Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be attending the Saarc Summit being held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on November 26-27, as will his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. As is usual, there is much speculation about the possibility of the two men meeting on the margins of the conference. Attempting to read anything from unscripted semi-informal meetings that have no written record in the public domain is a virtual impossibility, and informed guesswork and unverifiable leaks are going to be primary sources if any meeting does take place.
What is known is that once again, relations between India and Pakistan are at a crux. Tensions along the Line of Control notwithstanding, the Modi government is well into its honeymoon period and is going to have to be seen to deliver on some of its electoral promises, particularly in the economic sector. The government of Nawaz Sharif has been rattled by protests in Islamabad and elsewhere, and it, too, is in need of being seen to deliver something beyond the merely anodyne if it is not to weaken further. The bottom line is that it is not just the two men at the top who have to want to make an enhanced peace a possibility; it is the political and military layers below them that have to want the same as they do. The challenge for India and Pakistan at Saarc is to find themselves on the same page. The theme for this year’s conference is “Deeper integration for peace and prosperity”. We can but hope.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2014.
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india and pakistan both need to live peacefully there is no other option for these two country, they have to focus on poverty and education to compete in term of technology with the west ,,
India has risen in every aspect and has achieved a lot in its remarkable journey from 1947 till 2014;a journey from under british rule to the worlds 3rd larest economy by gdp ppp basis,from inside Indian sub continental boundaries to uncharted territory of planet Mars,from agranian sector to education,computer,IT,electronics,pharmaceutical,health,automobile,steel and manufacturing powerhouse,from polio endemic to polio free status,from closed economy to market based economy,from 3rd world nation to emerging superpower/potential superpower etc etc the list goes on buy yes poverty is there and that is also work in progress.India invites everyone to join it but will never wait for them and move ahed with or without them
SAARC is useless because of India-Pak feud. India & Pakistan can never make any economic progress together. Pakistan even refuses to provide MFN status to India, in-spite of India having done so for long now.
So, India should forge a economic free-trade zone in rest of SAARC (i.e. India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Srilanka) and call this by some other name. It will give great Philip to economy of the region (excluding Pakistan ofcourse).
Tensions on the LOC cannot be solved by Modi or Nawaz Sharif, it is controlled by the Pakistan Military which will do as it wishes. PM Modi has only enumerated how India will react to cross border firing, not initiate the same. To blame either of the two PM's is to comment with eyes closed. Secondly, having expectations can only lead to disappointment. No relationship can be built on such a weak foundation. India has no expectations from Pakistan, merely hope that it comprehends the follies of its behavior. India is firm, sure and confident that it will root terrorism out of South Asia, with or without any cooperation from others, using every tool, strategy and resource available to it. Those who share the same goal will be welcomed to join India, else they have to fend for themselves, in a manner that best suits them.
I agree with the author. Pakistan should provide India MFN status and gateway to afghnistan.If pakistan doesn't the it is pakistan which is hindering the prospect of SAARC. For this they should be blamed and shamed.
Never great expectations from Indian leadership most especially importantly from Modi's government to resolve all the core and burning issues between Pakistan and India.....
@BlackJack: Reminds me about a story from the Cold War. Once when a Chinese dignitary visited Tirana, he was met with welcome placards which said "We and the Chinese are 800 million strong". At the time, I believe, Albania's population was less than 2 million.
@Noor Nabi: "Hope is not a strategy. There has to be a sincere and serious committment on the part of both India and Pakistan to resolve their outstanding issues on the basis of fairness, trust and mutual respect"
This is reasonable. Sending proxies to India does not build trust, nor does beheading pur soldiers or start targetting our civilians across Indian border. Such behaviors will increasinly draw a robust response from India. Unclear what your definition of fairness is. If you think India will give up through negoiation which Pakistan has been unable to annex with force that is not going to happen. However if you talk about fairness in trade and visa liberalisation or want o discuss operational issues around Indus Water Treaty, India would always be prepared for it.
"Modi government is well into its honeymoon period and is going to have to be seen to deliver on some of its electoral promises, particularly in the economic sector. The government of Nawaz Sharif has been rattled by protests in Islamabad and elsewhere, and it, too, is in need of being seen to deliver something beyond the merely anodyne if it is not to weaken further."
Cannot speak about what Pakistanis expect Nawaz to deliver but i would imagine electricity and transparency in governance is what people expect from him.. As far as India is concerned, if Modi can improve growth, reduce inflation and visibly reduce corruption while maintaining law and order in India, Indians will be happy. A peace deal with Pakistan is not something Modi or BJP has promised in gheir manifesto nor are they expected on deliver on it.
"The bottom line is that it is not just the two men at the top who have to want to make an enhanced peace a possibility; it is the political and military layers below them that have to want the same as they do"
Military in India reports to civilians. If civilians want something, military has o deliver it. It is notseen as a separate 'idaara' in India.
"The challenge for India and Pakistan at Saarc is to find themselves on the same page"
SAARC is not a bilateral forum. It does notrewuire India and Pakistan to be on the same page and it is not a neotiating lever With India for Pakistan.
No expectations, not even after 100 years.
There is this huge difference between India and Pakistan when it comes to Kashmir(well..for other issues as well), that India has been very clear about their stand on Kashmir and has taken measures overtly that are suitable to their interest. Pakistan, on the other hand had been very furtive about the whole Kashmir issue, where they even tried "non-traditional assets", lied about it and was caught red-handed. Pakistan started with the notion of annexing Kashmir, failed miserably several times in the act and now focusing on freedom for Kashmir, which is merely a ploy to save the shreds of dignity that is left.
Having said all that, the current Indian mind set(especially BJP's) is more like someone having a vantage and is very confident from 70 years of effectively countering Pakistan's misadventures and gleefully watching Pakistan imploding from these very same acts. India is well prepared for waiting it out until Pakistan is consumed by its progressively vestigial administrative establishments and their juxtaposed priorities.
I sincerely hope the innocent common man who are caught in between, rise up and have the authorities set the priorities right.
Leave us alone, we don't want any ties with you.
Hope is not a strategy. There has to be a sincere and serious committment on the part of both India and Pakistan to resolve their outstanding issues on the basis of fairness, trust and mutual respect. Absence this nothing will work and there can be many more meaningless SAARC meetings.
The deep state should pay for its crime before talks begin.
HAVE TO WANT TO ???
Didn't make any sense.
Onus is on Pakistan to mend the fence ,India can and will go AHEAD with or without Pakistan or Saarc. Without India Saarc is nothing but a big HOLE. India moving to other market of looking east policy. India's Central Asian policy is in cold storage, As long as Pakistan is playing hard ball. India HAS TO LOOK AT IRAN for central Asian. and it is nightmare for Pakistan and China. Let Pakistan produce more nuclear weapons and non state actors.
india without any other SAARC is itself 3 rd largest economy on a gdp ppp basis.... the writer is ignorant or has he.... ??? ;)
The challenge for India and Pakistan at Saarc is to find themselves on the same page. they do not have to be on the same page. Last 67 years are wasted by Pakistan trying to be equal to India. These two men should be able to talk economy without talking about K word. Otherwise remember K also stands for Kamakazi.
Just curious no one is talking about meeting Kashmiri separatist prior to meeting in Kathmandu?
Ridiculous comparison. Why don't you tell us the ranking and size of South Asia if India is excluded. India is number 3 by PPP on its own, and by adding all the other economies, the needle does not move even one spot.