Daily Times

“Pakistan constantly disturbs India, creates nuisances and stokes terrorism. Terror incidents keep on happening,” said Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Bangladesh. While receiving the liberation war honour on behalf of Atal Behari Vajpayee, the former Indian PM, Modi heralded that he was an activist during the 1971 war against Pakistan and wished for the separation of East Pakistan. Pakistan-India relations have been on a downward spiral since Modi came to power in May 2014. Modi’s anti-Pakistan stance is not hidden and he has used different forums to spit venom against Pakistan.

When Modi assumed power, some analysts believed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government would succeed in resuming bilateral dialogue to ease relations between the two states for the BJP governments had, in the past, taken positive initiatives such as the Lahore-Delhi bus service, Agra Summit (2000), composite dialogue, etc. However, the present BJP-led government has clearly adopted an anti-Pakistan agenda and approach domestically, regionally and even internationally.

Modi came to power with mega promises centred on the prospect of prosperity (achay din) for all. However, after his first year in office without much accomplishment, Modi can feel the weight of the people’s expectations on his government. A vast majority of Indians backed him and gave the BJP a much needed mandate in the 2014 elections with the belief that Modi would put the country on the path to economic growth and social development. However, most of these promises are still proposals and many others face the remote possibility of being fulfilled in the next four years. Hence, it seems plausible for PM Modi and company to play with anti-Pakistan tirades to divert attention away from the domestic front. The most recent show of anti-Pakistanism was exercised by the Indian PM outside India: Bangladesh. In Dhaka, Modi was honoured with the historic picture of Pakistan’s surrender to Indian forces during 1971. This was clearly an attempt to rub salt into Pakistan’s wounds. Moreover, it is not a sign of statesmanship on the part of Bangladeshi PM, Sheikh Hasina Wajid.

Since the latter’s assumption of power during controversial elections last year, India has consistently been trying to use Bangladesh against Pakistan by referring to the bitter memories of 1971. The leadership of the ruling Awami League, on its part, has used its anti-Pakistan diatribe to appease its super-nationalist electoral community as well as its sympathisers in India. Such a posture of animosity and antagonism is followed with unrestrained emotional flare-ups. The objective is to exploit the people’s feelings by Pakistan bashing. The ‘hate Pakistan’ agenda keeps the Awami League alive despite its failure on the domestic economic front. “Bangladesh has no room for people loving Pakistan” are the famous remarks of the Bangladeshi PM. In addition, the current government has executed a number of Jaamat-e-Islami (JI) leaders for war crimes.

Interestingly, during the recent Pakistan-Bangladesh cricket series, spectators were not allowed to wave Pakistani flags. A significant number of Pakistani investors have heavily invested in Bangladesh, contributing to the economic well-being of that country. The present environment may force them to wind up their businesses and settle in Dubai or elsewhere. Dhaka should be mindful of its economic potential and opportunities offered by regional capital. Also, the Bangladeshi government needs to take a dispassionate and objective view of history. This also applies to Pakistan and even India.

What happened during 1971 is a bitter pill to swallow for the people of Bangladesh and Pakistan. The policies followed by the Ayub government deserve criticism as they estranged the people in the eastern half of the country. Yahya’s decision to use force against civilians was very unfortunate. The Mukti Bahini emerged in reaction to such policies and fought for independence. India did intervene in Pakistan’s internal affairs and contributed to its dismemberment. Importantly, in the post-war period, Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement with India along with the recognition of the state of Bangladesh. This is history and it should be analysed academically rather than using such facts to create further hatred in the South Asian region, which is already in the grip of intolerance, bigotry and terrorism. South Asia is the poorest region of the world, which is still mired in inter-state conflicts and exemplified by lack of economic cooperation. The animosity between Pakistan and India has rendered the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) irrelevant. It is unable to achieve its objectives owing to the unstable security environment in South Asia. In order to make it a viable organisation working for the benefit of its member countries, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh should forego the policy of brinkmanship and move forward for a constructive role in the region.

Besides, instead of being involved in a blame game against each other, Pakistan and India should explore opportunities for mutual cooperation in stabilising Afghanistan, countering challenges posed by climate change, addressing the issues of terrorism and radicalization, and the resumption of confidence building measures (CBMs). Both Pakistan and India can benefit from the normalisation of relations. India can take advantage of the recently concluded economic corridor between Pakistan and China. It can propose such a corridor among India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Central Asian States.

Therefore, it is advisable for the incumbent Indian and Bangladeshi governments to let bitter memories go and follow a peace-oriented approach in their domestic and foreign policy. In other words, instead of creating hatred and following anti-Pakistan rhetoric equally shared and propagated by Modi, PM Hasina Wajid should think in terms of regional economic integration and mutual trade between Pakistan and Bangladesh, and beyond. Having learnt from European experiences of economic and political collaboration, we posit that these three South Asian states can reap more economic benefits if they choose to build confidence and prefer cooperation to confrontation. A word of love and peace instead of a speech of hatred can be more effective to begin with. This would help Modi minimise his madness towards Pakistan, if not China.

Dr Ejaz Hussain is an independent political scientist and the author of Military Agency, Politics and the State in Pakistan. He tweets @ejazbhatty. Maqbool Ahmed Wasli is security and development consultant based in Islamabad. He can be reached at maqbool.ir@gmail.com