Editorial
Diplomacy win-win for both
Cricket result notwithstanding
The WC semi-final encounter between India and Pakistan, two cricketing rivals brought heads of government of the two arch rival countries under the same roof and for hours together. It was indeed, in terms of duration and quality, a diplomatic engagement, not on the sidelines of cricket, but turned out to be something of a mainstream event in its own right. It was uninhibited by formalities or schedules or any rigidity of pre-arranged agenda.
In contrast to the high tension inside the Mohali stadium, there was no result-scoring pressure on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh nor on his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani. The added value was in the host-guest friendliness in the field at the crowd level of supporters of both teams.
Relaxed, Manmohan and Gilani made full use of the huge block of time at their disposal talking a whole range of bilateral issues and sharing concerns for resolving them in the enlightened interest of both countries.
After the post-match dinner while meeting the press both prime ministers sounded a positive note of resolve to grapple with outstanding problems. Manmohan said, "Whatever may be the differences between the two countries, we have to devise ways to resolve them bilaterally". Gilani reciprocated saying, India and Pakistan have the capacity to settle their differences bilaterally. Their realization that they have to solve their problems all by themselves will be welcomed everywhere.
Cricket has really played a catalytic role in a specific way in the sense that both the prime ministers have expressed their joint resolve to start a long term process of negotiations to come to terms with each other on a wide range of issues. If they go about building tangibly on the positive vibes from cricket-centred Mohali diplomacy, the region as well as the two countries will benefit from an ambience of peaceful coexistence.
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