A prudent assessment on South Asian security by the US State Department is worth appreciating. It has, once again, stated in categorical terms that heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the unresolved dispute of Kashmir could lead to a full-fledged war. The US intelligence community analysis, detailed before the US Congress, cannot be shunned away as an opinionated piece. Rather, it goes on to forecast that the two nuclear-armed nations could go to any length, and risk a nuclear confrontation. This reiteration confirms the camouflaged and confused spectrum in the region as India, under the jaundiced ideologue of Hindutva, had refused to enter into any meaningful talks with Pakistan, and upped the ante by ruthlessly cracking down on Kashmiris.
The US report has invoked many relevant points, and has apparently led to the conclusion that Washington and Islamabad should stay glued in their counterterrorism strategy. This is why spokesperson Ned Price said that the goal of a stable and secure South and Central Asia, free from terrorism, depends on the strength of its partnership with Pakistan. This is a welcome understanding, and is a departure from the conventional aspect of focusing too much on India by virtue of its clout. The new approach confirms the undisputed fact that Pakistan’s strategic edge ought to be recognised, and at the same time its immediate security concerns emanating from Kashmir and Kabul must be addressed holistically.
The most relevant question now is: will Washington prevail over New Delhi to convince it to kick-start a dialogue with Islamabad? It has to do so if the sole superpower has to retain its relevance in the region. While dealing with China, and at the same time hobnobbing with India under QUAD, the US will have to balance out its policy by addressing the imbroglio of Kashmir. The dispute has been lingering on the world body agenda for seven decades, and pushing the region into the abyss of fear, merely because India is inflexible on taking a call. This impasse must come to an end.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2023.
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