EDITORIAL: If one was hoping for a potential thaw in relations between India and Pakistan following the BJP’s less-than-satisfactory showing in the Indian general elections, where its anti-Pakistan rhetoric failed to impress the electorate beyond a certain point, those hopes clearly need to be tampered with a strong dose of reality.
The recent exchange of pleasantries on X between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif as well as with Nawaz Sharif, gave the clear impression that the Indian premier, at least for now, does not intend to expand the scope of bilateral relations beyond a focus on security issues.
While thanking the Sharif brothers for their messages congratulating him on ascending to the prime ministerial slot for the third time, Modi made it clear that “advancing the … security of our people shall always remain our priority”.
This was soon followed by Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar’s statement parroting the traditional Indian position of working to find a “solution to the issue of years-old cross-border terrorism”.
While it was always overly optimistic to expect India to change its stance on improving bilateral ties overnight following the BJP’s chastening at the polls, one would still expect that some sort of ground work could begin to pave the way for more constructive dialogue in the coming months and years. The first few indications, however, signal that flexibility on this front may not be in evidence anytime soon.
India’s rigid insistence on prioritising security issues in its dealings with Pakistan, while putting all other matters that impact the well-being of nearly one and a half billion people of the subcontinent on the backburner is an approach that has failed to bring about any substantial progress in fostering regional stability and development.
This approach, coupled with its leadership’s extremely hostile rhetoric vis-a-vis Pakistan over the last decade, has led to a situation where bilateral ties are at an all-time low.
As has been argued in this space before, both sets of leadership must realise that no country can change its geography, and putting limits and conditions indefinitely on the scope of any dialogue process will not get us anywhere given the multitude of issues plaguing this difficult relationship.
If India wants progress on security matters and issues related to cross-border terror, it must also acknowledge Pakistan’s concerns in this regard, especially with respect to the security situation in Balochistan, where we have consistently highlighted the nefarious role our neighbour’s intelligence agencies have played in fomenting trouble and bloodshed.
At the very least, both countries must start some sort of an engagement process that could help create favourable conditions for a wide-ranging dialogue at some point in the future that addresses not just security concerns of both nations, but also concerns related to Indian-Occupied Kashmir’s constitutional status – with a focus on a solution that eases the suffering of Kashmiris – as well as discussions on bilateral trade and easing of travel restrictions, among a host of other issues.
While altering long-entrenched stances and the rigid status quo may be a tall order for now, what may work in the long term are incremental improvements, putting in place confidence-building measures, increasing cooperation in less controversial areas – including jointly combating the impact of climate change – and having the belief that the more insurmountable issues can be resolved in time as long as there is consistent engagement between the two sides.
Completely shutting down channels of communication had only served to deepen mistrust and exacerbate tensions between the two nations. To ensure long-lasting peace in the region, both countries must exhibit genuine leadership, some deft diplomacy and a commitment to sustained dialogue.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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