Pakistan Take First Step to Normalise Ties
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Article summary
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor stated that India will not take the first step to normalise ties with Pakistan, placing the onus squarely on Islamabad to dismantle terror networks operating from its soil before any diplomatic engagement can resume. Tharoor's remarks reflect a broad cross-party consensus in India that state-sponsored or state-tolerated terrorism remains the fundamental obstacle to bilateral normalisation. The statement comes in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which significantly escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. India has consistently maintained that talks and terror cannot go together, a position now reinforced by both the ruling dispensation and the principal opposition. For UPSC aspirants, this episode underscores the interplay between domestic political consensus, counter-terrorism imperatives, and the structural constraints shaping India's Pakistan policy.
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Sample questions — answers revealed after test
Q1. In the context of India–Pakistan relations following the Pahalgam attack (April 2025) and Operation Sindoor, which of the following punitive diplomatic measures did India undertake?
Q2. Pakistan's Foreign Minister signals willingness to resume bilateral talks with India without preconditions, arguing that dialogue itself builds trust. A senior Indian opposition leader responds that India's position has not changed. Which of the following scenarios, if true, would MOST directly undermine Pakistan's diplomatic strategy of using electoral cycles to seek a softer Indian stance?
Q3. Consider the following statements regarding India's evolving Pakistan policy in the post-Pahalgam (2025) context: 1. India's shift from 'composite dialogue' to 'conditional reciprocity' means that diplomatic normalisation is now tied to verifiable counter-terrorism benchmarks rather than simultaneous progress across multiple bilateral issues. 2. India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty represents an unprecedented use of a legally binding international agreement as a coercive diplomatic instrument, signalling willingness to escalate beyond conventional diplomatic tools. 3. Pakistan's removal from the FATF grey list in 2022 has substantially reduced India's capacity to use multilateral financial pressure as a lever against Islamabad. 4. The principle that 'talks and terror cannot go together' was first articulated prominently by India following the 2019 Pulwama attack. Which of the statements given above are correct?