As the world closely watches updates on political turbulence in Islamabad, some important developments on the foreign relations front between India and Pakistan are taking shape. India has announced the cancellation of secretary-level talks between the two arch rivals after a meeting between Abdul Basit, Pakistan’s high commissioner in India, and Kashmiri leaders. The meeting between India and Pakistan was expected to explore opportunities to improve ties between the two countries. It was hoped that relations between India and Pakistan would bolster after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was invited to inauguration ceremony of the recently elected Modi government.
By annulling the talks session, India has sent a strong signal to Pakistan and the world. Pakistan has defended its position and claimed that consultations with Kashmiri leaders was a common practice before any talks with India. However, India has condemned Pakistan’s meeting and reasserted that Jammu & Kashmir was an integral part of India. The Modi leadership has warned that, unlike its predecessors, it will adopt a zero tolerance approach and "Pakistan's continued efforts to interfere in India's internal affairs were unacceptable." The recent blow to peace initiatives shows that India is trying to establish new ground rules to take the peace process forward. Any engagement of separatist leaders by Pakistan will not be taken lightly as India remains deeply suspicious of Islamabad’s intentions.
Despite several attempts at rapprochement, the bitter India-Pakistan bilateral relations have only taken one step forward and two steps backwards. Although the two neighbors share striking similarities in their social, cultural and economic makeup, Kashmir remains a thorny political issue that has led to an impasse in peace dialogues. India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of training and funding jihadist groups to wage a "proxy war against India" in Kashmir. As the Kashmir dispute invokes high emotions on both sides, political leadership of both countries has often shied away from taking vital decisions to achieve a peaceful resolution of this outstanding issue.
It can be argued that the talks remained largely symbolic and did not have any concrete agenda. Without a mandate from their respective civilian leaderships, who have their plates full with domestic issues, the dialogue would have been unable to break any significant ground. Pakistan has also expressed disappointment at the Indian withdrawal from talks and it is not likely to disengage the Hurriyat leadership in future as well. Such deadlocks do not omen well for building trust and making sincere peace efforts between the two hostile neighbors.
Relations between India and Pakistan remain key for promoting peace and stability in South Asia. The US, which sees an imminent departure from the region, has already described the scenario as ‘unfortunate’ and urged both countries to find a common ground to enter into a constructive dialogue. In case tensions between India and Pakistan escalate, the events could turn disastrous for the already fragile regional security. While Pakistan is struggling with political instability and war against militancy, India’s relations with other regional countries such as China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also hit a low key. In the larger context, the South Asian region cannot develop itself into a major socio-economic hub till these countries overcome their political hurdles.
