India, Pakistan hold first talks in 15 months

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35562194/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

In a four hour long conversation in New Delhi, the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan came together to start rebuilding a relationship badly damaged by the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants. No issues were resolved during the talks, but at least a dialogue was started. Nirumpama Rao, the foreign secretary of India, urged Pakistan to crack down on its militant groups before a comprehensive peace talk could take place. The United States has been pushing the two sides to resume talks in hopes that a reduction in tensions will help Pakistan shift its focus from the Indian border to the offensive against Taliban militants along its border with Afghanistan.

While this article has definite realist overtones, especially with the United States urging Pakistan to resolve this conflict thereby focusing its attention on its volatile western border, there is also an issue of national sovereignty at hand. For instance, both Pakistan and India have a right to run their internal operations the way they see fit, but when it seems operations are not being properly run ( i. e. Pakistani militant groups spilling over into India), national sovereignty is often questioned or compromised to prevent further occurrences. In other words, when national sovereignty becomes an excuse for activity outside the spectrum of the social construct, such as terrorist acts, its validity comes into question.