How do you see former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees peace efforts?
On the issue of Kashmir I don’t lay much weight on individual leaders on both sides. As I said before, Indian elites and the Pakistan Army matter. From 1947 onwards, our most powerful prime ministers like Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and to some extent Rajiv Gandhi had very little control over our foreign policy vis–vis Pakistan. They can deal with America or Britain in their own way, but with Pakistan it’s a national consensus that works. No powerful PM has had enough power to shift this consensus on a personal basis. In Pakistan too, Ayub Khan, Bhutto, Zia, Nawaz Sharief (in his second innings), and now Musharraf, none of these powerful leaders has hadpersonal control over moving the Kashmir issue. Only the institution called the Pakistan Army matters. The Pakistan Army at its top works like a cabinet. No army chief can give away anything. Therefore, the Pakistan Army will have to deal with the Indian elite, which includes the Indian media and not just the PM of India or the Indian governm
