Nobody really sure what Modi wants: Pakistani daily

Pakistan is clear about what it wants, but "nobody can really be sure what" Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants, said a Pakistani daily on Thursday.

An editorial in the Nation appeared on Thursday, a day when Pakistan's Rangers' chief met the chief of India's Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi.

The daily said that Modi's foreign policy has "brought his own personality center-stage to the neglect of institutions and peace".

"Under his shadow, the Foreign Office has been sidelined, professionalism has been cast to the winds and external affairs have been rendered a decorative irrelevancy. Though Pakistan is clear about what it wants, nobody can really be sure what Modi wants.

"We are only seeing a series of ambiguous stands by him. Was his intention of the Ufa meeting to resume the India-Pakistan dialogue, or to sabotage it? If Modi remains mired in the belief that the Hurriyat issue is more important than putting India-Pakistan relations back on track, then there is nothing to talk about," added the editorial.

It said that PM's Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will settle for nothing less than what he thinks is necessary to tackle regarding India, "but will India let him?"

Aziz has made it clear that Kashmir must be on the agenda of any bilateral engagement with them and that the talks are essentially taking place on the principle of equality.

He has said that the parleys of national security advisers were scrapped last month because of "Indian rigidity over Kashmir" and made it clear that the Indian prime minister is "indeed the main culprit".

The daily said that Aziz is of the opinion that Modi wants to dictate terms for the dialogue with Pakistan.

He, however, hoped that the Rangers-BSF meeting will ease tensions along the LoC and Working Boundary.

"The meeting might get infected with the ongoing war of words and arms between the two neighbours - but Pakistan should not deviate from this firm stance. The fact of the matter is that no progress has been made with Pakistan taking a soft stance. It is time to play hard ball," said the daily.