Reference Text
Time Left10:00
With
Imran
Khan
preparing
to
take
oath
as
the
next
PM
of
Pakistan,
there
have
been
reports
about
former
Indian
cricket
stars
Kapil
Dev,
Sunil
Gavaskar
and
Navjot
Singh
Sidhu
being
on
the
guest
list.
As
also
Bollywood
celebrity
Aamir
Khan.
Although
speculations
were
rife
that
Khan
was
also
looking
to
invite
Indian
PM
Narendra
Modi
for
his
swearing-in,
the
tantalising
possibility
of
such
a
photo-op
has
been
quashed.
Nonetheless,
the
very
fact
that
Khan
was
planning
to
invite
his
Indian
cricket
contemporaries
and
friends
indicates
some
willingness
to
script
a
fresh
chapter
in
India-Pakistan
ties.
But
the
two
countries
have
been
here
before.
After
former
Pakistan
PM
Nawaz
Sharif
attended
Modi's
swearing-in
ceremony
in
2014,
there
were
similar
hopes
that
the
two
countries
would
chart
a
new
modus
vivendi.
However,
things
quickly
took
a
downward
turn
thereafter
until
the
surprise
Modi
stopover
in
Pakistan
in
December
2015
appeared
to
provide
a
huge
fillip
to
the
engagement
process.
Then
it
was
the
terror
attack
on
India's
Pathankot
airbase
in
January
2016
and
the
Uri
terror
attack
on
an
Indian
army
base
in
September
of
that
year
impelling
the
Indian
military
to
conduct
retaliatory
surgical
strikes
across
the
LoC
that
seriously
(and
understandably)
soured
the
mood.
Add
to
this
the
role
of
agents
from
across
the
border
in
the
widespread
unrest
in
Kashmir
following
militant
Burhan
Wani's
death
in
the
summer
of
2016,
and
the
engagement
process
once
again
came
off
the
rails.
It's
against
this
backdrop
that
Khan
takes
over
as
the
new
Pakistan
PM.
And
while
he
has
talked
about
boosting
trade
with
India,
he
has
also
stuck
to
the
Pakistan
army's
position
of
Kashmir
being
the
core
issue
in
bilateral
relations.
Given
that
Rawalpindi
GHQ
is
the
real
author
of
Pakistan's
India
policy,
it
will
be
interesting
to
see
how
Khan
manages
the
generals.
That
said,
Khan's
connections
with
India
are
better
than
most
in
Pakistan.
He
has
an
opportunity
to
break
the
mould
in
bilateral
ties.
Telephoning
Khan
to
congratulate
him
Modi
reportedly
said,
“We
are
ready
to
enter
a
new
era
of
relations
with
Pakistan.”
Khan
talked
a
moderate
line
in
his
victory
speech
too
but
none
of
this
can
paper
over
how
his
party
flirted
with
radical
positions
during
the
campaign.
So
New
Delhi
will
be
cautiously
optimistic.
With
Imran
Khan
preparing
to
take
oath
as
the
next
PM
of
Pakistan,
there
have
been
reports
about
former
Indian
cricket
stars
Kapil
Dev,
Sunil
Gavaskar
and
Navjot
Singh
Sidhu
being
on
the
guest
list.
As
also
Bollywood
celebrity
Aamir
Khan.
Although
speculations
were
rife
that
Khan
was
also
looking
to
invite
Indian
PM
Narendra
Modi
for
his
swearing-in,
the
tantalising
possibility
of
such
a
photo-op
has