If you were to be charitable you would say that India’s Pakistan policy is dynamic, as it changes according to the times. If you were to be hyper-critical then you would say India’s Pakistan policy, regardless of which party is in power, is knee-jerk reactive to events.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister in the Russian city of Ufa about a week ago, there were cheers that went out in many capitals in the world. Expectations soared once again that the two countries would return to the negotiating table and attempt to settle outstanding issues.