Pak-India progress

Watershed moment or false signal

Pak-India relations have developed such a downward spiral of late that even the slightest trace of good news should be welcomed. Word has it – though still somewhat disputed – that the Indians have finally come round to accommodating some of Pakistan’s concerns regarding the Kishanganga dam. They will re-examine objections to the design, at least. The Indians seem to have realised that settling the dispute bilaterally is a much better idea than forcing Islamabad to approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Hopefully better sense will prevail in New Delhi as well, where the final decision will be taken.

But it’s the LoC and working boundary ceasefire violations that are all the rage in the press. Pakistan’s earlier proposal, that the DGMO hotline be leveraged in just such times, too, is proving quite the icebreaker. The first concern should be, and is, immediate cessation of hostilities. But it is equally important to probe repeated violations once the shelling is controlled. It must be investigated which side initiated the violence, and strict preventive measures must be taken, otherwise the problem will never be settled.

There was some optimism not long ago when Modi invited Nawaz for his swearing in. Both prime ministers are known for their right-of-centre bent, which in turn is known for the anti-neighbour ingredient. Yet both betrayed a desire to carve a mutually beneficial way forward where economic interests would take precedence; Nawaz more than Modi. Yet such hopes were soon dashed, and majority of the blame must go to India. But neither side expected the good work to unwind so quickly. Already we are at a position where the optimism of some months ago is a distant tale. From here on, things must be taken one step at a time. Let the confrontation be controlled first and once calm prevails, small steps can be taken to revert to the economic and trade advantages agenda.