Pak-India ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s letter to his Pakistani counterpart has once again kindled hope for some rapprochement between the two countries. In recent days, both countries have expressed a keen desire for cordial relations with each other, and this may herald a thaw between the two neighbours who have been at the loggerheads for long. The fact that both countries have nuclear weapons makes it even more desirable that some kind of understanding is developed to avoid a bleak future for this region. Modi has written to Prime Minister Imran Khan to congratulate him on the country’s annual Pakistan Day. Some people-to-people contacts have been going on for over two decades now in the form of various track-two dialogues but with the unilateral declaration of Kashmir’s annexation into India by Delhi, the prospects for those declined sharply in the past two years. Though the letter from Modi has sparked some enthusiasm among the observers of South Asian politics, we must be careful in drawing quick conclusions or pinning too many hopes with this development.

First, there has to be an environment of trust between the two countries. For over 70 years now the states in both countries have failed to trust each other. Continued hostilities on the borders have exacerbated the situation, despite occasional offers of friendship and an expressed desire to solve the Kashmir dispute. Second, it is imperative to have solid goodwill behind such letters and messages that remain hollow without substantial progress for the resolution of disagreements. Before Modi’s letter, there were moves from the Pakistani side that signaled a reconciliation. The statements from PM Imran Khan and the COAS Gen Bajwa were positive. The ongoing talks on sharing the Indus River waters are also a good sign that the two countries are willing to sit at the table.

While peace overtures from each side have become a routine practice for many decades now, the point is to receive each other positively and also take into confidence the opposition parties both in India and Pakistan. Most importantly, though, a peaceful resolution in the disputed region of Kashmir is the main stumbling block in the way to regional peace. It is important that the rights of the Kashmiris and a just resolution to the oppression that they have been facing for years at the hands of the Indian state are kept in mind when talking peace with India. The joint statement by both countries announcing a ceasefire along the disputed border in Kashmir is a good omen. There is hope that a concrete move towards peace as well as towards peace for the Kashmiris and their struggle is seen as a consequence of this verbal diplomatic rapprochement.