From the spate of articles in the Indian media it seems that the Zardari visit has been a success and that it was just what the Indians were waiting for. There is very little mention of the previous refrain about the military calling the shots and the civil government being helpless. This is a good sign and hopefully the two governments will take their cue from the Manmohan–Zardari meeting and make significant progress before the Indian Prime Minister visits Pakistan.
President Zardari had planned a private visit to visit the holy shrine at Ajmer—a much revered Sufi saint’s burial place. Obviously he hoped that the Indians would do something besides just extend courtesy and protocol. There are those who think that the visit to the shrine was orchestrated to create an opportunity for a meeting where the two leaders could speak frankly. If this was not the case then the options for the Indians were to just let it remain a private visit or to extend an invitation for an official visit with all its implications or to do what they did—turn it into a kind of working visit. This worked well because from all accounts the visit was a success and achieved much in terms of understanding and trust. The Indians seem to have come to the conclusion that Mr Zardari and his son are people they can work with.
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