Pakistan-India: A narrow bandwidth of relations

 

Relations between Pakistan and India continue to fluctuate in a limited bandwidth. The lists of their respective nuclear facilities and prisoners held by one another as part of binding obligations were exchanged between the two nations on January 1. In terms of managing bilateral relations, there is nothing else to show besides these developments.

This situation has a straightforward cause. This policy of not engaging Pakistan demonstrates a certain arrogance on the part of India. In a world with multiple polarities, India views itself as a developing pole. It collaborates with the United States on the Indo-Pacific containment strategy for China. It will host the G20's next meeting because it is a member. It sees itself as a rising power and plans to become the third-largest economy in the world in a few years, behind China and the United States.

Its theoretical playing field is South Asia. It was born with the power to rule the region. As it positions itself for great power status, it may therefore be indifferent to the region. Pakistan is the only nation that has resisted this idea. For more than 75 years, it has attempted to match India, including in the nuclear arms race. Pakistan, on the other hand, has experienced political instability and economic collapse over the past almost eight months. Terrorism's specter has grown. The strategic relevance of Pakistan has been directly affected by these developments.

India has made it harder for people-to-people interactions as well as artistic and cultural endeavors. A Pakistani film called "Maula Jatt," which had been approved for screening by the Indian censor board, was recently denied entry. The nature of India's policies, which are influenced by Hindutva, is also to blame for this delaying of people-to-people and cultural interactions.

Salman Bashir Pakistan's external vulnerabilities increase as the internal crisis worsens. A serious situation has emerged as a result of the nation's ongoing crisis and the dread of an economic collapse. In order for the nation to avoid default, it will need to comply with the IMF's stringent conditions. As a result, there is no room for it to act in accordance with its strategic imperatives or to assert its independence and sovereignty. The sad thing is that this crisis came about on its own.

There is no chance that a bilateral initiative will allow for normal communication with India to resume. India has made it harder for people-to-people interactions as well as artistic and cultural endeavors. A Pakistani film called "Maula Jatt," which had been approved for screening by the Indian censor board, was recently denied entry. The nature of India's policies, which are influenced by Hindutva, is also to blame for this delaying of people-to-people and cultural interactions.

Despite its great power syndrome, India is also in the midst of an internal political struggle that is heavily influenced by its policies toward non-Hindus as well as the significant Muslim and Christian minority populations. There will be a lot of anti-Pakistan propaganda as India gets closer to its general elections next year. Pakistan is a convenient location from which to win India's elections. Pakistan may also be dared by Prime Minister Modi to fail in order to win votes.

In short, the Pakistani crisis needs to be stopped if there is to be peace and security in the region. This will take some time, most likely another year or two. Pakistan and India have a long list of unresolved issues, and neither side is able to talk to each other normally. It is impossible to maintain unwavering hostility between close neighbors. The issues must be resolved through either diplomacy or the use of force, but it appears that the region is moving toward the latter. 

Pakistan and India, on the other hand, share the desire for prosperity and peace. Rhetorical statements made in opposition to one another are not sufficient to resolve the issue. Unfortunately, neither side has a sufficient number of statesmanlike leaders available, and neither side should play to the public or simply comply with the requirements of the election by cursing one another.

India and Pakistan need to take their relationship seriously and first establish procedures for regular diplomatic communication.