UNSC statement said five members of the ousted Taliban government who were on the blacklist can now travel freely and freeze on their assets have been lifted.

Several Afghan leaders including President Hamid Karzai have advocated that names Taliban members should be removed from the list. He was expected to raise this issue at a conference on Afghanistan in London tomorrow.

Diplomats at the the UN claim that those removed from the list were “moderate Taliban officials” with whom President Karzai could start a dialogue.

The former Taliban foreign minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil who was also taken off the list has demanded that the UN and the US to remove all the names on their blacklists. The other four ex-ministers removed from the UN list are Faiz Mohammad Faizan, Shams-US-Safa, Mohammad Musa, and Abdul Hakim.

President Karzai expects to gain support of the West this week in London conference to negotiate more with the ‘moderate’ Talibans. He claims there are “thousands and thousands and thousands” of moderate Taliban who needs to be reintegrated in the Afghan society.

I have always been an admirer of your work. It began from reading Riot – an exceptionally well narrated story, followed by a few interactions at the United Nations. I remember telling my son several times, “now, here is a South Asian who should be your role model.”

I was impressed with your professional demeanor, intellectual curiosity and principled negotiating skills. I admired how skillfully you always introduced Gen. Pervez Musharraf whenever he came to address the United Nations Correspondent Association.

And, on a very personal level – I was very impressed when you helped a fellow Pakistani journalist find employment when he was facing hardship in New York.

When you entered the race for the United Nations Secretary Generals office, I was among several other Pakistanis who wanted you to succeed. I was actually optimistic when you took the important position of External Ministry of India. I thought, here is a real cosmopolitan man. He has lived in London and New York, he has worked for the UN for such a long time, and he will be beyond legacy politics. Boy was I wrong!

You lost me, Sir, when you rejected Pakistan’s request for the resumption of dialogue and said no progress can be made until Pakistan brings the alleged perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks to justice and dismantle ‘terror infrastructure’ on its soil.

I am disappointed because I know you can negotiate better. Remember Mr. Tharoor that South Asian issues can only be settled when the goal is a win-win for both India and Pakistan. Statements of most Indian politicians have focused on a single issue position – all mutual interests have been shelved to the back burner.

I feel Pakistan has been anxiously trying to resume dialogue – inventing options for mutual gain but India has not moved an inch. You maybe thinking that you are looking for an objective criterion – and your domestic compulsions push you to demand arrests of alleged Mumbai attackers. I can understand that.

But, from Pakistan’s vantage point you stick your heels deeper in the proverbial ‘sand.’ May I suggest that you engage Pakistan’s democratically elected leadership in principled negotiations; forget for a moment the adversarial history and modify your goal to reach an outcome efficiently and amicably?

May I suggest Sir that you try to put yourself in the shoes of your Pakistani counterpart. May I suggest that instead of negotiating through the media just pick the phone and call someone in Pakistan. Pakistani politicians have more in common with you than it appears. Why don’t you look for the similarities instead of highlighting your difference?

You are a bright man – please think of how you can solve a problem and the people on the other side of border as your partners eager to help you find a solution.

I am sure you would agree that it is in our interest that both India and Pakistan come out feeling they have a fair agreement from which both sides can benefit.

I am sure if there is a will Pakistani and Indian leaders can together find a solution that satisfies our collective interests.

When Prime Minister Gillani ordered the release of 100 Indian fishermen, he was actually inventing options. He was opening up and sending very clear message that Pakistan wants peace. I wish India had jumped all over it and appreciated it wholeheartedly. I would urge you to broaden the options on the table and stop looking for a single answer.

Both, India and Pakistan can be worse off and both sides can gain. It is not about who wins. We either win together or we loose together. What is your alternative to a negotiated settlement? You can’t go to war with Pakistan; and you shouldn’t simply let the terrorists win.

Though there is still much to discover about the perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre, there is no doubt that the purpose of this abominable act was to disrupt the peace process between India and Pakistan, an hence, the IPI Pipeline negotiations. To that end, they have been successful; and India has helped them ensure success.

It is India’s responsibility to pro-actively support Pakistan’s democratic structure. It is your responsibility to wage peace.

Statements that suggest India’s unwillingness to engage with Pakistan’s democratically elected government is counter productive. I was very disappointed when Indian Prime Minister Singh told Fareed Zakaria recently: “I don’t know whether we have a partner right now. I think when General Musharraf was there, I used to ask him. And he said, “Well, I am the army. I represent the armed forces. I represent the people.”

This style of thinking can never yield positive result.

Mr. Shashi Tharoor, here is your chance to win Noble Peace Prize. Roll up your sleeves and prepare your acceptance speech for Oslo.

You have a chance of a lifetime to put the dialogue back on track. I trust you are capable of turning India’s position on resumption of composite dialogue. Sooner the better!

Let me leave you with an advise from Fisher and Ury’s , Getting to YES: “the first thing you are trying to win is a better way to negotiate – a way that avoids your having to choose between the satisfactions of getting what you deserve and of being decent. You can have both.”

As a native of Pakistan – I am excited to have a sagacious leader at the helm of affairs next door. Especially as our countries have a history of bitter relations having fought three wars since our independence from Britain in 1947. We both claim the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between us.

Mr. Prime Minister, I feel it’s about time that we both re-visit the concept of ‘sous rature’, (a term usually translated as ‘under erasure)’ in our bilateral discussions. I am proposing a sous rature for Kashmir – because the conflict is inadequately represented thus far as a territorial issue. Since this is an important issue, I propose we keep it legible yet cross it out. And, going forward use a more accurate term; water conflict.

Water is linked to the crises of climate change, energy and food supplies, and in our case, a territorial dispute. Unless Kashmir’s link with water is addressed and resolved, these other crises may intensify leading to further political insecurity and conflict at various levels.

It is abundantly clear to most educated Pakistanis that the Kashmir dispute cannot be resolved until every Pakistani citizen is assured access to water – today, tomorrow and for times to come. I am hoping that in your second term you will demonstrate the courage expected of a ‘fair’ regional power and not insist on building dams that will deprive Pakistani farmers of vital water supplies.

Mr. Prime Minister, I am hoping that you will address the critical issue of the Tulbul Navigation project on Wular Lake in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. I am sure you are aware of our position that this dam will disrupt the flow of water into the Jhelum River, which flows into Pakistan. This dam clearly violates the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. You must know that the World Bank-mediated 1960 Indus Water Treaty stipulates that we share the Indus River and its five tributaries – the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. Under the treaty, we received exclusive use of waters from the Indus and its westward flowing tributaries, the Jhelum and Chenab, while the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers were allocated for your country’s use.

Mr. Prime Minister in your haste to win this second term you have withheld millions of cubic feet of water upstream on the Chenab in Indian-administered Kashmir, and you are storing it in the massive Baglihar dam in order to produce hydro-electricity. Mr. Prime Minister you know it is in breach of the 1960 treaty. I know you decided to stop entertaining this discussion after the Mumbai attacks- but why are you punishing the poor farmers of Pakistan for the crimes committed by a few mercenaries?

We have heard your position that India has a right to ‘’run-of-the-river’’ projects but ask 10 independent scientists and they will confirm that the Baglihar dam reduces the flow of water to Pakistan in violation of the 1960 treaty. Come down to Pakistan and bring those World Bank appointed experts who had cleared the Baglihar project so they can understand the implication of their decision as well. If these experts are not blind- I am sure they will notice that the levels of both the river and groundwater have fallen substantially. Indeed, from our side this doesn’t even look like a river anymore; it is more like a puddle.

Mr. Prime Minister I don’t want to bore you with details, but the 1960 treaty guaranteed us 55,000 cusecs of water. Yet, this year we have received between 13,000 cusecs during the winter and a maximum of 29,000 cusecs during summer.

We have also heard the Indian argument for the Wular dam; that you will make a shallow 12 mile stretch of the river in order to ease “navigation” during the dry summer months. And that this is allowed under the 1960 treaty.

Let’s be honest Mr. Prime Minister- this is an open attempt to store water and control how much will be allowed to flow to Pakistan. It may not happen overnight – but there are no guarantees that you will continue to win elections in India for next 30-40 years.

Mr. Prime Minister- you may ignore this appeal but at least pay attention to more than 20 different UN bodies who have warned that the world may be perilously close to its first water war. Take these dam projects off the table and you will win the hearts and minds of Pakistanis. Moreover, you will bring the two nations closer to a more peaceful and prosperous coexistence.