India and Pakistan Search for Common Ground. . (original) (raw)
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The Indus Waters Treaty: Prospects for India-Pakistan Peace
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For the 116 th time, the Indian and Pakistani Indus Waters Commissioners met to exchange views under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) on 23 and 24 March 2021 in New Delhi. The meeting, held after a hiatus of two-and-a-half years, was greeted as a step forward in normalising strained bilateral relations, and coincided with Pakistan Republic Day, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan conveying India's desire to see "cordial relations with the people of Pakistan." Significantly, the meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission occurred only a week after Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa announced at the Islamabad Security Dialogue that it was time for India and Pakistan to "bury the past and move forward". He particularly emphasised water and climate change in view of the impending multi-dimensional challenges facing the region, which he stressed developing countries like Pakistan could not navigate alone. This statement has elicited speculation about whether Pakistan is moving away from its long-time foreign policy of anti-Indianism towards a more pragmatic, geo-economical approach. This paper seeks to examine the contemporary relevance of the IWT within the broader framework of Pakistan's prospective geo-economic shift, while also taking into consideration how "unsettled issues" like Kashmir and cross-border terror will become increasingly difficult for the countries to navigate. In overviewing India and Pakistan's approaches towards water-sharing and internal water management, it also assesses the costs of their "go-it-alone" developmental nationalism, which is rapidly becoming the norm. To build confidence in this unexpected but timely re-engagement-and lay the foundations for bolder trade and peace-related measures in future-both countries should foster an enabling environment by jointly addressing water scarcity and its destabilising effects on the region.
Significance of Dialogue Process for Peaceful Co-existence between Pakistan and India
Pakistan and India are two major countries of the South Asian Sub-continent. Unfortunately, since their inception, these nuclear archrivals have been unable to resolve their mutual disputes. This situation makes the region a global flashpoint. It is noteworthy that in their post-independence life, occasionally, these countries have also gone through periods of détente, when they remained engaged in dialogue that sometimes ended with pacts in various fields. These occasional and intermittent dialogues have been helpful in reducing tension between these two neighbors. This situation has also been supportive in promoting peace and stability in the region as well as affecting positively the lives of one quarter of the global population living on the Sub-continent. However, this has not been a permanent feature, as on a number of occasions, there have been frequent suspensions in the dialogue process. Obviously, these disruptions have led to mutual mistrust which adversely affected the poverty stricken general public in both countries. The present regional and global situation urgently demands that both countries need to act in a responsible way. No doubt, this can only be possible by initiating a series of serious dialogues aiming at the reduction of existing tension between these two countries. These efforts will be helpful in diverting the human and financial capital from armaments to the socioeconomic development of the populations. These dimensions are the real focus of this paper and, it presents various reflections on such issues. The Nature and Background of the Issue The relations between Pakistan and India not only concern the South Asian region but also affect the global scenarios. This situation has become even more serious since the two states went nuclear followed by current regional instability which also has its international dimensions. Unfortunately, since the birth of these two countries, due to various reasons, their relations are marked with mutual mistrust and suspicions which continuously led to promote tension in the region. For this reason, during the post-independence period, they have shown antagonist approach towards each other. This situation caused regional
Journal of South Asian Studies, 2022
Regional cooperation is considered a panacea for several problems faced by the developing states, such as underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment, social and economic backwardness, natural disasters, and environmental changes among others (Naazer, 2018a). It can also serve as a harbinger of peace, stability, progress, and prosperity through creating economic interdependence, trade linkages, socio-cultural exchanges, integration of infrastructure and projects, promoting trust, understanding, amity, cooperation, and friendship among regional states. There can be diverse models of regional and interregional cooperation in various fields, including functional cooperation, integration by projects and market integration, etc. (Ahmad, 2013). South Asia has vast potential for regional cooperation among members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as well as countries of adjoining areas such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. However, these countries have so far not been able to exploit the full potential of regional cooperation for several reasons. The factors that impede regional cooperation in South Asia are diverse and include both regional and extra-regional (Naazer, 2018b). South Asian states owing to their rapidly growing developing needs, swelling population, and dwindling indigenous energy resources are increasingly becoming energy-deficient nations. This problem also provides them an opportunity for regional cooperation with energy-rich states of adjoining regions, such as Central Asia and West Asia (Elahi, 2016). The regional states considered several proposals to import gas through pipelines from other countries but none of them could be materialized. One of such proposal included Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline which was also termed
The search for peace-Pakistan and India
Strategic Studies (Islamabad)
It is axiomatic that Pakistan and India share a turbulent and complex, if also short, history. While the dynamics of the relationship may shift from time to time, numerous existential issues remain in place. Characterised by mistrust, contrasting interests and the oft-quoted "missed opportunities", the bloodshed of 1947 has been replaced by a more diverse set of issues that continue to mar the relationship. Kashmir has come to exemplify the classic case of a territorial dispute between neighbouring countries in the modern world composed of nation States. Extended hostile periods have only been sporadically separated by periods of relative peaceinterludes that many hoped would prolong into perpetuity. But failures of State, internal conflicts, deep-rooted differences and perhaps unavoidable circumstances have meant that these spells of tranquillity remain mere specks of light in an otherwise dark corridor, at best offering missed opportunities. In studying the Pakistan-India ties, it is simplistic but also convenient to divide them into phases with regard to important junctures in South Asian history. None of the occasions that gave rise to optimism could ultimately become the watershed they were built up to be. The most recent such case was in 2004; following a prolonged period of military standoff, there began a "peace process" led by President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee. This phase was significant since it allowed for a more systematic approach to negotiations by adopting the concept of "Composite Dialogue" that covered various issues that have continually hindered progress on even seemingly non-contentious fronts. A move away from a traditionally line of control-(LoC) and Kashmir-centric policy, it called for a number of concerns to be brought to the table and economic cooperation to be enhanced. 1 While the strategic imperatives and finer points of this process will be discussed later in this study, it is relevant to say here that even though progress was made on multiple fronts, enthusiasm waned as the momentum died out perhaps due to the more pressing internal political turmoil in Pakistan. However, the process did expose some important aspects of the relationship. One, it established that progressive talks and meaningful solutions were not just desirable, they were also possible. And two, it exhibited a lack of political will, or more suitably, the political constraints, in both countries that prevent agreeable solutions from being implemented. This was clear for instance in the case of the Sir Creek 2 and Siachin issues where significant progress through collaboration could not be translated into concrete agreements. Similarly, when a proposed visit to Islamabad by Prime Mister Manmohan Singh, as part of this process, could not materialise, 3 progress was further derailed.
India and Pakistan: Emerging needs for strengthening cooperation in 21st century
Embedded in South Asia, India and Pakistan were part of British Indian Empire till August 1947. As the British prepared to pack off from the sub-continent after the end of Second World War under many internal and external exigencies, they gave a parting kick of partition to the British India, thus forming two new sovereign nations-the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Partition brought with it a trauma of displacement of about 12 million populations and a loss of life of to the tune of a million people. Endless vows of refugees who migrated from newly created Pakistani territories and the tale of miseries of Muhajireen who migrated from India to Pakistan became the basis of popular perception of hatred and distrust towards each other. Ever since, trail of a violent and bloody partition and many unsettled territorial disputes have caste their shadow on the relationship between the two neighbours. Bilateral relations have by and large been tense leading to snapping or lowering of diplomatic relations many a times. The two countries have fought three major wars, the Kargil and have been involved in numerous armed skirmishes and military standoffs. India and Pakistan are contiguously existing geographical neighbours and cannot wish away each other-whatsoever is the level of their relationship. The framers of foreign policy in the two countries have been overly obsessed with the other, though Pakistan has tried to look towards Middle East and Central Asian Republics and India has framed its Look East Policy and African Policy. In this fast integrating world where geographical boundaries are increasingly becoming meaningless, can the two neighbours like India and Pakistan afford to remain endlessly aloof or mutually exclusive? There is need to be pragmatic in our approach to explore possibilities and discover areas of cooperation between the two countries. It is not merely the trade and Cricket Series, but other issues which need serious thought for cooperation between them. The paper is devoted to the pressing needs for strengthening cooperation in many other fields in the current millennium.