Improving Pak-Indo relations

Improving Pak-Indo relations

Dr. Jassim Taqui

 “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Many people miss the fact that the mission of envoys accredited to other countries is to improve bilateral relations. Diplomats are the hope. With their diplomatic skills and experience, they are the answer to defusing tension and deterring  war. Eruption of war should be considered by all standards a primitive way of resolving differences.

Almost all think tanks predict that the first nuclear war would start from the Indian subcontinent and it would be between India and Pakistan. This would be a disaster not only for regional peace but also for global security.

Unfortunately, the UN Security Council remains indifferent to this danger. No action has been taken to help diffuse tension between the two nuclear states.

However, one could see some improvement in the bilateral relations. First, came the statement of the head of India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) Sharad Kumar in which he said that there was no evidence of Pakistan government or agencies’ involvement in the attack on Indian Air Force in Pathankot. Subsequently, the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Gautam Bambawale stated that he was expecting a breakthrough in resuming the Indo-Pak dialogue under which the two countries could hold talks on all issues, including Kashmir.

By far, these are the best development in the strained bilateral relations. The two governments should stop using media to spread hatred and confusion between the two countries. Let the diplomats work out confidence building measures and a mechanism to resolve peacefully the outstanding issues that hamper the normalization of the bilateral relations.