Najam on India-Pakistan Talks on Singapore Radio
Dean Adil Najam of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston Univeristy is happy that India and Pakistan are talking again, but remains cautious in his assessment of what may come out of these talks. These starts have happened way too often, only to halt again, for us to hold our breath, says Najam. Najam said this speaking to Singapore’s English language news radio station MediaCorp 938LIVE in an interview that immediately followed the announcement of resumed talks (9 December, 2015).
Najam pointed out that the resumption of talks has been motivated by external pressure, especially from the United States, as well as changing internal dynamics, especially in India. He hoped that this latest thaw would last longer than previous attempts but said that this would depend in great part on the Indian government’s ability to curb rising anti-Muslim xenophobia amongst its political allies.
When asked if he expected any big breakthroughs, Najam said that rather than big breakthroughs he hoped that both countries would try to consolidate stable small steps forward so that habits of cooperation can be built. “Without successful small steps first, no big breakthroughs should be expected,” he said. The most likely of these small steps, according to Najam, is a resumption of cricket matches between the two countries.
Interestingly, the announcement was triggered by a sequence of events that started with a brief side-meeting between Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan) and Narendra Modi (India) in Paris, on the sidelines of the climate change negotiations, on November 30, 2015. Dean Adil Najam had accompanied the Pakistan Prime Minister at these meetings and was present during his meeting with the Indian Prime Minister (see photo above).