I think you are agreeing with me that it is precisely the long arduous road of grass-roots diplomacy that pays dividends in the long run. But it only works with democracies, which is why I said China will get softer towards India as it gets more democratic. Mind you, I did not say it is in China's best interests -- those long terms interests firmly lie against India -- but it will become more difficult for Chinese leadership to oppose India without a very good reason.
Oh yes, of course I very much agree with your point that grass roots diplomacy works. But what I meant to say was about more than mere diplomacy. As you just said, grassroots diplomacy works better with democracies, it also works with all other different kinds of institutions. There is no democracy in Saudi Arabia, which is warming up to India very quickly. There was no democracy in the most communist of all states - the USSR, and India was close ally then. In fact, greatest amount of cultural exchange that post-independence India underwent through, was with the communist USSR.
So you see, it is less about democracy or any typical diplomacy, it is more about what you have to offer to the other state to remain an ally. It is a very complex world, and when you seek to be an ally of any country, you should remember how each ground of diplomatic exchange serves the interests of both the countries equally, and in a balanced manner. There is no other reason, and no other way to become an ally of any country.
About the bold part - The best interest of any two nations lie in peaceful economic cooperation. If there were no cold war, the US and the USSR would be the most powerful and most promising economies today. However, each of them had to burden its own people and its own state by diverting their resources to be spent on countering each other. It will always be beneficial for China and India to cooperate on economic terms than to go through self-destructive arms race.
Again, we are agreeing that Pakistan needs to be self-reliant. My other point was that Pakistan has completely neglected the use of soft power. Admittedly, with the Western media against us from the git-go, it is hard to compete with India in the West but surely we can promote our message through cultural programs in the Middle East, China and elsewhere.
Yes, I do very much agree with the points you put forth, but here I want to add something too. The media always caters to those who are ignorant of the actualities. And those who are ignorant and seek the media for information, are the ones who barely affect the relationships of any two states.
For example, a shop-owner in Pakistan or a car dealer in the US would not affect US-Pak relations, no matter how misguided he/she is by the media. On the second hand, a US army general posted in Islamabad or a Pakistani Consular posted in DC may somewhat influence what transpires between the two nations, but then they will not be seeking out the media to understand what is going on. In conclusion, I think the media is given much more credit than it deserves when it comes to diplomatic relations between two states - Pakistani media is as good as absent in the US, yet in general Americans are very sympathetic toward Pakistan and still consider it a close ally of the US. But then, the perception of the general populace does not dictate diplomacy of the state.
Despite your hurt ego, we do not grudge you anything. Good on you for growing economically. Our only concern is when you try to act like a superpower when you clearly are not. Not even a regional superpower. Not with China breathing down your neck.
Please excuse me for replying to you on your response to VsDoc, but I had to say this - Indians (barring the ignorant 5% of them anywhere) do NOT think of India as the next, or next to next... superpower! Indians are fine with India prospering without it being a superpower. We are all aware of the poverty and inequality in India, as our country is also marred by widespread corruption as is yours. In fact, I have seen more Pakistanis using 'superpower' term with India than Indians themselves. We are only being hopeful for a prosper India, and it stops at that.