Surely, the signs of something cooking between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir could not have been missed by anyone not suffering from myopia.

What is surprising though is that India has expressed puzzlement at the development. Had we not vacated space that should naturally have been ours,
opportunists would not have sought to occupy it. As a result, the isolation that Pakistan had brought upon itself by deviously indulging in cross border terrorism has been incrementally reversed.

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Furthermore, distressingly they managed to lean on China during the Op Sindoor, dramatically undermining our strategic superiority. India was uniquely placed to intervene positively in the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Europe as indeed the prolonged misery rained down upon Gaza. All protagonists were either established friends of India or emerging partners in a changing global landscape.

India has repeated claimed to be Vishvaguru and Vishvamitra but when it came to the crises in Europe and West Asia we chose to look away and restrict our engagement to our essential interests such as import of discounted oil from Russia, economic exchanges with the GCC countries, and an ambiguous trade deal with the US after severe battering by whimsical tariffs of President Trump.

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India lost its voice of conscience and confidence, unwilling to speak the bitter truth to friends. And now we must watch speechless or, at best, mouth frustration at Pakistan occupying the works stage for peace, having been the worst offender against peace over several decades.

It is, of course, yet too early to judge the possibility of lasting success in peace talks on Pakistan soil but some things have become clear: the US seems to have lost its appetite for more action; Iran has surprised the world with its resilience and determination; Israel may have pushed its regime change dream to widespread devastation for its enemy as well for its own citizens but failed to achieve regime change.

Pakistan may well just be providing a venue without adding much substance to the conversation but it will surely collect some brownie points.

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While we all must hope that renewed hostility will not be an option for the future, we must also ensure that this does not excite and feed ambitions in our neighbourhood that will distract us from the path of becoming a sustained global player.

The rule-based world order is in disarray and India cannot afford to be bypassed in the structuring of a new order. We have gained precious little in our attempt to repudiate the past and the scorecard shows that we have lost a great deal.

The author is former External Affairs minister and a senior Congress leader. Views expressed are personal.