India's new foreign secretary takes office this week facing a huge task of improving ties with Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks as political opposition grows that the government is appeasing its nuclear-armed neighbor. Nirupama Rao, a career civil servant and now the Asian power's top diplomat, starts her new job after a raucous week in parliament in which the opposition accused the Congress-led government of selling out India's national interests. At the crux of the controversy was a declaration made at an India-Pakistan summit in Egypt last month in which India appeared to delink terrorism from a broader peace process that India halted after November's attacks. The government also drew flak for agreeing to include in the joint statement a reference to the Pakistani province of Balochistan, where Pakistan accuses India of fomenting an insurgency. New Delhi denies the charge. The statement surprised many analysts, for it appeared to grant a victory to Pakistan by diluting New Delhi's stand that a resumption of talks could only take place if Pakistan acted against militants it believed were behind the Mumbai attacks. Some members of the ruling Congress party questioned whether New Delhi had gone too far. Others asked whether former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon had made an unusual blunder. “She (Rao) faces a huge challenge – stepping into the confusion that was created with the aftermath of Sharm El-Sheikh that has called into question the capabilities of the external affairs ministry,” said Kanwal Sibal, a former Indian foreign secretary, referring to the summit in Egypt. “She will start a bit on the defensive.” Controversy lives on The controversy highlights how politically risky it is to push peace with Pakistan and underscored the government's potential weakness despite a resounding election victory in May. As India's top foreign policy civil servant, India's foreign policy is not just in Rao's hands as she defers to politicians like Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna. But foreign secretaries exert huge influence as the point-person in negotiations with Pakistan and they are the ones that often make subtle changes to policy in the potential minefield of South Asian diplomacy. Since the Egypt summit, the government has appeared to backtrack, saying Pakistan must bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, in which 175 people died, as a condition for the peace process to move ahead. But the controversy lives on and it may force Rao to step more cautiously on Pakistan and restrict her ability to make these kind of subtle policy steps. She will also have to tread carefully on other issues like relations with China and relations with US President Barack Obama. While the Egypt summit agreed that the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India should meet regularly, that may also now be more politically-charged than any diplomat would like. “The controversy has ensured whatever steps the government takes, she will be under intense scrutiny and it may well erode her room for meaningful manoeuvre,” said Siddharth Varadarajan, strategic affairs editor of the Hindu newspaper. “The opposition ears are up. She has an unenviable task.” For Rao, the policy of seeking peace with Pakistan could also stumble if Pakistan makes no concessionary signals. A Pakistani trial against the alleged planners of the Mumbai attacks has already been delayed a month and the alleged mastermind of the raids was ordered free by a Pakistan court. But Rao has received wide praise for her previous jobs in China and Sri Lanka. As former foreign policy spokeswoman, she is also seen as more media savvy than her predecessor. “She was not part of whatever happened in Sharm El-Sheikh,” said former foreign secretary G. Parthasarathy. “And the government had learnt its lesson.”
