed nations since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi met in Ufa, Russia, in July.”

The Dawn reported it as “Breakthrough at ‘Heart of Asia’: Pakistan, India to resume ‘comprehensive’ talks. The report said, “The rapprochement is, importantly, based on a commitment by Pakistan that it would expedite the trial of Mumbai accused — a promise that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also made during his visit to the White House in November, where he had pledged to take effective action against Lashkar-e-Taiba and its affiliates.”

Applauding the progress made in the relations between the two countries, ‘The Express Tribune’ reported it as ‘Breakthrough at last’. The report said, “Ten days and three meetings — that’s all it took Pakistan and India to break a years-old deadlock in their strained relations.” Further, it also said, “A ‘chance meeting’ between their prime ministers in Paris and surprise talks between their national security advisers in Bangkok led to a formal meeting between their top foreign policy officials in Islamabad on Wednesday which produced a major agreement: resumption of a stalled dialogue process.”

The progress in bilateral relations between the two countries from a composite dialogue to a comprehensive bilateral dialogue has been welcomed by the media and analysts in both countries, signaling a change in atmospherics and the promise of sustained engagement between the two subcontinental neighbours.

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