A very critical difference: in May-June 2002, GoI was able to conduct the first democratic elections in J&K since militancy began in 1990. International observers certified the elections as free and fair, depriving the Pakis of the most essential diplomatic weapon they had been using to internationalize J&K and legitimize their support of terrorists there: the alleged abuse of Kashmiris' fundamental rights by India. These elections could be held with a vastly successful turnout only because Parakram had forced Musharraf to close the Jihadi tap.Rangudu wrote:Superficially - not that much different. But..Anujan wrote:Genuine question:
How is this round of "Lets start talking" different from what ABV did?
We could never have used Parakram mobilization to go to war against Pakistan; the prevailing environment of US involvement there made this a foregone conclusion. By pressuring Pakistan not to interfere in the J&K elections, Parakram served it's purpose as well as it could have been expected to. ABV agreeing to talks in October 2002 came from a genuine position of strength in the wake of a major victory that had deprived the Pakis of justification for their long held stand on Kashmir. This MMS debacle is not even comparable, at any level, to what ABV achieved then... If anything it reverses whatever gains the NDA govt made by making terrorism the central issue in Indo Pak dialogue.