Peace offensive
COAS General Qamar Bajwa made a strong case for peace with India at the Islamabad Security Dialogue on March 18, 2021. He sought the world’s help for the purpose of ending the conflict between the two South Asian nuclear armed neighbours. He emphasised that it was time to bury the past and move forward. General Bajwa’s words echoed Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s at the same moot at the inaugural session just one day before. The PM had promised Pakistan would take two steps towards this goal for every one that India took. Similar sentiments were expressed by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who spoke after the COAS. This ‘same page’ message by both the civilian and military leadership (particularly the latter) represents a shift towards boosting the economic potential of the country and the region and in the process reshaping the international image of Pakistan that has suffered negative fallout from the conflicts and violence that have bedevilled the region in past years. General Bajwa was at pains to underline that this shift was not due to any pressure but a deliberate decision based on rationality to reframe Pakistan’s image as a peace-loving, useful member of the international community. He pointed to the huge expenditure on security and defence by both Pakistan and India at the expense of development favouring the peoples of both countries. Peace in South Asia, he continued, would help remove the impediments to regional connectivity and the unlocking of the area’s true potential. The disputes between Pakistan and India had to be resolved through a dialogue in a dignified and peaceful manner. General Bajwa hoped India would reciprocate in the same spirit to push forward the march to a new future. He also hoped the new Biden administration in the US would play its role in transforming the traditional South Asian contestation into a gainful all-round economic victory for the world in general and the region in particular. On the broader contours of Pakistan’s external policy, especially with regard to China, the US, and Afghanistan, General Bajwa reminded his audience of Pakistan’s contribution to the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan, reiterated our role in enhancing trade and economic ties with Kabul and inviting Afghanistan to be part of the energy and trade corridors linking Central, South, and West Asia, including CPEC. At the same time, General Bajwa messaged the US between the lines not to see Pakistan through just the CPEC lens.
The road to peace and normalisation with India has proved a long, winding, circuitous one with many ups and downs. In fact it would not be incorrect to say both countries continue to be prisoners of history as far as their mutual relations are concerned. General Bajwa therefore could not but consider Kashmir as the core issue that had kept relations between the two neighbours hostage. It may surprise some that the COAS chose to ‘ignore’ the illegal annexation of the part of Kashmir under India’s control. This relegation of the core issue to secondary importance to be dealt with over time had been the cause of trouble for civilian governments in our past time and again. But it goes without saying that when the COAS speaks, one can feel confident that no adverse fallout can occur. Certain developments in Pakistan-India relations of late seem encouraging, The contact between the DGMOs of both sides that resulted in the restoration of the ceasefire on the Line of Control being one, while the resumption of the dialogue on water issues in New Delhi could be considered the other. General Bajwa spoke wisely when he argued that without setting one’s own house in order, not much could be expected from outside. He recalled that after overpowering terrorism and extremism (at least to a considerable extent), Pakistan had begun the work towards sustainable development and improving the economic conditions of the underdeveloped areas. For the last objective, it is also necessary to revisit and resolve through dialogue in the best manner possible the grievances of these areas by giving them their rights and instituting political and economic inclusivity. In the same vein on the external front, Pakistan must follow up its peace efforts in Afghanistan by using its influence on the Taliban to reduce violence and open the door to peace in that war-torn land, whose benefits would be enjoyed by the region and the world as a whole.
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