Judging by the reports in Pakistani media, Islamabad seems to have been disappointed by Dr. Singh not making any announcement about his visit to Pakistan which it had been expecting to take place sometime in November. The invitation for the visit was extended when President Zardari met him in New Delhi on April 8.All that the Prime Minister said then was that he would visit Pakistan “at a suitable” time. Zardari therefore reiterated his invitation to Dr. Singh to visit Pakistan.

On more than one occasion, India said that Dr. Singh’s visit to Pakistan would take place when a proper climate has been created for it by Pakistan meeting Indian expectations with regard to dealing with terror issue in all its dimensions. Only then would the visit be a fruitful one too.

But that does not seem to be the case as of now. There has not been much progress, in fact, any progress, in Islamabad acting against the culprits of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. It has stuck on the point, more out of convenience than anything else, that the case is  in the court and it can do pretty little to expedite the proceedings. True, no civil government in a truly democratic country has any hold on the judiciary and once the case goes to the court, it is for the judge to decide its fate. But what Islamabad has been overlooking is that unless the prosecution presents a strong case before the court, the outcome can be anybody’s guess. This is where the differences between India and Pakistan lie as far as Mumbai attacks are concerned.   Pakistan, so far, has not given any indication that it is genuinely interested in obtaining a punishment from the court for the culprits. The fact of the matter is that it has all the time tried either to wash off its hands from the incident or put the onus of proving its involvement on India.

Fair enough, but the irony is that Islamabad has not even been cooperating with New Delhi in proving the culprits guilty. It has consistently been refusing to provide the voice samples to New Delhi to prove that the Mumbai attacks were planned and executed from Pakistan and the culprits are the very persons who are roaming freely in Pakistan and engaged in public diatribe against India, day in and day out.

As Pakistan’s leading newspaper the Dawn said Pakistan has to therefore “dispel the impression that the procrastination of the Mumbai suspects’ trial is on purpose”. Much of the trust deficit that exists between  the two countries would be dispelled if Pakistan takes a cue from this statement. That will pave the way forward for a meningful movement.

That there has been no one- to- one meeting between the two leaders in Tehran does speak of less than required speed in dealing with issues the two countries are facing. But all is not lost. There has been significant progress in some fields, particularly trade and commerce. The two countries are set to double the present official turnover of $2.6 billion which in any case is much more than that, if we take into account the trade taking place through third countries via the Middle East and South- East Asian nations. The commerce secretaries of the two countries are scheduled to meet soon to take this movement forward.

The sticking point remains at the political level, however, and there is a lot Pakistan can do on this front. India will continue to flag its concerns over the lack of action by Pakistan in bringing to book those responsible for Mumbai attacks. In the present situation it is only prudent for India to adopt what  Dr. Singh descibed as a “step by step, graduated” approach in view of the complexity of bilateral relations.

As far as other issues like Siachin and Sir creek  are concerend, these are doable to quote Prime Minister Singh provided basic requirements are met. The more complicated issues too can be sorted out with sincerity on both sides.

The Indian Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna is due to visit paksitan on Friday to review the progress of the second round of the bilateral dialogue that was resumed two years ago after the comprehensive dialogue process was derailed by the Mumbai attacks. He will hold discussions with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabani Khar. The two sides will try to explore the areas where progress can be made. But, surely, pakistan’s appraoch in dealing with India’s sensitivites on the terrorism front will again be high on the agenda.

Needless to say, India-Pakistan ties can expand and deepen  in an atmosphare of mutual trust and cordiality. That indeed is in the best interests of the two countries. Let Krishna’s forthcoming visit prove a turning point in taking the bilateral relations to new heights.