Imran's possible invite to pose dilemma for Modi

New Delhi: A possible move by the victorious Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) political party to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other SAARC leaders to the swearing-in ceremony of former cricketer Imran Khan as PM of Pakistan may put New Delhi on the horns of a dilemma on whether to accept any such invite. According to media reports from Pakistan, such a move is being considered by the PTI although a final decision is reportedly yet to be taken on the matter ahead of the ceremony that could take place on August 11.

There are some who feel that if PM Modi accepts any invite, it could turn out to be a repeat of what happened earlier when he visited Lahore on December 25, 2015, on the invitation of then PM Nawaz Sharif. That visit was followed almost immediately by the Pathankot terror attack in early 2016 and later the Uri terror attack the same year which were both widely seen as the handiwork of the Pakistan Army and ISI. Also, with the countdown having virtually begun for the Indian general elections in 2019 that are just about eight months away, it could be a huge political risk for the Government and the ruling BJP if PM Modi were to go at this stage. India’s stated position is that terror and talks cannot go together and Islamabad is seen to have done precious little to stop terror from its soil directed against India.

On the other hand, an invite to PM Modi to attend could be seen as a possible fresh start to the peace process and a natural consequence of the offer of a dialogue by Mr. Khan just hours after his political party emerged as the largest one in the Pakistan National Assembly although it fell short of a majority. If Mr. Modi does not attend after an invite, the establishment in Islamabad and particularly Mr. Khan could get a handle to claim that it is India that has not reciprocated the goodwill shown by Pakistan. Islamabad could also point out how its then PM Nawaz Sharif readily accepted a invite from Mr. Modi to attend his swearing-in ceremony as PM in New Delhi in May, 2014.

Either way, the choice made by India in the event of such an invite could prove to be tricky and is bound to generate much debate and controversy in the subcontinent.

Just on Monday, in a huge outreach towards Pakistan, PM Modi had spoken to Mr. Khan  and had hoped that " democracy will take deeper roots in Pakistan" while "reiterating his vision of peace and development in the entire neighbourhood". PM Modi had also congratulated Mr. Khan for his PTI party bagging the largest number of seats in the National Assembly there among all political parities. PM Modi's hope that "democracy will take deeper roots in Pakistan" was seen as significant, in the wake of popular perception that Mr. Khan is the favourite of the Pakistan Army and ISI.

It may be recalled that India had last week also hoped the new Pakistani Government would work towards building a “secure South Asia.”.

India’s veiled message was clear that the problem of terrorism must be dealt with effectively.