Stalemate.

There is hardly anything 'foreign' about a country's foreign policy. The internal political, economic and social indicators shape the course of action a country adopts to project and promote its national interest in the regional or international arena. Diplomacy works better in an economically sound or politically stable or socially amenable domestic milieu. No matter how carefully worded the arguments you put forth, your objectives are likely to remain elusive if these are not substantiated by an equally strong eco-political backdrop. Powerful speeches or flowery promises could earn you a day's media coverage or perhaps someplace in 'quotable quotes.' However, words do not provide you with food security or a better environment. Neither do they aid in changing the mindset of a society.

The situation becomes quite enigmatic if you happen to be part of the present interim political setup in Islamabad.

It is then no surprise that Islamabad had to step back from 'vehemently' pleading for the 'imminent humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Understandably, no one in the West seems concerned about the so-called 'terrorist organisation' ruling an opium-producing country and how it would feed forty million hungry mouths in the face of deepening poverty and a collapsing financial system. What is not understood is the fact that Pakistan still feels 'obliged' to defend Kabul on its 'going the wrong way'. The Taliban have a spokesperson that might or might not be 'cutting a sorry figure' before the West, lamenting Afghan parents' 'not knowing how to feed their children' or why 'girls are deprived of rights to education'. Any idea why Islamabad should be answerable to the world for any so-called 'mischievousness' of the present Afghan government?

It is then no surprise that India got away with annexing an internationally disputed territory without facing any opposition from any corner of the world after slashing the 'jugular vein' of Pakistan. Remember Crimea? Besides changing the name of a highway or issuing a few open-ended strong statements through an octogenarian former diplomat or convening a couple of security dialogues, Islamabad perhaps did not have any other plausible response to offer. Any idea if the Foreign Office has updated its brief on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute?

It is then no surprise that the US, following a setback in Afghanistan, has neither forgotten nor forgiven a benign and casually uttered 'absolutely not' even after the...