Rising tensions

The last week has shown just how fragile peace overtures between Pakistan and India really are. After a year of incremental progress, tensions on the Line of Control (LoC) have threatened to undo all the progress. First, Pakistan’s hockey players were threatened by the Shiv Sena in Mumbai and now our women cricketers have to figure out whether they will feel safe playing in that city for the upcoming World Cup. Now, India has put off an already long-delayed scheme to give elderly Pakistanis visas on arrival at the border. This scheme would have allowed Pakistanis over the age of 65 to get non-reporting visas for 45 days and the ability to visit up to five Indian cities. The security threat posed by this agreement is minimal since senior citizens are rarely security risks. The move seems to be the first manifestation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that the two countries cannot engage in ‘business as usual’.

India must be apportioned much of the share of the blame for deteriorating bilateral relations. Tensions along the LoC arose after two Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border shelling. The facts surrounding the deaths of Indian soldiers a few days later are still disputed but the initial Indian claim that one of them was beheaded now seems to be incorrect. Yet, elements in the Indian government and media stoked anti-Pakistan sentiment to such an extent that a souring in relations was inevitable.

Pakistan will be tempted to retaliate in kind, perhaps, by putting off granting India the most-favoured nation trading status once again. This would be unwise. Now is a time for tamping down tensions, not aggravating them. We need to be the more mature partner here and ask India to join us at the negotiating table. The last few years have shown that talks can lead to progress but now we can also see how quickly that progress can unravel. The correct response to this would be to double down on negotiations and not give up on them altogether.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2013.