India-Pakistan relations would have had a great past if diplomatic initiatives were the key thing. Alas, it takes a lot to translate good intentions into good deeds when it comes to ties between these two countries that speak the same language with the same accent, eat the same food, and hum the same tunes. What’s more, the people

of India and Pakistan appear to bear each other no visceral animosity, although much has happened in the past that is terrible. Perhaps this is why political leaders from both sides occasionally say or do things that are pleasing to the ear on the other side. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s invitation to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani of Pakistan to join him at Mohali on March 30 to see their respective countries play each other in the semi-final of the cricket World Cup can be said to fall in this category. There is no trickery here, no googly, no reverse swing. This much will be appreciated in Islamabad as well.
The good thing about Dr Singh’s invitation is that it cannot cause a setback, especially since expectations are seldom high in India-Pakistan relations. It has been reported that Dr Singh did not consult the ministry of external affairs in extending the invitation. Bureaucracies on both sides tend to be conservative, and are also short on ideas that may have a potential to break the logjam. Indeed, the history of ties between the two countries shows that new moves — or new ideas — have come from high political levels. This was so at Thimphu last May — to go back no further — when the bilateral meeting between the two PMs on the sidelines of the Saarc summit ended up becoming the high point of the gathering. The Mumbai attack by Pakistan-trained terrorists had deepened the trust deficit between New Delhi and Islamabad and had also led to inflamed feelings at the people level in India. Yet, the Indian leader took courage in both hands in an effort to break the ice, and virtually set the tone for a resumption of dialogue, ruptured in the aftermath of Mumbai. Alas, not much has happened since then although the home ministers, foreign ministers and foreign secretaries of the two countries have met.
These transactions led to some more airing of bitterness, but also produced further exchanges at the level of senior bureaucrats. Pakistan has made the right noises but done little to give India satisfaction on the count of punishing the men behind the Mumbai outrage. Yet Dr Singh has pushed ahead in the hope that the neighbours must never cease talking. This is a sort of doctrine that sometimes amazes the world. But this is exactly what the Western world desires (they theatrically say they fear a nuclear Armageddon if dialogue is not maintained) although Westerners would never be caught adopting such a stance themselves. The home secretaries of the two countries would have met in New Delhi just before the Mohali match. With the Prime Minister’s invitation out, it is unlikely that this meeting would be short on the right words.
Cricket diplomacy began in 1987 when General Zia-ul-Haq virtually invited himself to a cricket game in Jaipur. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had to hastily extend an invitation in the wake of Operation Brasstacks. The irony is that civility is restored in the wake of such events, but in the end matters remain where they were. Thank the Pakistan armed forces establishment for this.