So Prime Minister Modi officially snubbed Nawaz Sharif at the SAARC conference by keeping his hands fisted and then reading a pamphlet in what was not even a disguised indication that he wasn’t going to make any move. That it was the sixth anniversary of the Mumbai attacks gave Modi’s belligerent attitude an edge and it has played very well on the home front. That Indo-Pak relations have frosted with the setting in of winter and are now abysmally low is a fact that cannot be wished away.

Indeed, they have never been lower after 1971 except for the Kargil confrontation. The bonhomie witnessed at the inauguration of Modi has evaporated totally. It can safely be said that while the relationship has hit rock bottom giving hope that it can only improve, the odds are it can also fallow and fester into a frightening scenario.

This is the “worst” season for escalating conflict. The monsoon rains have dried up, the western sector terrain is drier and can take the movement of armor. The waterways are at low ebb and can be easily crossed by ground troops. It is a worrying situation.

Against this freeze at the top level the only “talks” going on now are at the TV news channel level and I mean talks. So many blabbermouths in so many languages all glued together by a common phobia...each other’s nations. Just as much as Pakistan cannot but find flaws in Indian policies and has to connect the Kashmir issue to everything the Indian side is also over-imbued with things Pakistani. New Delhi’s bureaucratic mindset has not undergone any change. Move on, think of China as the flip side of the coin. But old habits die hard and the equation which has been fed by cricket (don’t laugh, it is not trivial, it marks the relationship) endures.

Every night on multiple channels ad nauseum Pakistani high profile individuals are invited to join white noise debates. Even though it is orchestrated so that the Indian anchors mock them silly, the Pakistanis do get in a few blows. Argument: why give them a platform on Indian TV channels at Prime Time to take a few swipes at your country. Like the other night we had a Pakistani Admiral and an Indian politician calling each other names with a vitriolic rage that would have done a schoolyard bully proud.

That these verbal duels promote hostility is evident. That the Indian anchors do not even allow the Pakistani guests to say anything conclusive makes for good entertainment but bad diplomacy. Why is their presence mandated?

You can counter that with a response. We have nothing to hide, we do get a glimpse into how deep the distrust is and it is a chance to listen to the other side. As diplomatic doors are being slammed this is the only tiny window left.

True, if something besides blather was coming out of it.

I think this trading of insults has become extremely dangerous. Between the threats and the “we’ll show yous” that mark these programs one question does arise: Why do these Pakistani generals and admirals and politicians so willingly fetch up on Indian TV to get mauled and be given a bad time? Night after night. To what end?

Echo answers that.