New Delhi is preparing to roll out the red carpet for General Parvez Musharraf. The havelis of Daryaganj are being spruced up. One would not be surprised if 'Karim's Restaurant' next to the Jama Masjid will be showcased as the producer of the best kebabs in the subcontinent, ready to take on the kebabwallahs of Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi as the producers of Mughalai culinary delights!!

We do, after all, now seem to believe that symbols are more important than substance. It is, therefore, not surprising that few people seem to be interested in the growing deterioration in the country's internal security situation. Our attentions seem to be more focused on issues like whether the artillery or the grenadiers should have the honour of presenting arms to the architect of Kargil.

Amidst all these lively developments one is still mystified as to what precisely caused the government to change its mind and do a policy u-turn on its approach to a dialogue with the Musharraf dispensation. With a friendly Bush administration in Washington, Indian diplomacy had for the first time succeeded in creating a situation where the heat was on Islamabad to cool its ardor for the causes of jehadis and not on Delhi to unconditionally talk to Islamabad. We were advised that one of the factors behind this turnaround was the Pakistani decision to observe "maximum restraint" along the Line of Control.

rest of the article is at http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jun/06gp.htm

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