The PM's changed narrative to navigate relations with Islamabad is fraught with risks

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was at her eloquent best when she described India-Pakistan ties as a "road filled with potholes on which at times car shock absorbers break and tyres get punctured, but each time we stabilise and talk again". Like the road to hell, it is also paved with good intentions that have gone terribly wrong, the latest being the ugly failure of the Ufa agreement to resume the stalled dialogue. As one diplomat involved in the negotiations put it, "We knew it was over when Pakistan began backtracking days after the Ufa agreement in July. But it was decided to play out the family drama in public so that you are not accused of beating your wife."

So what went wrong? The main reason is that Narendra Modi, in his role as India's prime ambassador, is developing a new Indian car to drive on the perilous road towards peace with Pakistan, which Islamabad wants to forestall. India Mark M (for Modi) is fitted with the horsepower of a government that commands a majority. It has spacious windows to view its neighbours, including Pakistan, through a wider spectrum, and has a turbo switch to accelerate the three Cs that Modi is pushing for: contact, connectivity and co-operation. It is also fitted with protective armour and fire power to withstand and repel any malicious attack.