Padgaonkar: A Clueless Interlocuter or Enemy of the State?

If Dileep Padgaonkar has a brain then it is working independently of his mouth. The first step in diplomacy is to speak out as little as you can. This man has started to shoot off his unsanitary trap on the first day he landed. He maybe an experienced journalist but he is not a bright guy. Experience is no substitute for intellect. The people who appointed this loose cannon bear the major burden of this faux pas. They should know better unless they are banking on this guy making mistakes.
BJP's own, Ram Jethmalani also spoke out supporting this blabbermouth. Why? It is because, to paraphrase Prof. Vaidyanathan, there is an entire generation of Hindus in India who nurse this romance for Pakistani things. Our own Advani jee fell into that trap when he started singing paeans for Jinnah. Jethmalani is guilty of the same mistake.
Only the newer generation like the author of the attached op-ed (Vivek Gumaste) can see the Pakistanis for whom they really are: a huge problem, a thorn is the side of the entire civilization. I don't know about the aam Pakistani but the Pakistani decision makers have no interest in peace. They benefit from the unending state of conflict. It validates their existence and position of power. Their lust for power and disdain for their own people is only exceeded by their hatred for India. The sooner we realize this, the faster we will come to terms with the fact that the best we can do is an uneasy status quo.

Kashmir: Pakistan is the problem not the solution.
"It is always a dicey proposition when the establishment recruits apolitical personnel to resolve a political crisis.....
....Well equipped on paper but challenged in terms of practical experience, these individuals lack the political savvy and discretionary acumen necessary to deal with seasoned manipulators. This was evident on their first day in Kashmir, when the chief interlocutor, Dileep Padgaonkar shot his mouth off without any thought for the ramifications of his speech. He averred: "We are here to look for a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue… but a permanent solution is not possible without the involvement of Pakistan."
There is one simple reason why Pakistan cannot be a catalyst for the solution because Pakistan is the problem, period. Pakistan is the single hurdle standing in the path of a successful resolution to the Kashmir conundrum."
The article can be read at: http://news.rediff.com/column/2010/oct/26/kashmir-pakistan-is-the-problem-not-the-solution.htm