New Delhi: In the last couple of days, it is being observed that Pakistan has been extending a ‘hand of peace' to India. This sudden bonhomie between India and Pakistan is giving rise to several questions. One big question that remains pertinent is whether a thaw between India and Pakistan is possible? given the fact that it is not the first time that the militaries of both the country have agreed to maintain peace at the border or for that matter, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan’s Army Chief Bajwa’s sugar-coated words towards India and pitching in for better relations with India. Whether this pacifying move by Pakistan will turn into a ground reality depending on how the events unfold in the coming days and months is something that remains to be seen.
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Analysts view that there is an overture of peace by Pakistan but India have had seen many such beginnings by Pakistan and that it is very premature to say that the relations are easing.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Former Indian envoy and currently a foreign affairs analyst Vishnu Prakash said, “There is a peace overture by Pakistan and the de-facto power is with the army as we all know. What is significant is that the overture has been made by none other than General Bajwa and the rest is if he sticks to that and the corps commanders are onboard, then everything else falls in place in Pakistan. But we have had many false starts and India had seen several such beginnings. Now there are two options for India –One is to look back in history and assume that Pakistan is being duplicitous and tactical or have an economical crisis etc and turn it down or welcome Pakistan’s move. There is no way India can trust Pakistan or vice versa but what is the harm in welcoming it!
“In my take, even if it brings five days of peace and can save lives, why not go for it? and try to work things out although the chances are not high, the name of the game in diplomacy is art of the impossible. Rather than scoffing at it, why not give a chance, given the fact that India has a vision for peaceful South Asia”, he stated.
On being asked how the relations between India-Pak on the economic and trade front would unfold going ahead, Prakash said that there is neither a thaw nor bonhomie in ties between India and Pakistan yet. “Depending on many factors including whether there is the terror-free environment or the terror infrastructure in Pakistan along the Line of Control is at least getting thinned, India would take baby steps forward. So it is a long journey ahead with bumpy roads and a lot of pitfalls. There is no question of celebrating such a move by Pakistan but at the same time India is not turning it down. ‘My take is we are not getting weighed down by history but we cannot forget history’, he reiterated.
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India has time and again maintained that it desires a normal neighbourly relation with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. However, India highlighted that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of violence and hostility.
India has also clearly pointed out to Pakistan several times that terror and talks cannot go hand in hand and asked Pakistan several times to take action against terror groups for launching terror attacks against India.
Most interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday wrote a letter to Pakistan’s premier Imran Khan congratulating him on Pakistan National Day, saying that as a neighbouring country, India desires cordial relations with the people of Pakistan. For this, an environment of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is imperative. In a way, this can be viewed as a smart and mature move by India, especially at a time when India-Pakistan relations once again have become the ‘talk of the town’ for the international community.
Furthermore, Former ambassador Jitendra Tripathi took a more realistic view on the matter and said that Pakistan has got its problems such as cost of living is increasing exponentially, the nation has been almost dumped by Saudia Arabia, UAE etc and the US is not in good books of Pakistan. “China, on the other hand, is going back on its commitments in various projects under BRI in Pak and China is no more in a mood to extend more grants to Pakistan because China is not doing things for charity but its promotion. As long as China is seeing that it is not getting anywhere with Pakistan, it is not going to extend unhindered cooperation and grants, loans to Pakistan. So being cornered in all those regions, Pakistan has no options left but to see that may be they can mend their relations with India”, Tripathi points out.
Recalling that the speech by Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa did not have any mention about the so-called referendum in Kashmir, Tripathi said that invariably Pakistan used to rake up Kashmir issue at various international platforms and that can be treated as a change in attitude which is welcome.
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“But the only problem in India-Pakistan relations is lack of deficit of trust; especially in terms of Pakistan, one cannot be sure. Therefore, India should not take Bajwa’s or Imran Khan’s statements for face value rather take a cautious approach, because we have seen, like China, Pakistan has mastered the practice by China, that is to promise and go back on that. It is too premature to think that Pakistan will mend the ways”, he explains.
Ties between India and Pakistan took an ugly turn ever since the Pulwama attack and not to forget the scrapping of Article 370 in Kashmir, which took both countries to the brink of war. It caught the attention of the international community to an extent that all the major powers had called for de-escalation and end of hostilities, as every country in the world is suspicious of the desolation a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours can cause to the global community.
