Not worth a damn!
Tellis has been India’s flag-bearer in America for decades
The writer is a former ambassador of Pakistan. The views expressed here are his own
The Washington-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace released a report last September by Ashley Tellis, titled “Are India-Pakistan Peace Talks worth a damn?”. Given his Indian origins and the fact that he holds the Indian-funded Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at Carnegie, it is not surprising that Tellis echoes Indian allegations against Pakistan and supports the Modi government’s line of rejecting a dialogue with Pakistan.
Tellis has been India’s flag-bearer in America for decades. As adviser to Robert Blackwill, Bush’s ambassador to India, he has been the architect of the Indo-US strategic partnership and an ardent advocate of strengthening India as a counter-weight to China, as well as a supporter of India’s domination of South Asia. His latest report maintains that India should not engage with Pakistan nor should the US support such a dialogue unless Pakistan “changes course” and ends alleged support to terrorists — a charge that is completely aligned with the Modi government’s policies. So much for intellectual honesty and impartiality by a renowned think tank like Carnegie.
However, from Pakistan’s perspective as well, a dialogue with India would be meaningless as long as New Delhi continues its efforts to bludgeon the Kashmiris into submission. To engage with India while it conducts its reign of terror and suppression in IOK would be a betrayal of the heroic Kashmiri people, who look to Pakistan for support in their legitimate struggle for self-determination. Our position should be that there can be no dialogue as long as Indian brutality continues against the Kashmiris.
Besides, our experience shows that India has always used the dialogue process as a smokescreen behind which it continues its suppression of the Kashmiris while trying to hoodwink the international community. India has also used such engagement to demoralise the Kashmiris and sow suspicion among them against Pakistan. We should not, therefore, assist and enable such Indian chicanery.
We also know from experience that Indians have never seriously engaged in a dialogue to resolve issues whether it is Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek or any other dispute. Their negotiating tactic is guided by the maxim: what is ours is ours, what is yours is negotiable. India may have got away with such tactics with its smaller neighbours but not with Pakistan. As a result, our negotiations with India have always proved sterile. Even when agreements have been reached, they have been reinterpreted to death — like the Simla agreement. As a result, none of our disputes have been resolved. Even the Indus Waters Treaty, facilitated by a third party, the World Bank, has been repeatedly violated by India.
While Modi’s government has used the pretext of ending terrorism as a precondition for talks, Pakistan, too, has legitimate concerns about Indian state-sponsored terrorism which is acknowledged by their National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, on visual record. Then there is the confirmation by Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. TTP and Baloch terrorists based in Afghanistan have also boasted about Indian and Afghan support for their terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Another argument used by Tellis to oppose Pakistan-India talks is the allegation that the Pakistan Army opposes efforts by civilian leaders to normalise relations with India. Some of our pseudo-intellectuals belonging to the chattering classes also support this view. But such claims are contrary to the facts. Some of the progress in Pakistan-India relations has taken place under military rule of Generals Zia and Musharraf. On the other hand, our civilian leaders have never compromised on Kashmir or other disputes. Therefore, this is a false Indian argument to mislead the international community and gullible Pakistanis. Besides, on the Indian side we have witnessed the role of their military to scuttle progress in negotiations for instance to resolve the Siachen dispute — not once but twice, in 1989 and 1992.
The underlying reason for the continued stalemate in Pakistan-India relations is the hubris among India’s ruling elite, irrespective of their political credentials or ideological moorings. Whether it is the Congress party or the BJP, the civilians or the military, they are all committed to the goal of Indian domination of South Asia. They view any compromise to resolve differences with neighbouring countries as a sign of weakness. In their view, issues can only be resolved on Indian terms. Unless there is a change in this Indian approach, none of our disputes can be settled through negotiations.
Unfortunately, some of our policymakers have not yet recognised this reality. They continue to harp on the resumption of dialogue with India as an end in itself. This is misinterpreted by the Indians as a sign of our weakness and desperation. Consequently, they keep raising the ante, seeking unilateral concessions by Pakistan, rather than engaging in a mutually beneficial dialogue. The reality is that it is as much in India’s interest, if not more, to resolve differences with Pakistan, such as the Kashmir dispute, where India has been bleeding for decades.
Our policymakers must also recognise the futility of seeking third-party intervention, such as by the US, to help facilitate resolution of Pakistan-India disputes. This is especially true now than ever before because with the Indo-US strategic partnership against China, the US is no longer an honest broker. For instance, both the Obama and Trump administrations initially favoured a US role but quickly reversed their stance in the face of Indian opposition, eventually regurgitating the Indian line with Pakistan.
Instead of seeking a sterile dialogue with India, there is a need for Pakistan to focus on building up its economic and military strength so as to protect its interests and uphold its principled position on key issues such as Kashmir. Only then will India and its sponsors come to realise that it is in their own interest to engage with Pakistan and resolve disputes rather than prolong the existing stalemate. Till such time, I agree with Tellis: Pakistan-India talks are not worth a damn.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2017.
Tellis has been India’s flag-bearer in America for decades. As adviser to Robert Blackwill, Bush’s ambassador to India, he has been the architect of the Indo-US strategic partnership and an ardent advocate of strengthening India as a counter-weight to China, as well as a supporter of India’s domination of South Asia. His latest report maintains that India should not engage with Pakistan nor should the US support such a dialogue unless Pakistan “changes course” and ends alleged support to terrorists — a charge that is completely aligned with the Modi government’s policies. So much for intellectual honesty and impartiality by a renowned think tank like Carnegie.
However, from Pakistan’s perspective as well, a dialogue with India would be meaningless as long as New Delhi continues its efforts to bludgeon the Kashmiris into submission. To engage with India while it conducts its reign of terror and suppression in IOK would be a betrayal of the heroic Kashmiri people, who look to Pakistan for support in their legitimate struggle for self-determination. Our position should be that there can be no dialogue as long as Indian brutality continues against the Kashmiris.
Besides, our experience shows that India has always used the dialogue process as a smokescreen behind which it continues its suppression of the Kashmiris while trying to hoodwink the international community. India has also used such engagement to demoralise the Kashmiris and sow suspicion among them against Pakistan. We should not, therefore, assist and enable such Indian chicanery.
We also know from experience that Indians have never seriously engaged in a dialogue to resolve issues whether it is Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek or any other dispute. Their negotiating tactic is guided by the maxim: what is ours is ours, what is yours is negotiable. India may have got away with such tactics with its smaller neighbours but not with Pakistan. As a result, our negotiations with India have always proved sterile. Even when agreements have been reached, they have been reinterpreted to death — like the Simla agreement. As a result, none of our disputes have been resolved. Even the Indus Waters Treaty, facilitated by a third party, the World Bank, has been repeatedly violated by India.
While Modi’s government has used the pretext of ending terrorism as a precondition for talks, Pakistan, too, has legitimate concerns about Indian state-sponsored terrorism which is acknowledged by their National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, on visual record. Then there is the confirmation by Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. TTP and Baloch terrorists based in Afghanistan have also boasted about Indian and Afghan support for their terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Another argument used by Tellis to oppose Pakistan-India talks is the allegation that the Pakistan Army opposes efforts by civilian leaders to normalise relations with India. Some of our pseudo-intellectuals belonging to the chattering classes also support this view. But such claims are contrary to the facts. Some of the progress in Pakistan-India relations has taken place under military rule of Generals Zia and Musharraf. On the other hand, our civilian leaders have never compromised on Kashmir or other disputes. Therefore, this is a false Indian argument to mislead the international community and gullible Pakistanis. Besides, on the Indian side we have witnessed the role of their military to scuttle progress in negotiations for instance to resolve the Siachen dispute — not once but twice, in 1989 and 1992.
The underlying reason for the continued stalemate in Pakistan-India relations is the hubris among India’s ruling elite, irrespective of their political credentials or ideological moorings. Whether it is the Congress party or the BJP, the civilians or the military, they are all committed to the goal of Indian domination of South Asia. They view any compromise to resolve differences with neighbouring countries as a sign of weakness. In their view, issues can only be resolved on Indian terms. Unless there is a change in this Indian approach, none of our disputes can be settled through negotiations.
Unfortunately, some of our policymakers have not yet recognised this reality. They continue to harp on the resumption of dialogue with India as an end in itself. This is misinterpreted by the Indians as a sign of our weakness and desperation. Consequently, they keep raising the ante, seeking unilateral concessions by Pakistan, rather than engaging in a mutually beneficial dialogue. The reality is that it is as much in India’s interest, if not more, to resolve differences with Pakistan, such as the Kashmir dispute, where India has been bleeding for decades.
Our policymakers must also recognise the futility of seeking third-party intervention, such as by the US, to help facilitate resolution of Pakistan-India disputes. This is especially true now than ever before because with the Indo-US strategic partnership against China, the US is no longer an honest broker. For instance, both the Obama and Trump administrations initially favoured a US role but quickly reversed their stance in the face of Indian opposition, eventually regurgitating the Indian line with Pakistan.
Instead of seeking a sterile dialogue with India, there is a need for Pakistan to focus on building up its economic and military strength so as to protect its interests and uphold its principled position on key issues such as Kashmir. Only then will India and its sponsors come to realise that it is in their own interest to engage with Pakistan and resolve disputes rather than prolong the existing stalemate. Till such time, I agree with Tellis: Pakistan-India talks are not worth a damn.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2017.