“People who ask us when we will hold talks with Pakistan are perhaps not aware that over the last 55 years,
every initiative for a dialogue with Pakistan has invariably come from India.”
-Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
While this is entirely untrue, it just depicts the unwillingness that India has always had to hold dialogue with Pakistan. In recent time, things were looking up for a change, one premier was flying in for a surprise visit to the other, and were seen the pair whispering intently with each other at international forums, perhaps that was all too much for hardliners to bear. The Pathankot air base attack that killed seven Indian soldiers in January changed everything and the events that have unfolded since then only go to show that being hopeful when it comes to Pakistan and India relations is a futile effort. India had previously blamed militants from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) for the assault on the Pathankot air base in the northern state of Indian Punjab, which triggered two days of gunbattles. But on Tuesday the Indian defence minister now said the militants could not have carried out the attack without Islamabad’s support, pointing fingers once again, coming to a full circle. Peace will have to wait all the more longer.