Page 12 - The Indian EYE 112423

OPINION NOVEMBER 24, 2023 | The Indian Eye 12

tions to extract a word on Kashmir— Pakistan’s relevance, be it in In-
in 2013 and 2018. He was not success- dia’s national discourse or its interna-
ful as the joint statement at the end tional calculus, has clearly declined.
of Sharif’s meeting with President India is gaining an upper hand in
Obama mentioned nuclear terrorism managing ties with Pakistan. India
instead of nuclear parity with India. is on diplomatic offensive against
However, there have also been Pakistan and has opted for military
perpetual deviances in Nawaz Shar- means to deter terrorism even if it
if’s policy while following the conven- entails breaching the Line of Con-
tional Pak India approach. In May trol. As for Sharif’s statements about
2014, he attended the oath-taking forging “good ties” with India, it is
ceremony of Prime Minister Nar- pertinent to note that in the past as
endra Modi despite resistance from well, his overtures to India failed to
the Army. In December 2015, Sharif materialise into any meaningful en-
warmly hosted Prime Minister Modi gagement. In his 2015 UN speech,
during his grand-daughter’s wedding for instance, Sharif put forward a
in Lahore. He is the face of summit four-point “new peace initiative” that
diplomacy with India given his role in The Indus Waters Treaty has long remained a paradoxical example of bilateral understanding included demilitarising Kashmir and
the Lahore Resolution signed after between India and Pakistan (File photo) Siachen, and formalising the 2003
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ceasefire, describing these as the
travelled to Lahore on a bus in Feb- Formal dialogue between the end of J&K’s special status at world “simplest” measures to move towards
ruary 1999. He is associated with the two sides has eluded the India–Pak forums, albeit without much traction. peace between the two countries”.
Ufa statement of July 2015 that did bilateral landscape for quite some Pakistan’s strategy and its Kashmir
not mention Kashmir. time. India’s approach on not toler- stance has been unable to reconcile Sharif’s latest statements were
At the SAFMA (South Asia Free ating Pakistan perpetrated terrorism with the structural changes in J&K
Media Association) event of 2011, it continues to guide its policy. The and it continues to harp on propagat- immediately followed by Indian
was Sharif who daringly drew an in- paradigm of ‘terror and talks cannot ing the ills of India’s so-called unilat- security forces gunning down
teresting analogy with India saying: go together’ has been adhered to. eral action on the former state.
“There is one border between us. We India’s stance was reiterated in the India–Pakistan diplomatic ties five terrorists who had infil-
are members of the same society and wake of overtures by Pakistan Prime moreover remain downgraded since trated from across the LoC. It
share the same background, culture Minister Shehbaz Sharif urging “se- the August 2019 decision to abrogate
and even the dishes and vegetables. rious and sincere talk” with India’s Article 370 in J&K. The respective is a fact that whenever civil-
Like you, we also eat aaloo gosht”. leadership having “learnt its lesson” missions have since then been repre- ian governments have shown
It was at this platform that Sharif that wars with India “brought noth- sented by Charge d’Affaires instead
spoke of how India’s leadership felt ing except misery, poverty and unem- of full-time envoys. receptivity towards engaging
backstabbed as the Kargil intrusions ployment”. Domestic discourse in Pakistan with India, the so-called non-
were staged within few months of the The Indus Waters Treaty has is flagging “monumental change in
Lahore Resolution. long remained a paradoxical exam- India’s fortunes” and its democratic state anti-India constituencies
Looking at the current strands ple of bilateral understanding be- consistency as a “steady, coherent have augmented infiltration at-
of the bilateral equations, there tween India and Pakistan. The treaty and functional polity”. There is talk
have been significant developments mediated by the World Bank in 1960 of India’s deft handling of geopoliti- tempts or carried out attacks
that in normal course generate re- has been under pressure of late as cal issues and its positioning as lead- inside J&K.
flection and debate. India invited suggestions to revoke it to punish er of the Global South. Pakistan’s
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Pakistan for acts of terror against In- politicians have mentioned India in Given the current state of bilat-
Bhutto to attend the SCO’s For- dia have been made. India has so far their moments of introspection as eral ties, it is rather difficult to pre-
eign Ministers’ Summit and Islam- refrained from doing so. However, in well. Khawaja Asif as Defence Minis- dict when and whether the two coun-
abad obliged. Besides, India issued January 2023, India put Pakistan on ter in the National Assembly in Jan- tries can meaningfully engage going
Pakistan a notice on the proposed notice by seeking amendments in the uary 2023 condemned the Peshawar forward.
amendments it seeks in the Indus “agreed mode of dispute resolution”. mosque attack that killed more than India needs to assess evolving
Water Treaty to safeguard it interests The apathy between the two 100 worshippers and admitted that situation given flare-up of region-
in the framework of the 1960 treaty sides has deepened in the wake of “we sowed the seeds for terrorism”. al tensions in the aftermath of the
inciting strong reactions from Islam- recent terrorist attacks unleashed in Geopolitically, India is in a Hamas attack on Israel while con-
abad. Pervez Musharraf’s death on 5 J&K over the past few years— begin- much better “comfort zone” fuelled tinuing to be vigilant to prevent po-
February (the so-called Kashmir Sol- ning from Gurdaspur (July 2015) to mainly by its successful stint as G-20 tential breaches to national security.
idarity Day) stirred a debate, though Pathankot (January 2016), Uri (Sep- presidency or the adept handling of
transient, on India–Pakistan and the tember 2016) followed by Pulwama global complexities involving Russia– Priyanka Singh is Associate Fellow at
question of resolvability of Kashmir (February 2019) to the more recent Ukraine War. In contrast to this, Pa- the Manohar Parrikar Institute for De-
problem during his tenure as Presi- ones at Poonch (April 2023) and in kistan is seen frantically moving with fence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.
dent. Rajouri (January and May 2023). a begging bowl to salvage its econo- Views expressed are of the author and
Despite the aforementioned The prevalent sense in India is of my from an imminent default.
do not necessarily reflect the views of
talking points, over a period, India– ‘enough is enough’. As an outcome The chimera around the Chi- the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the
Pak bilateral paradigm continues to of growing wariness, India slowly na Pakistan Economic Corridor Government of India.
be characterised by frostiness and veered away from what has primarily is faded. The juxtaposition of the
animus, mainly over the issue of remained a dialogue of the deaf. corridor against Pakistan’s eco- This article first appeared in the
Kashmir. Amidst the overarching Pakistan for its part upped the nomic mess and the prominence Comments section of the website (www.
dismal state of bilateral equations, ante against India after the annul- of its shortfalls have eclipsed the idsa.in) of Manohar Parrikar Institute
the prevalent dynamics have primar- ment of the Article 370. Ever since, earlier discourse centred selec- for Defense Studies and Analyses, New
ily consisted of the following aspects. Pakistan has been raising the issue of tively on it being a ‘game changer’. Delhi on November 17, 2023

www.TheIndianEYE.com