THIS is Why Narendra Modi Will NEVER Trust Pakistan Again: Sashi Tharoor

#WATCH: "Do you expect Mr. Modi to ever want to deal with them again?"

Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival in September in New York, Shashi Tharoor explained why India-Pakistan relations have reached an impasse.

Tharoor recounted Indian PM Narendra Modi's goodwill gesture in December 2015, when, on the way back from an official visit to Kabul, Modi decided to make an impromptu visit to Lahore to attend then-Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif's birthday and his granddaughter's wedding.

This surprise visit was unprecedented as none of the formal security and diplomacy protocols were undertaken. Modi even agreed to be flown to the venue in Sharif's own helicopter upon landing in Lahore — something heads of state rarely do because of security risks.

While Modi might have thought this would help mend broken ties with Islamabad, only a week after his visit, Pakistani militants carried out an attack on the Pathankot Air Base. The Indian PM was then backstabbed by Pakistani officials who were invited to investigate the incident, as they blamed India's incompetence for the attack.

In the months and years that followed, several such attacks occurred in places like Uri, Nagrota, and Pulwama. Tharoor posited that this repeated betrayal of trust has caused Modi to give up any hopes of good ties with Pakistan.

Whether Sharif's government was unable or unwilling to stem these terroristic threats to India is unclear. But what is clear is that the ball is now in Pakistan's court, and the civilian government must reckon with the realities of the influence their military and militants have on bilateral and regional dynamics before extending any more olive branches.

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