Daily Times

The stalemate between Pakistan and India continues following the increased hostility after the Pulwama attack. The incident seems to be the outcome of New Delhi’s repressive policies in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK). Mutual acrimony continues in the public domain, especially in India where taking a strong stance against Pakistan could emerge as an election issue. India cannot even appreciate Pakistan’s goodwill gesture of allowing the mother and wife of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav (the Indian Spy) to meet him in Islamabad on December 15, 2017. Ceasefire violations are also carrying on at the Line of Control (LOC) and the Working Boundary (WB). The world is rightly concerned about the ongoing tension between the two nuclear powers.

India has adopted a policy of isolating Pakistan. The country is also working to intricate matters between Pakistan and Afghanistan under Washington’s watch. Apart from committing atrocities in IOK, New Delhi is also riding roughshod over Pakistan’s legitimate objections to the building of dams on India’s western rivers in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty.

Pakistan has consistently attempted to normalise relations with India, but the latter has not responded positively. The Modi government, when it comes to Pakistan, seems to be under the total influence of the extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang (RSS), whose anti-Pakistan sentiments are well-known. The Indian military establishment also appears to be disinclined to settle issues like Siachen and Sir Creek. Indian peace advocates largely seem to be on the defensive when it comes to pushing an anti-war narrative. Moreover, about 90 percent of the Indian Army’s weapons and command and control structure are Pakistan-specific. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) yearbook 2018, India is the world’s number one major weapons importer and its import has been augmented by 24 percent over the last 10 years. This has compelled Pakistan to revise its security calculations according to the new strategic realities of the region.

India is the world’s number one major weapons importer and its import has been augmented by 24 percent over the last 10 years. This has compelled Pakistan to revise its security calculations according to the new strategic realities of the region

In fact, India has moved on from its policy of nuclear deterrence and is keen on acquiring an Anti-Ballistic Missile system, which will not only weaken the existing nuclear deterrence dynamic but may also accelerate an interminable nuclear arms race in the region. Furthermore, its Cold Start Doctrine or Proactive Operation against Pakistan through limited war in time and space dimension under the nuclear overhang is well-known. Pakistan wants an arms race, neither conventional nor nuclear. It expects that the international community will not contribute towards creating further asymmetry in conventional and non-conventional weapons in the region.

There is a need to understand the fact that confidence-building measures are a precondition to establishing normal relations between Pakistan and India. Undoubtedly, the issues, which were mutually decided to be covered in the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD) in 2015 like peace and security, confidence-building measures, Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage,Tulbul Navigation Project, trade and economics, counterterrorism, narcotics control, humanitarian issues, people-to-people exchanges and religious tourism need to be addressed with sincerity.

The challenges, which hinder the Pakistan-India peace process, have to be simultaneously addressed by India for the sustainability of the dialogue. This would include no violations of the LOC and WB. SAARC, too, has been a victim of Indian arrogance. Since the establishment of the organisation, India’s role has always remained a matter of concern. The 19th SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November 2016, had to be cancelled as India refused to attend invoking the alibi of terrorism. India should stop issuing belligerent statements against Pakistan. If the latter persists in its unfriendly propaganda against the former, it will reinforce mutual antagonism and mistrust. Rather, the comprehensive security of South Asia demands from India and Pakistan that they should focus together on the imperatives of resumption of meaningful dialogue to normalise their relations for the betterment of their people.

The writer is a researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute

Published in Daily Times, February 23^rd 2019.