The Latest: Top stories of the day
1. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said the peace process between India and Pakistan had been "suspended," sending mixed messages after his government suggested otherwise.
2. A Bangladeshi student, who posted against Islamism on Facebook, was murdered on a busy Dhaka street.
3. Panama papers: UK Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted to having a stake in his father's offshore fund.
The Big Story: Bipolar Border
It has always been evident that New Delhi's attempts to talk to Pakistan involve dealing with at least two power centres – one being the civilian government in Islamabad and the other the Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence in Rawalpindi. That these two power structures are rarely on the same page has always been apparent, but on Thursday it seemed to be even more blatant than usual.
As sections of the Pakistani press railed on about the arrest of an alleged Indian intelligence officer in Balochistan, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India told reporters that the peace process had been suspended and raised questions about the willingness to talk further. And yet, soon after, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that efforts are still on between New Delhi and Islamabad to continue negotiations and dialogue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, have been unusually accommodative with each other over the last few months, despite the Pathankot Attacks or, for that matter, the arrest of the alleged Indian agent. Thursday's comments made it seem as if Basit wanted to put an end to that, even if Sharif wasn't entirely on board.
India's response was to put a mild, passive-aggressive statement out and leave it at that. But Basit's "suspended" comments will certainly reverberate and give fodder to sections of the Indian commentariat that do not believe Modi should even attempt to talk to Pakistan. If the rhetoric over Pakistan's alleged duplicity starts to get louder, will New Delhi be able to withstand calls for it to break off?
The Big Scroll
Four months into 2016, India and Pakistan are back to bickering about each other. Even Google Maps knows how dysfunctional India-Pakistan relations are.
Politicking & Policying
1. Uttar Pradesh Police said a relative had admitted to shooting National Investigation Officer Mohammad Tanzil for allegedly "bullying" has family.
2. Protests continued at the National Institute of Technology Srinagar, with the Human Resource Development Ministry telling students they can leave and take exams later as well.
3. The Bombay High Court has allowed the first Indian Premier League match to take place in Mumbai, but put the onus on the Board for Control of Cricket in India to ensure water is used carefully.
4. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five Aam Aadmi Party leaders were granted bail in defamation case filed by Arun Jaitley.
5. The Human Resource Development Minsitry told PTI that undergraduate fees at the Indian Institutes of Technology will be raised from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2 lakh per year.
6. Political parties in West Bengal have been questioning a mysterious surge in the final voting percentage of a number of constituencies in the first phase of elections.
Punditry
1. India needs to lend its voice to the global clamour to shut down tax havens in the world, writes Prashant Bhushan in the Indian Express. Pratap Bhanu Mehta says reaction to the Panama Papers in India will be muted.
2. The Panama Papers indicate that a large section of the rich contribute not only to inequality of income and wealth but also to the inequality of ethicality, writes Shefalee Vasudev in Mint.
3. The moral panic that has gripped large sections of the Indian public is related to the fears about the democratising opportunities offered by campuses today, writes Janaki Nair in the Hindu.
Don't Miss
Mridula Chari walks down to Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar where jewellers are still on strike, and will lose out on the Gudi Padwa business.
“Usually, this time of the year is full for us,” said Nitin Ghodai, a self-described karigar who rents a room where ten other artisans work to shape gold. “We don’t even have the time to eat because of all the orders. Now, we are not getting even one gram of work, so even if we stay, there won’t be any point.”
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