Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was the face of peace-making all through the last decade, when Pakistan engaged the ruling Indian establishment under both the BJP and Congress...and the two sides came the closest ever to breaking the over-half-century-old Kashmir impasse. Here, the former Pakistan foreign minister registers his disappointment over recent events in an email interview to Preetha Nair. Excerpts:
As you look back, what have been the obvious political ramifications of the removal of Article 370? How has it impacted Indo-Pak ties?
We must understand what was achieved in the past and, thus, what has been lost by India’s action. History will record August 5 as a Black Day for Kashmir, for India (as recent events seem to indicate), as well as for Pakistan-India relations. As someone who has worked for and almost succeeded, along with my Indian counterparts, in arriving at a possible framework for a solution for Kashmir through the backchannel, I am particularly unhappy. I cannot but refer to our...