Can a visit by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Goa change anything between India and Pakistan? | In Focus podcast

On April 22, Pakistan announced that its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit India for a multilateral meeting. On the same day, five Indian soldiers were killed close to the Line of Control (LOC), pointing out yet again the dangers of unabated terrorism in the country.

On the 22nd of April, Pakistan announced that its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit India for a multilateral meeting with his Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, counterparts. The visit by a Pakistani Foreign Minister to India comes after a long gap. 

Also, on the 22nd of April, five Indian soldiers were killed close to the Line of Control, pointing out yet again the dangers of unabated terrorism in the country. The abrogation of Article 370 and reducing Jammu & Kashmir to a Union Territory in August 2019 has not helped in ending terrorism, belying the tall claims of the Modi government. 

At the same time, Islamist forces and hardline Hindu groups have ensured that dialogue and contact between Pakistan and India is almost non-existent. 

Can a Bilawal Bhutto visit change anything on the ground? 

Guest: Ramnathan Kumar retired as Special Secretary from India’s external intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), and has spent long years working on counter-terrorism and Pakistan-related issues.

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu. 

Edited by Jude Francis Weston