Business as unusual

Indias decision not to attend the upcoming South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference in Islamabad marks a long overdue statement of a simple principle: Diplomatic engagement between South
Asias two nuclear powers cannot exist in a bubble, unaffected by the crises
erupting around it. That New Delhi is not alone in its ire has also become clear.
Dhaka, incensed by Pakistans declarations of support for war-criminals it is
prosecuting for their roles in the 1971 genocide, has followed New Delhis lead;
Afghanistans president, Ashraf Ghani, has chosen to stay away, saying he is
busy dealing with imposed terrorism. Bhutan, though not a directly affected
party, has stood by India, too. The decision not to attend SAARC is not of any
great strategic consequence; the grouping has been long rendered dysfunctional
by the many varied neurosis the region is beset by. However, New Delhi has
sent out a clear message that business will not go on as usual. There is no doubt
New Delhi needed to send out this message, or risk being pushed by public
opinion into more visceral, and damaging, courses of action.
The reality is that boycotting SAARC will not hurt Pakistan in any meaningful
way. Nor will regional isolation. China, the United States and the Persian Gulf
states are Pakistans big concerns, not Bangladesh or Afghanistan. Here, Indian
diplomacy has a tough task ahead. The US, always wary of rising tensions in
South Asia, called on Wednesday for a de-escalation of the political discourse
in the region, adding that it wished to see normalisation of the relationship
between India and Pakistan. Frustrated as it might be at Pakistans continued
provision of safe havens to terrorists, Washington has proved reluctant to crack
the whip, fearing it will lose what influence it has among the generals who run
the country. Leverage comes with a price and having determined that it is

willing to continue tolerating some level of Pakistan-backed terrorism against

its own troops, Washington clearly wants New Delhi to do the same.
In resisting calls to go to war, or to sever diplomatic relations with Pakistan,
Prime Minister Modi has acted with wisdom: The SAARC move signals Indias
anger, without closing any doors that might be important in days and weeks to
come. The danger, though, is that New Delhi is trying to do too much, too
quickly. The emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who represented the zenith of Roman
imperial power, peppered his letters to his governors with two words: Spuede
bradeos, or make haste slowly. To the efficient despatch of business, the prime
minister must add the slowness of careful reflection.