News Analysis India

Tag: India Pakistan ties

  • Navjot Singh Sidhu bats for trade, ‘new friendship chapter’ between India & Pakistan as he visits Kartarpur

    By PTI

    LAHORE: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday visited the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan and offered prayers and stressed on “opening of a new friendship chapter” and trade between the two countries, days after India reopened the visa-free Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims.

    The Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in India’s Punjab state.

    The 4 km-long corridor provides visa free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Darbar Sahib.

    Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March last year because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

    The Kartarpur corridor was reopened on Tuesday for pilgrims.

    “In the name of Baba Guru Nanak, a new chapter of friendship between the two countries should begin,” Sidhu told journalists upon his arrival at the Kartarpur Sahib.

    “After the World wars in which millions of people lost their lives, if Europe can open borders on one-visa, has one passport and one currency, why not in this region of ours where we have figures like Bhagat Singh and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh who are revered by everyone?” he asked.

    Sidhu said he wants mutual love between India and Pakistan.

    “There is a need to open windows in the walls erected in 74 years (between India and Pakistan),” he said, stressing on opening of trade between the two countries.

    “There should be trade between two countries,” the cricketer-turned-politician said.

    Sidhu thanked Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan for taking a step to open the corridor.

    “I am thankful to PM (Imran Khan) for taking the first step and on the other side (India) responded with two steps. I had already said that those favouring the ‘laanga’ (corridor) would have blessings and those opposing it had no value,” he said.

    When Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit CEO Muhammad Latif welcomed the former Test cricketer at the zero point and extended best wishes to him and his delegation on behalf of the prime minister, Sidhu said: “Imran Khan is my elder brother. I am greatly honoured. He (Khan) gave us a lot of love.”

    Sidhu visited the complex and also offered religious rituals.

    He and his delegation members were offered ‘langar’ (food) made from the wheat and vegetables of the fields, which Guru Nanak Dev used to look after.

    According to Latif, over 300 Indian Sikhs visited the Kartarpur Sahib on Saturday the fourth day of the reopening of the route which was suspended for some 20 months following the Covid.

    Earlier this week, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi along with 37 others, including his Cabinet ministers, and Jagir Kaur, president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), had visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

    Some 2,500 Indian Sikhs who have come to Pakistan via Wagah border on the occasion of the 552 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev will also visit the Darbar Sahib.

    In November 2019, Prime Minister Khan formally inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor as part of commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak at a colourful ceremony, paving the way for Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit one of their religion’s holiest sites in Pakistan without needing a visa.

  • Not very hopeful about improvement in Indo-Pak relationship: Ex-Pakistan Ambassador Abdul Basit

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan Ambassador to India Abdul Basit said on Friday he is not hopeful about the improvement in India-Pakistan relationship currently and the two countries can move forward only when they develop the courage to take difficult decisions.

    “I am not very hopeful, under the given circumstances, about this relationship. We may have — one year down the road — some process in place but unless there is some desire to move forward decisively, there is simply no room for any improvement in relationship,” he stated.

    “We have seen our hostility reflect also in Afghanistan,” Basit said during a webinar titled ‘India-Pakistan: Is there a way forward?’, which was organised by think tank Global Counter Terrorism Council (GCTC).

    “How ironic it is that in Doha, Qatar is forced to arrange two separate meetings where India and Pakistan are present. It has come to this pass that our two countries cannot sit in a meeting — where both the countries are present — related to Afghanistan,” Basit mentioned.

    India had on Thursday joined a regional conclave hosted by Qatar in Doha to discuss ways to contain the escalating situation in Afghanistan in the backdrop of the Taliban’s continued offensive across the country.

    Basit said that as India and the US are fostering their strategic partnership, Pakistan, obviously, has a strategic partnership with China.

    “That is negatively affecting Pakistan-India dynamics as well,” he added. Calling the current situation “demoralising”, Basit said South Asia would remain hostage to Pakistan-India hostility.

    “We will not be able to take advantage of the opportunities unleashed by globalisation. It is so unfortunate that intra-regional trade continues to be under 5 per cent,” he stated.

    Basit said he has come to the conclusion that no matter which approach is adopted at the end of the day, Pakistan-India relations will continue to be hostage to mutual hostility unless and until “we found solutions to our core problems — and there I must mention the Jammu and Kashmir dispute”.

    He said some people do not agree with him and they still believe perhaps the best way forward is to take baby steps, and try to have a congenial environment through confidence-building measures, people-to-people contacts, cultural relations, economic relations, etc.

    “But our experience tells us we have tried all these things in the past and nothing has really worked, so much so that we tried confidence-building measures related to Kashmir in 2005-2007. Even those confidence-building measures have unravelled over time,” he mentioned.

    He said there is no appetite left in Pakistan to really “engage with India for talks for the sake of talks” particularly after the steps taken by India on August 5, 2019, in relation to Jammu and Kashmir.

    The Narendra Modi government had on August 5, 2019 revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the erstwhile state into Union territories.

    “Though there have been some back channel interactions, and we saw as a result of that, there was recommitment to the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC). But…we are again searching for possibilities.”

    Following talks between the Directors-General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan over a hotline, a joint statement was issued on February 25, 2021, in which the two countries agreed to the strict observance of all agreements, understandings and ceasefire along the LoC and all other sectors with effect from the February 24-25 midnight, 2021.

    There is no doubt that diplomacy is the art of the possible, he said.

    “But unless there is a mutual desire, political will and the two sides must have courage to take decisive difficult decisions, I do not see as to how the two countries can move forward,” he noted.

  • Senior leader Farooq Abdullah pitches for India-Pakistan dialogues leading to Jammu and Kashmir-specific CBMs

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: As the President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Srinagar on 4-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh, National Conference president and Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah on Sunday pitched for sustained and result oriented dialogue between India and Pakistan and stressed that dialogue should result in J&K-specific Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).

    “Both India and Pakistan should be consistent, coherent and serious in their nascent engagement and ensure people of J&K and Ladakh live a life free from unending miseries,” Abdullah said while addressing party functionaries at two separate meetings in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.

    Asserting that there is no substitute to dialogue, he said the moves and the messages indicating a thaw in relations between both the neighboring countries has put brakes on the escalating tensions.

    “For the entire chest thumping, both countries cannot win a war against each other. India and Pakistan must realize the ground reality, The more serious and consistent both nations are in settling all outstanding areas of disagreements, the better it would be for early return of lasting peace and stability to J&K and the entire region,” Abdullah said.

    “But the dialogue should result in J&K centric CBMs including resumption of cross-LoC trade through a proper banking mechanism and doing away with the present barter system. Such J&K centric CBMs will indeed help two countries solve their disagreements amicably and in an objective manner for the greater good of the people of J&K, Ladakh and the entire region,” he asserted.

    The NC president said if ties between two nations are to improve than both the nations have to come out of their shells and narrow down the space of their differences to get together on the table to work towards an environment that recognizes the concept of JK’s historical individuality, uniqueness of its socio-political complexes and restoration of its political dignity and historical selfhood.

    The India-Pakistan dialogue process, according to Abdullah, would benefit people of J&K the most.

  • India trashes Pakistan’s claim of R&AW’s hand in attack near Hafiz Saeed’s residence in Lahore

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday strongly trashed Pakistan’s allegations that Indian spy agency R&AW orchestrated last month’s bomb blast in Lahore. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said it is not new for Pakistan to engage in “baseless propaganda” against India.

    He said that Pakistan should focus on setting its own house in order and take credible and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from its soil. The international community is well aware of Pakistan’s credentials when it comes to terrorism, he said.

    On Sunday, Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf alleged that India was behind the blast outside the house of Hafiz Saeed in Lahore. Saeed is the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD).

    Three persons were killed and 24 others injured in the blast.

  • Easy availability of drones increases complexity and challenges, says Army Chief after Jammu attack

    By PTI
    Speaking days after attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Thursday said the easy availability of drones definitely increases complexity and challenges.

    We have put in place certain measures, all troops sensitised to this evolving threat, Army Chief said on the drone attack on Jammu Air Force Station.

    “We have strong counter-terrorism & counter-infiltration grid in J&K and our operation to ensure peace, tranquillity will continue,” he said.

    “We are developing capabilities to deal with that threat whether by state-sponsored or by states themselves and to deal with drone threats both in kinetic & non-kinetic realm,” he opined.

    In a first terror attack of its kind, two low-intensity improvised explosive devices dropped by drones went off in a highly secure Indian Air Force base in Jammu, about 14 km off the International Border, in the early hours on Sunday.

    Naravane also said that there has been no infiltration along LoC after ceasefire agreement was reached between India & Pakistan.

    Since there is no infiltration, number of terrorists in Kashmir is lesser, he added. 

    The Army chief on Jammu and Kashmir said, “There will always be elements who will try to sabotage process of peace & development. We have to cater for that.”

  • India declines to comment on Pakistan’s flip-flop on bilateral trade

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India on Friday declined to comment on Pakistan’s flip-flop on plans to go for limited imports of sugar and cotton from the country.

    “We have seen reports on this. But as is evident, we are not the right party to whom this question should be directed at,” said Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

    His response came following questions on the issue at a media briefing.

    In a volte-face, Pakistan’s Cabinet on Thursday rejected the proposal of a high-powered committee to import cotton and sugar from India.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said there can be no normalisation of ties until New Delhi reverses its decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

    The somersault came a day after the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) under newly-appointed Finance Minister Hammad Azhar on Wednesday decided to buy the two key items from India, lifting a nearly two-year-long ban on their import from the neighbouring country.

    Asked whether India is planning to restore the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan, Bagchi said he does not have any information on it.

    India withdrew the MFN status to Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack in 2019.

    To a question on whether there was any interaction between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Qureshi in Dushanbe on the sidelines of a conference, the MEA spokesperson said he was not aware of any such interaction with the Pakistani delegation.

    Both Jaishankar and Qureshi were at the Tajikistan capital earlier this week to attend the Heart of Asia conference.

    The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process is an initiative aimed at bringing together all the key stakeholders to bring lasting peace and stability in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

  • ‘Cross-border terror needs to be watched: Experts welcome ceasefire pact between India and Pakistan

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The ceasefire agreement announced by India and Pakistan is a welcome move as any measure that saves lives on the border and reduces violence must be given a chance, experts said on Friday, but cautioned that cross-border terrorism needs to be closely watched.

    A joint statement issued in Islamabad and New Delhi said the Director Generals of Military Operations of the two countries held discussions over the established mechanism of hotline contact and reviewed the situation along the LoC and all other sectors in a “free, frank and coial” atmosphere. The agreement came into effect from the midnight of February 24/25.

    Lt.Gen.(retd) Satish Dua, who was the Corps Commander of the Srinagar based XV Corps when the Indian Army undertook surgical strikes post the Uri attack in 2016, said the ceasefire is a welcome step and more importantly, a joint statement on it is “rare”.

    He said the agreement comes at the time of commencement of summer when there is a rise in infiltration bids and CFVs. “Every year in the onset of the summer, the infiltration and the firing (CFVs) pick up more. As we are heading towards that summer, it is also a good thing that before the firing starts off, may be it can be capped it in this manner. It will be a good thing,” he said.

    Dua said the latest ceasefire agreement has to be seen from the context of three aspects. One is the situation post August 2019 when the special provisions for the state under Article 370 were abrogated and there was a rise in CFVs.

    Second, diplomatic relations were hit after the withdrawal of the High Commissioners from both the countries. And third is the India’s stance that there would be no talks till Pakistan stops supporting terrorism.

    “There was almost a breakdown of communications in a meaningful way. In that regard, the DGMO (Director Generals) level talk is meant for the management of LoC so that we do not escalate where we can sort out things or sometimes there are issues related to civilians who live across the LoC so they don’t suffer,” Dua said.

    Lt. Gen. (retd) DS Hooda said one should “wait and watch” on how things pan out. Hooda was the Army’s Northern Commander when the surgical strikes took place. “A lot depends on what they (Pakistan) do at the border. If they continue to push terrorists, then obviously the ceasefire agreement will not last,” Hooda said.

    However, he noted that the agreement is something which must have been sanctioned at the highest level from both sides. He added that the agreement should also be seen from the perspective of regional and global factors.

    At the global level, Pakistan’s attempts to raise the Kashmir issue at different fora have not yielded expected results and their ties with Saudi Arabia and UAE have also soured. “To add to it, the economy is also not in good shape,” Hooda said.

    At the regional level, Pakistan’s attempts to create unrest in Kashmir post August 2019 have also not been successful. Even during the stand-off with China in eastern Ladakh, the Indian forces stood strong and did not back down. “All these aspects played a role,” Hooda added.

    The United States has also welcomed the agreement, saying it is a positive step towards greater peace and stability in South Asia.

    White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said at her daily news conference on Thursday that the Biden administration remains closely engaged with a range of leaders and officials in the region, including those in Pakistan.

    Strategic affairs experts Brahma Chellaney said India’s “meandering approach” a sumes its two regional foes will emulate what it does well – jettison beliefs and policies overnight.

    “What explains India’s overtures to Pakistan, from permitting Imran Khan’s flight to the joint statement? Indian press is saying “more steps” likely. India’s meandering approach assumes its two regional foes will emulate what it does well – jettison beliefs and policies overnight,” he said on Twitter.

    While still coddling its terrorist proxies, Pakistan wants better ties with India as part of its efforts to relieve international pressure and reset ties with US. It must be pleased the state department yesterday called it “an important partner with whom we share many interests.”
    — Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) February 26, 2021

    “While still coddling its terrorist proxies, Pakistan wants better ties with India as part of its efforts to relieve international pressure and reset ties with US. It must be pleased the state department yesterday called it ‘an important partner’ with whom we share many interests,” Chellaney tweeted.

  • India, Pakistan agree for ‘strict observance’ of all LoC agreements

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a major development, India and Pakistan on Thursday jointly agreed to ‘strictly observance’ of all the agreements between the two countries.

    “Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 February 2021,” both countries stated in a jointly released statement. 

    In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have the propensity to disturb the peace and lead to violence.

    BIG BREAKINGPakistan and India have jointly agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021. +@NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard
    — Mayank (@scribesoldier) February 25, 2021

    The DGMOs of India and Pakistan held discussions over the established mechanism of hotline contact. The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere.

    Mentioning the mechanism to be adopted in case of any unforeseen situation, “Both sides reiterated that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.”

  • Pakistan asked to take action against perpetrators of atrocities on minorities: Government

    Besides Pakistan, Muraleedharan said there have been reports of violence and harassment against members of minority communities in Bangladesh and Afghanistan as well.

  • Onus on Pakistan to create environment free of terror and hostility: Ministry of External Affairs

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday said the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility, days after Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s comments that it is time to extend a “hand of peace in all directions”.

    “Our position is well-known. India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. He was asked to comment on Bajwa’s remarks. “The onus is on Pakistan for creating such an environment,” Srivastava said.

    In an address at the graduation ceremony of Pakistan Air Force cadets, Gen Bajwa on Tuesday said Pakistan was firmly committed to the ideal of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. “It is time to extend a hand of peace in all directions,” he said in comments largely seen as a message to India.

    The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India’s war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

    The relations further deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories. Notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic in the region, Pakistan has been resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and making concerted efforts to push militants into Kashmir.