Indian shelling across the Line of Control, which has led to the martyrdom of seven Pakistani soldiers, is the latest and the most deadly ceasefire violation in the present episode of heightened tensions between the two states. The loss of lives of these seven Pakistani soldiers is immensely sad, and the nation will remember their valiance and their sacrifice for the safety and security of the country. Following the Indian shelling, Pakistan requested the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNGOP) to send a report to the United Nations Security Council on the present state of affairs in the Line of Control and the working boundary. Pakistan’s call to the UNGOP is clearly an appeal to the international community to apprise them of Indian aggression, and the very fact that Pakistan is willing to let an independent body evaluate its claims of Indian aggression is testament to its veracity. Amidst all of this, Pakistan-India relations are dropping to a level from which it would be very difficult to rescue them from. Needless to say, all of this must stop if Pakistan and India are to have any chance of constructive dialogue in the near future.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has, from the start, pursued an aggressive policy towards Pakistan. There have been moments in between when it seemed that Prime Minister Mian Mohamed Nawaz Sharif and Modi could change the rules of diplomatic engagement between the two states and create an environment conducive to constructive dialogue. However, whenever things turned sour, the two leaders were unable to show true qualities of statesmanship by looking beyond myopic considerations, and instead chose to pander to jingoistic sentiments within their states. In the aftermath of the Uri attack, Modi launched a targeted campaign against Pakistan in which he publicly proclaimed that he would ‘internationally isolate’ Pakistan. What Modi wanted to achieve through this is still unclear as Pakistan still has the same importance in the international comity of nations as before. Meanwhile, all that Modi has done is create anger and bitterness between the two people, essentially ensuring the continuation of hostilities.
Locked in this self-defeating cycle of attacks and counter attacks, Pakistan-India relations have to move forward. The soldiers guarding the borders are people whose lives are at risk just because the leadership of the two countries has failed to come to the negotiating table. Pakistan’s demand of putting Kashmir at the centre of every agenda of bilateral talks between it and India is met by Indian intransigence of talks only on the subject of cross border terrorism. How these unshifting positions have militated against any progress on dispute resolution is self-evident. Hence, Pakistan and India need to reevaluate the basis of their diplomatic engagement and come to terms of dialogue that are acceptable to both. And for this they need to move away from their uncompromising positions and cede some common ground over which talks can be held. Of course, initiation of dialogue cannot be expected to lead to the immediate resolution of all Pakistan-India disputes, but it can surely create the impetus for a much more meaningful and gradual process, which would create mutual trust for the resolution of large disputes.
Point scoring can only satiate the appetite for jingoism and provide a fleeting distraction from the hardships of real issues. This is not a path that is of interest to either Pakistan or India. A peaceful and prosperous South Asia is the only way that the people of Pakistan and India can break their shackles of poverty and achieve real relief from their present condition of despair.*