The collapse of
planned peace talks between India and Pakistan
hours before they were to start on Sunday has
raised questions about the arch-rivals’
willingness to overcome mutual mistrust, built
since their separation almost seven decades
ago.
This is the second time the nuclear-armed
neighbors have canceled talks since Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in
May last year, with both sides choosing to
engage in a war of words ahead of the planned
two-day meeting of their top security advisers.
Since Modi and his Pakistani counterpart,
Nawaz Sharif, agreed on the talks in Russia last
month, ceasefire violations across the
countries’ border have increased. Analysts fear
they may escalate.
“(What it means is more) mutual accusations,
acrimony, more provocations,” said Siddharth
Varadarajan, a political analyst and former
editor of the Hindu newspaper in India.
“In other words, contribution of the pattern we
have seen in the past few weeks.”
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since
becoming independent nations in 1947, two of
them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir,
which both claim in full but rule in part.
New Delhi has for years accused Pakistan of
backing separatist Muslim rebels in India’s part
of Kashmir. Pakistan denies the allegations and
blames India for fomenting unrest inside
Pakistan.
In the now-cancelled talks, India wanted to only
discuss terrorism-related issues and objected
to Pakistan’s intentions of meeting separatists
from Kashmir.
Pakistan wanted a wider agenda.
Pakistani National Defense University professor
Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema told the country’s Express
Tribune newspaper calling off the talks was not
good for regional peace, and that Kashmir will
always be on the agenda of any India-Pakistan
talks.
Aakar Patel, a long-time Modi observer and the
new head of Amnesty International in India,
said New Delhi’s position had been weakened.
“How will not talking solve this?” he wrote in
the Times of India. “If we are serious about
getting something out of them, we have to
engage with them.”
Pakistan’s decision to pull out followed Indian
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s ultimatum to
stick to a terrorism-related agenda. India called
Pakistan’s decision “unfortunate.” Swaraj said
on Saturday Sharif was under domestic
pressure to pull out.
In August last year, India called off planned
meetings between the countries’ foreign
secretaries as Pakistan wanted to meet with
Kashmiri leaders - as has been the practice that
is now opposed by the Indian government led
by nationalist Modi.
The prospects of the long-awaited talks had
been clouded in recent weeks by a series of
militant attacks and border skirmishes. Swaraj
said there had been 91 ceasefire violations
since the meeting between Modi and Sharif in
Ufa in Russia. — Agencies
Source: www.saudigazette.com.sa/mobile/index.cfm?method=sphome.spcon&contentid=20150824254293