Issues in the Management of the India–Pakistan International Border
A discordant political relationship, three and a half wars and Pakistan’s material support for secessionist militants in the border states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir compelled India to harden its international border with Pakistan. An inward-looking economy and the absence of an imperative for regional economic integration also resulted in restricted movement of people and goods across the border. However, in the past decade or so, an emergent Indian economy coupled with both countries’ desire to engage themselves constructively have paved the way for softening the border.
Realism Not Romanticism Should Dictate India’s Pakistan Policy
The next government in Delhi must be open to the idea of grabbing a good deal if one is on offer. But there is no reason for India to go overboard in trying to seal a deal. In other words, if Pakistan desires parity with India, it should not expect ‘magnanimity’ from India, and if it expects ‘magnanimity’, then it should not insist on parity.
Indo-Pak DGsMO Meeting: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Shorn of its rhetoric, the only tangible outcome discernible from the joint statement is the agreement on staging two flag meetings at the LoC. In fact, there are some questions that need to be asked, for example, why did the situation worsen to the extent that the DGsMO had to meet to affirm their commitment to maintain the sanctity of, and the ceasefire on, the LOC?
Neither Peace nor Process: India-Pakistan on Escalation Ladder
The double-speak of Nawaz Sharif has led many in India to doubt his sincerity on improving relations. Questions are also being raised on whether Sharif is still living in the 1990s when he followed a twin track approach of talks and trade proceeding in parallel with terrorism, something which India finds unacceptable today.
Pak Army Continuing Proxy War in Kashmir
Though the Pakistan army denies its involvement in raising violence levels along the LoC, the international boundary and in the hinterland, it is understood well that without the active support of the army and the ISI, no serious attempt can be made by the terrorists to infiltrate.
Peace Process: Pakistan will have to walk the talk
The New York meeting between the two prime ministers has resulted in some new grounds being broken. Importantly the red lines and ground rules have been drawn thanks to some plain speak by the Indian leaders.
Pakistan Policy reduced to a Single Binary
Recent events has exposed the absence of any sort of strategic clarity at the political level and sheer lack of options at the diplomatic level on how India should deal with Pakistan.
Anatomy of India and Pakistan Reconciliation
Islamabad remains sanguine that as long as it can leverage both cross border terrorism as well as conventional asymmetry by playing the nuclear card, it can easily manage relations with India.
Ambush on the LoC: Rethinking the Response
There have reportedly been 57 ceasefire violations of the LoC this year, which, according to the MoD, are 80 per cent more than the same period last year, and the number of infiltration attempts have doubled.
