Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his brother, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, congratulated PM Modi on forming the government. (Image: Reuters/PTI)
Pakistan may be looking to negotiate with India. On Monday, Nawaz Sharif addressed the Indian prime minister directly, posting a message on social media congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his third term in office.
“Let us transform hatred into hope and seize the opportunity to decide the destiny of two billion people in South Asia,” Sharif said in his message.
No need to elaborate. Sharif has indicated his willingness to resume dialogue. Within two hours, the Indian Prime Minister had responded with a predictable statement. Modi said “improving security” for the Indian people would always remain a priority.
This is indicative of India’s long-standing position vis-à-vis Pakistan – that terrorism and negotiations are incompatible.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under attack again, especially after this week’s incident, when terrorists attacked a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi. The attack left nine people dead and over 30 injured. The attack took place on the day that PM Modi and his cabinet members were sworn in, and once again the perpetrator was Pakistani. Behind the attack was the Resistance Front, an organisation affiliated with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (the same group that carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks).
“So it is unlikely that India will now reverse course. PM Modi also received a message from Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistani Prime Minister and brother of Nawaz Sharif. The exchange was just one line.
So the Sharifs’ lobbying, as they have been for some time now, is futile. About two weeks ago, Nawaz Sharif made a significant statement. He spoke about the 1999 Kargil War and Pakistan’s responsibility for it. Sharif said that the Kargil War was Pakistan’s fault, which was a major admission in itself.
Before Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz had also called for dialogue, using phrases such as “no war with neighboring countries” and “open the door to friendship.”
Modi has good reason to distrust such offers: he did his best when he took over as prime minister for his first term. In 2014, he called Nawaz Sharif to be sworn in. In 2015, on his way back from Afghanistan, he made a surprise stop in Lahore for Sharif’s birthday.
It was the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Pakistan in more than a decade. But the optimism was short-lived, as India was subsequently hit by a series of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, first in 2016, when an Indian military base in Uri was attacked, and again in 2019, when a suicide bomber targeted Indian security forces in Pulwama.
Currently, bilateral relations are at a total halt. Neither country has sent a high commissioner to each other’s capital since 2019. The high commissioners withdrew after India decided to revoke Article 370, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.
It’s been five years since then, and now Pakistan’s leaders say they want to engage, but at the same time, Pakistan continues to provoke India.
Another example was seen during Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing over the weekend, when Pakistan and China issued a joint statement on Kashmir, stating that both countries “oppose” any unilateral action in Kashmir, which was a challenge to India’s sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir, a territory no other country claims. Jurisdiction.
India quickly rejected the joint statement, and the Indian government has repeatedly maintained that Jammu and Kashmir remains an integral part of India.
India’s position is therefore clear: there can be no dialogue until Pakistan stops cross-border terrorism.
The views expressed in the above article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Firstpost.
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