Waiting to exhale!

There’s a storm brewing in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Rarely have I seen the Foreign Service in such a twist. And not without cause, if the reasons they cite are anything to go by.

Most of their ire, so far is aimed across Raisina Hill, at the Ministry of Home Affairs. In particular, P Chidambaram, the Home Minister, who most in the MEA feel, has become a law unto himself.

“I knew he was arrogant and liked to rule over his minions,” an MEA official told me, “But now his arrogance has begun to affect the credibility of the country.” He was talking about the series of ridiculously embarrassing blunders in the list of India’s 50-most wanted, that had been handed over to Pakistan with much flourish. “Together with the Samjhauta case on a platter in the name of India’s ‘secular’ credentials, we have completely lost our credibility and cannot hold Pakistan convincingly accountable for anything in the future,” he said, adding, “Such was the arrogance of Chidambaram, that he did not even bother to consult the MEA on the list before it was handed over to Pakistani officials. Today, there is not a single of his officers who is willing to speak up. Such is his lordship’s impact,” he added.

A lot of the frustration within the MEA is also about being caught with too many masters to be accountable to. From day-1 in UPA-II, it’s been the norm that the PMO takes the big calls on India’s external relations. In fact, at his first press interaction after taking oath as External Affairs Minister in UPA-II, I asked SM Krishna what his mandate was, because the road-map and decision making process of the MEA had been taken over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. His answer was a wry one. He said: “My job is to play second fiddle to the Prime Minister”. That answer did send attending IFS officers into a bit of a fiddle, but Krishna had hit the nail on the head. With Pranab Mukherjee moving ministries, Krishna wasn’t expected to be ‘strong enough’ to chart India’s foreign policy agenda. It was even more disconcerting then, to see 2 Ministers of State being added to the MEA, when the Minister himself had little work to dispense.

Things became further complicated for Foreign Service officers, when former Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon was appointed National Security Advisor. The highly respected and admired IFS officer, though accepted as the best man for the job, would in time come to further overshadow the MEA. Not that he’s making any wrong moves like Chidambaram.

But when all these factors that affecting the MEA are put together, they focus the spotlight on a weakened and frustrated Foreign Service cadre. The same cadre that serves as the first line of engagement with foreign governments. The same cadre that will have to engage with the Pakistanis at the end of the month, during talks on the Siachen issue.

More disconcerting however, are the indications of a an increasingly weakening PMO. Citing an example to this effect, another senior official in the MEA told me: “Look at the manner in which Chidambaram went against the PMO’s decision to grant former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf a visa recently. The PMO decided to grant him a visa, but Chidambaram rejected it, saying, ‘My conscience does not allow it.’ Even the PMO was over-ruled without a second thought.”

Another MEA official recounted the embarrassment within the PMO, over ignorance that a letter of rejection had been sent to US bidders Boeing and Lockheed Martin, in the MMRCA deal. It was only when the Americans expressed themselves rather plainly, that the PMO came to know of the Defense Ministry’s decision.

And perhaps the most embarrassing example of just how shoddy and ill-prepared the Home Ministry has made us appear in our transactions with Pakistan, is what happened at the recent India-Pakistan Home Secretary level talks in March. Home Secretary GK Pillai and his team were pressing for a ‘Judicial Commission’ on the Mumbai Terror Attacks to visit Pakistan for further investigations, when the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, Qamar Zaman Chaudhary pointed out that India hadn’t laid the requisite legal groundwork to warrant a ‘Judicial’ Commission, even though Pakistan was willing to accept such a demand. As a consequence, a highly embarrassed Indian side had to hurriedly drop the word ‘Judicial’ from the joint press release and state that India would send a plain ‘Commission’ to Pakistan instead. The text from the Joint Statement issued on March 29, 2011, is pasted below:

“7. Pakistani side provided updates on the ongoing trial and investigation in Pakistan on the Mumbai Terror Attacks. Pakistan conveyed its readiness, in principle, based upon the principle of comity and reciprocity, to entertain a Commission from India with respect to Mumbai Terror Attack investigations. Modalities and composition in this connection will be worked out through diplomatic channels. Dates for the visit of the Judicial Commission from Pakistan in connection with Mumbai attack trial will be conveyed by India within four-six weeks. NIA and FIA will continue to cooperate in the Mumbai Terror Attack investigations.”

It’s getting stormy on the hill. Now wonder when and where lightning will strike.