Pakistan and India have a lot at stake
Pakistan-India relations continue to remain tense. While the Prime Ministers of the two countries would attend the SAARC summit next week in Kathmandu, there is no likelihood of a meeting between them on the sidelines of the moot. India called off peace talks in August after Pakistan first consulted Kashmiri separatists, a move seen as a sign of a tougher stance by Narendra Modi’s right-wing government. In a tit-for-tat move Nawaz Sharif told Kashmir Council in Muzaffarabad on Thursday that he had decided to engage with Kashmiri leaders before dialogue with India.
Pakistan Army maintains that the Indian pressure on the country’s eastern border would have a negative impact on its operations against the terrorists in FATA. The issue was taken up by Gen Raheel Sharif during talks with the US Army and political leadership. He also told US officials that Pakistan had deployed 140,000 troops on its western borders after getting assurance that there would be peace with India on its eastern borders which did not happen.
With foreign troops ending operations in Afghanistan next month, Kabul would face a serious situation. The Afghan Taliban have intensified attacks on government officials and security forces. Meanwhile new challenges are emerging which require international cooperation, particularly between Pakistan and India. Al-Qaeda chief al-Zwahiri has announced the formation of an Indian chapter of the terrorist network with the specific task of targeting India. The rise of the DAISH poses threat not only to the Middle East but also to countries outside the region. The terrorist network has more committed workers, much more financial resources and potentially more extensive global reach than any terrorist group before it. Gen Sharif has assured that the network will not be allowed to operate in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But as President Obama has observed no single country can deal with the threat on its own. Political leadership in Pakistan and India has to realise they can meet existential challenges only through mutual cooperation.