The collapse of planned peace talks between India and Pakistan hours before they were to start on Sunday has raised questions about the arch-rivals' willingness to overcome mutual mistrust. This is the second time neighbours have cancelled talks since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in May last year.
"(What it means is more) mutual accusations, acrimony, more provocations," said Siddharth Varadarajan, a political analyst and former editor of the Hindu newspaper in India. "In other words, contribution of the pattern we have seen in the past few weeks."
Aakar Patel, a long-time Modi observer and the new head of Amnesty International in India, said New Delhi's position had been weakened.
"How will not talking solve this?" he wrote in the Times of India. "If we are serious about getting something out of them, we have to engage with them."
Pakistan's decision to pull out followed Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's ultimatum to stick to a terrorism-related agenda.
India called Pakistan's decision "unfortunate". Swaraj said on Saturday Sharif was under domestic pressure to pull out.
In August last year, India called off planned meetings between the countries' foreign secretaries as Pakistan wanted to meet with Kashmiri leaders - as has been the practice that is now opposed by the Indian government led by nationalist Modi.
The prospects of the long-awaited talks had been clouded in recent weeks by a series of militant attacks and border skirmishes. Swaraj said there had been 91 cease-fire violations since the meeting between Modi and Sharif in Ufa in Russia.
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