IN THE recent history of relations between India and Pakistan, it has seemed an immutable law: that any apparent political breakthrough will be followed by a terrorist atrocity in India blamed on agents of the Pakistani state. The bloodiest of these—a murderous assault on Mumbai in 2008—brought a chill that has yet to thaw. And just last July, after India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, had met his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, at a regional summit in Russia and agreed that their national-security advisers should hold talks, terrorists attacked a police station in the Indian state of Punjab.
The latest turn in this cycle is remarkable both for the drama of the breakthrough and for the daring of the terrorist response. On December 25th Mr Modi, en route from Kabul to Delhi, made an impromptu stopover in Lahore in Pakistan. He dropped in on Mr Sharif, who was celebrating both his own birthday and his granddaughter’s wedding. No Indian prime minister had set foot in Pakistan since 2004, and much hugging, hand-holding and bonhomie ensued. It formed part of a series of diplomatic contacts intended to be followed by the launch...Continue reading
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