Indo-Pak peace
The Shehbaz Sharif administration made its first major foreign policy move on Sunday, with the new prime minister sending a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call for a resolution to the Kashmir dispute in the “interest of mutual peace and prosperity”. The move comes a few days after Modi congratulated Shehbaz on his election as PM, with both leaders speaking of the need for peaceful ties, and Shehbaz reportedly emphasising that finding a resolution to the Kashmir dispute was “indispensable”.
In the letter, Shehbaz noted that good ties between India and Pakistan are not just in the interest of the two countries, but the entire South Asia region. He also mentioned the potential benefits to both countries’ economies and how working together could lead to “progress and prosperity of our people”. We must also note that while mostly congenial, the letter also underscored Pakistan’s sacrifices in fighting terrorism — an indirect jab at the Modi government’s regular baseless claims that Pakistan is supporting terrorism in India.
While almost every prime minister has started his term with a promise to try and improve ties with India, few have been able to move the needle, either due to external factors or domestic issues such as hostility from opposition parties or a lack of enthusiasm in the establishment. This time may be different. While the PTI — at least until their resignations are submitted and accepted — represents a sizable opposition group, the bad blood between the party and the ruling coalition may lead to the government ignoring the party.
The more significant sign, meanwhile, appears to be that the military has given strong hints that it backs efforts to improve ties. Just two weeks back, Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said at the Islamabad Security Dialogue that “Pakistan continues to believe in using dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all outstanding issues including the Kashmir dispute.” While the army chief made similar overtures at the same event last year, when he said, “It is time to bury the past and move forward,” it appeared then-PM Imran Khan was not entirely on board at the time, as he had said, “India would have to take the first step” to normalise relations.
Shehbaz does not appear to have made such preconditions, while Gen Bajwa’s speech earlier this month also included a reference to the need for “political leadership of the region to rise above their emotional and perceptional biases and break the shackles of history to bring peace and prosperity to almost three billion people of the region.” While this could just as well have been directed at Modi and his allies, in retrospect, this could also be a more general statement that applies to the leadership of both countries and the need to go to the table with open minds and no preconditions.
After all, if a peace deal acceptable to all parties is somehow achieved, we would all be fine with a bit of bruising of the ego for the leader that outstretched his hand first.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2022.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.