Pakistan and India have been involved in conflicts and problems at all levels since their inception after partition. The very first issue to emerge was the distribution of resources as well as the territory between both. Though the Radcliffe award was supposed to divide British India in such a way that was acceptable to both, unfortunately, this did not happen. Thus, the conflict over Kashmir emerged, which is present to date. This conflict has resulted in further issues such as water dispute, interstate terrorism (to win over each other) and, most recently, a fresh wave of proxy war.
It is not as impossible as it seems to make things work between Pakistan and India. An initiative was taken by the Youth Parliament Pakistan, a project of PILDAT, to draft policy briefs on several issues concerning the general public. This year, one of the five Youth Standing Committees presented its recommendations about helping Pakistan and India develop better relations by seeking examples from other countries that had made peace with each other after prolonged enmity. One such recommendation was to get articles published in renowned newspapers, which would help us outreach the literate fraction of both the nations. Therefore, we have taken this step of publicising our policy briefs, this one being on one aspect of national security and foreign relations.
From the “hereditary” enmity of the 19th and early 20th century to the famous “Franco-German Friendship” of recent times, France and Germany have not only set aside their major political and historical differences but also moved forward to form a union, which now comprises of 28 European states. Soon after the Second World War, these countries had realised that their survival was better off sharing resources and banking on their commonalities. The “core countries” or “twin engines” devised policies and enacted laws to ensure free movement of goods, services and people. The union’s policy on Schengen areas and abolition of passport controls not only gave opportunities to their own citizens to travel freely but also aided tourism industry greatly.
A recent example of two countries making progress in their relationship is that of Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo had declared independence in 2008 from Serbia after years of ethnic clashes and major battles in the form of Kosovo war of 1998-99 and Yugoslav Wars between the Albanian and Serb populations. While Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as an independent state to date, it has accepted the legitimacy of its institutions, especially judiciary, after the Brussels agreement of 2013. The acceptance of the legal system was based on the agreement that the judicial panels will have a fair representation of the Kosovo Serbs. Since the Brussels Agreement, the two countries, for regional stability and individual economic growth have worked towards several other agreements, including university exchanges, freedom of movement and trade.
The Irish model of Good Friday Agreement 1998 collectively dealt with concerns of both nationalists and unionist in Northern Ireland and shaped institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Along with this, one major step towards the stability of the region was an agreement on decommissioning within two years of this agreement and normalisation of security arrangements in Northern Ireland “to levels compatible with a normal peaceful society”.
So how can Pakistan and India normalise their relations? It is recommended that a three tier bottom-up approach should be followed to resolve the issues. The aim is to remove smaller boulders from the path first and then eventually move towards the large boulder blocking the way.
The aim of track II & III diplomacy is to focus on trust building and lay down a strong foundation so that moving up the pyramid becomes smooth. Small level initiatives like student exchange programmes and bursaries for students willing to study across the border should be arranged, and cultural exchange through missions of artists, lawyers, poets and journalists promoting peace and travelling to and fro the border should be done. Visa policies should be made flexible to give ease of movement to the people. This will strengthen tourism industry in both the countries and will reinforce peace. Local media should be used to act as tools for peace by creating and airing programmes that incorporate the true spirit of friendship. Television shows similar to ‘Voice of America’ can be produced to bridge gaps between the two nations.
Considering the water dispute between the two countries, according to independent experts, Pakistan is expected to be one of the most water-stressed nations in the world by 2025. When Indus Water Treaty came into being several challenging aspects, such a global warming, were not as an imminent threat as they are now. It is time to revisit and revise the treaty and consider this natural threat to Pakistan since a major chunk of its economic development relies on agriculture. An independent office of Indus Water Commission comprising neutral experts should be established. The data collected and project designs should be made available to both the countries so they could raise objections, if any, as soon as possible and the disputed resolution process could also subsequently take place at the earliest.
Coming towards the most critical issue between the two countries, i.e. the territorial issue and subsequent security concerns, the problem cause by non-state actors (NSAs) and their trans-frontier activities has been one of the most vexing issues between the two South Asian neighbours in recent years. If the problem of these non-state actors is resolved, it can eliminate a lot of threats currently present to both the nations. Therefore, in order to find a mature solution, South Asian states should cooperate with each other to handle these non-state actors from the platform of SAARC or by some other agreement. A suitable example in this regard can be the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-type agreement with other nations.
The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the biggest unfinished agendas. The Indo-Pak relationship has been overshadowed by the Kashmir issue since the very beginning. Following several examples of nations from all over the globe, both countries can offer each other military disarmament and a decommission in Kashmir within a specific timeframe along with empowering and establishing institutions within Kashmir. Before that, restoration of the bus service that was started back in 2005 and 2006 within the two parts of Kashmir should be done. Intra-Kashmir barter trade that began in 2008 with the idea of encouraging greater interaction across the border should also be restored as soon as possible. The international community should ensure that in the case of protests in the disputed valley, peaceful or otherwise, India must not use excessive force and should not violate the basic human rights, such as by the use of pellet-guns and abduction of Kashmiris. Joint committee should be formed in order to ensure implementation of this strategy, which includes representatives from all three; Kashmir, India and Pakistan. This stance would probably be completely acceptable to the Hurriyat leaders as well in that a mutually acceptable solution is being reached. For this purpose, flexibility must be shown by both the sides which would prove to be beneficial for all three.
We hope to make a difference through our recommendations.
Aminah Qureshi is a student of Biotechnology with an interest in current affairs, politics and journalism
Shahbano Kamran is a political science student and a social worker