India–Pakistan, 1998–1999

This chapter charts the development of a relationship of bonded trust between the Indian leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in the aftermath of India and Pakistan’s nuclear tests in May 1998. It shows how, through the bonding process that took place between them, fear and suspicion gave way to trust. In keeping with the theoretical claims of this book, the chapter shows how this process of trust emergence was critically dependent on a process of face-to-face interaction. A key feature of this chapter is the claim that, having taken the first steps of trust through their face-to-face diplomacy, crucially the Lahore summit meeting in February 1999, the Pakistani leader betrayed the Indian leader by launching a military intervention into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil. The chapter argues that there was a betrayal of trust on the part of Sharif, but offers some mitigating reasons for this.