INDO – PAK DÉTENTE AND COOPERATIVE SECURITY
January 2, 2007 (Press Release) --
With the India-Pakistan Peace Progress set on a steady course, hope is generated in the New Year that bilateral relations will take a quantum jump. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rightly exuded optimism about the future, regardless of the fact that the motives of a military leadership are unpredictable and its Kashmir centricity has prevented a forward movement. He has even gone to the extent of hoping that the past will be forgotten, that the two countries talk about their “collective destiny” and that a time would come when complete trust shall prevail to enable the two neighbours to enter into a treaty of peace, security and friendship.
In the past, Pakistan’s military leaders have rejected Indian offers of peace and security, including a No-War pact and it is doubtful if it will be responsive now, given that the anti-India rhetoric articulated during half-a-century has not yet been abandoned. The result is that a trust deficit still persists and problems on the bilateral, structured agenda remain unresolved, even though the margin of difference has considerably narrowed down. However, a realization is now dawning that Indo-Pak relations are not ordained to remain adversarial perpetually. A sense of confidence in their common destiny, coupled with courage to take bold decisions to change old mindsets is needed. The time has come for a strategic rethink, for the two countries to move away from conditioned reflexes, open new avenues and pave the way for cooperative security.
Projecting India as a perpetual adversary and a threat to Pakistan’s security and integrity and concentrating on militarizing the country through pacts with the US and NATO, has helped strengthen the Army’s grip on every aspect of life in Pakistan and project itself as the only organized force which could guard the country’s territorial integrity. But, of late, with the nuclear confidence-building measures and SAFTA making progress, the two countries may be said to have begun thinking on cooperative security. The high-profile summitry to achieve potential breakthroughs has reinforced the importance of finding ways to minimize conflict and expand cooperation. The continuing challenge is to lend political energy to the process of problems solving and accelerate wide-ranging regional cooperation.
In the past, Pakistan’s military leaders have rejected Indian offers of peace and security, including a No-War pact and it is doubtful if it will be responsive now, given that the anti-India rhetoric articulated during half-a-century has not yet been abandoned. The result is that a trust deficit still persists and problems on the bilateral, structured agenda remain unresolved, even though the margin of difference has considerably narrowed down. However, a realization is now dawning that Indo-Pak relations are not ordained to remain adversarial perpetually. A sense of confidence in their common destiny, coupled with courage to take bold decisions to change old mindsets is needed. The time has come for a strategic rethink, for the two countries to move away from conditioned reflexes, open new avenues and pave the way for cooperative security.
Projecting India as a perpetual adversary and a threat to Pakistan’s security and integrity and concentrating on militarizing the country through pacts with the US and NATO, has helped strengthen the Army’s grip on every aspect of life in Pakistan and project itself as the only organized force which could guard the country’s territorial integrity. But, of late, with the nuclear confidence-building measures and SAFTA making progress, the two countries may be said to have begun thinking on cooperative security. The high-profile summitry to achieve potential breakthroughs has reinforced the importance of finding ways to minimize conflict and expand cooperation. The continuing challenge is to lend political energy to the process of problems solving and accelerate wide-ranging regional cooperation.
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