Seminar

Managing Pakistan’s Relations with India

June 8, 2023
The seminar explored the complex dynamics of Pakistan-India relations, focusing on the historical context, recent developments in Indian policy under the BJP, and the implications of regional and global strategic shifts.

About The Event

Inspired by the Quaid’s vision of “peace within and peace without”, Pakistan has always desired good neighbourly relations with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, and the peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. However, the two countries have a history of adversarial relations.

 

Under the BJP, India’s approach and attitude towards Pakistan have been very hostile. Driven by ‘Hindutva’ ideology and closely aligned with the fascist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ruling BJP government of Mr. Narendra Modi has been pursuing sinister designs to systematically disempower and dispossess the Kashmiri Muslims and rob them of their religious and cultural identity. Pakistan downgraded relations with India after it unilaterally and illegally annexed IIOJK on August 5, 2019, by revoking Article 370 and Article 35-A of the Indian constitution. India is also systematically and forcibly altering the demographic structure of IIOJK. Earlier in May 2023, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan visited India to attend an SCO moot. This was the first high-level visit from Pakistan to India in more than a decade. There were no bilateral meetings. The Indian Foreign Minister made contemptuous press comments about Pakistan. The diplomatic stalemate between the two countries continues to persist.

 

Pakistan’s relations with India are a major factor in the conduct of our foreign policy. At the global level, India has become a pivot for the Indo-Pacific strategy of the United States, and its strategic and economic partnership with the US continues to deepen. India continues to relentlessly pile up military acquisitions, enhancing conventional weapons’ asymmetries.

 

Currently, Pakistan is facing serious external and internal challenges. It is, therefore, essential to review the policy options available to Pakistan in managing its ties with India. Against this backdrop, a seminar on “Managing Pakistan’s Relations with India” was organised on June 8, 2023, at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Lahore, to seek an in- depth analysis of Pakistan-India relations and deliberate upon well- considered policy recommendations.

 

The seminar was chaired by Air Marshal (Retd) Asim Suleiman, President of CASS Lahore. The master of ceremony was Ms. Nida Rehman Khattak, a researcher at CASS. The introductory remarks were presented by the Director Foreign Affairs CASS Ambassador (Retd) Muhammad Haroon Shaukat. The keynote speaker was Mr. Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, former Foreign Minister of Pakistan. The seminar was attended by senior serving and retired PAF officers, academicians from different universities, and representatives from local think tanks.

Key Takeaways

A Principled Approach to Pakistan’s Relations with India

  • Pakistan desires good neighbourly relations with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, and the peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
  • Pakistan desires to be treated as an equal and regards Kashmir as the core issue for peace and friendship with India. India does not accept this viewpoint.
  • India’s refusal to have a meaningful discussion on Kashmir and its hegemonic policies has been a recurring source of conflict and tension between the two countries.

 

Kashmir Issue

  • The people of Jammu and Kashmir have an inalienable right to self- determination, as promised to them by the international community within the framework of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.
  • The Kashmir issue is alive and will remain so as long as the valiant people of Jammu and Kashmir refuse to accept the illegal Indian occupation and continue their brave struggle.
  • India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 05 August, 2019, cannot negate the international legality on the Jammu & Kashmir issue. The people of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, and the international community have categorically rejected India’s illegal actions.
  • International human rights organisations have emphatically condemned the gross human rights violations and inhuman atrocities being carried out by India in IIOJK.

 

Hardening of the Indian position under the BJP

  • Under the BJP, especially since 2014, when Mr. Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, India’s attitude towards Pakistan has hardened.
  • The Indian government, manifesting its hostility towards Pakistan, seems determined to cast Pakistan in a negative light and is squandering all opportunities to de-escalate tensions.
  • No bilateral contacts took place on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting which Pakistan’s Foreign Minister attended in Goa.

 

Possibility of a Way Forward

  • The history of Pakistan-India relations is one of missed opportunities.
  • A climate of tension and hostility is neither in the interest of India nor Pakistan.
  • It is in India’s interest to have good relations with Pakistan, and it is in Pakistan’s interest to have good relations with India.
  • A meaningful and uninterrupted dialogue is the only way forward for resolving longstanding disputes, creating a climate of trust and confidence, and creating conditions for peace and security.

 

Out-of-the-Box Thinking

  • The former Foreign Minister, Mr. Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, believes that those in power in Pakistan have been compelled to think out of the box. This was true even of the Indian leaders, who, despite all sorts of tall claims, found it in their interest to talk to Pakistan.

 

Operation Swift Retort

  • Before Operation Swift Retort, there was a lot of pressure on the Pakistani government to show restraint, but peace should never come out of weakness. It was important for Pakistan to show its strength. India lost two aircraft, and one Indian pilot was taken captive.

 

Four-Point Proposal

  • The former Foreign Minister, Mr Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, feels that the Four Point Proposal is still relevant for a possible dialogue with India.
  • He asserts that his book Neither a Hawk nor a Dove, provides the only authentic account of backchannel negotiations from 2003–2007, when, according to him, a solution to the Kashmir issue was within the grasp of the two countries.
  • The advance copies of his book were provided to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Indian opposition leader Mr. L.K. Advani, and President Musharraf, none of whom challenged his account.
  • Even the current Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, found it necessary to talk to Pakistan even as late as 2017. This fact is confirmed in the late Satinder Kumar Lambah’s book, ‘In Pursuit of Peace: India-Pakistan Relations under Six Prime Ministers’.
  • Populism is often used as a tool for political manipulation.

 

The US and its Indo-Pacific Strategy

  • The main purpose of the current US Indo-Pacific strategy is to confront the rising power of China. In this context, India has become a strategic partner for the US. This has strategic implications for Pakistan.
  • China is Pakistan’s principal strategic partner.

 

Pakistan’s Internal Challenges

  • To overcome Pakistan’s dependence on external aid, there is an imperative need for internal unity, stability, and good governance.

 

Essentials of Back Channel Diplomacy

  • Diplomacy must be based on truthfulness and credibility. Backchannel emissaries should have direct access to the top and work away from the media glare.

Policy Considerations

Backchannel diplomacy

  • Backchannel diplomacy has served as an effective tool of communication in the past. The two key advantages include confidentiality and non-attribution. However, such an initiative should only be undertaken after due diligence and analysis by the concerned stakeholders.

 

Pursuit of Internal Stability and Economic Self-Reliance

  • The success of any country’s diplomacy is closely related to its internal situation and the strength of its economy. Pakistani leadership needs to accord top priority to political stability, internal harmony, economic self- reliance, and inclusive growth and development.
  • An internally strong Pakistan will have more diplomatic space to resolve complex external issues.

 

Emphasising Pakistan’s Geostrategic Significance

  • Pakistan should leverage its geostrategic importance in the context of its strategic location, its potential to become a fast-emerging economy, its large population with a youth bulge, its military strength, and being the only Muslim country with nuclear weapons.
  • Pakistan should endeavour to solidify relations with all great and emerging powers.
  • While China is Pakistan’s most steadfast and reliable strategic partner, Pakistan should continue to have close ties with the US and the EU. Pakistan should also expand its multifaceted ties with Russia.
  • Special focus should be accorded to building close relations with emerging economies, especially the friendly countries.

Post Event Report

A comprehensive report capturing expert analyses, strategic insights, key recommendations, media coverage, and event highlights.

View Report

Guest Speakers

Mr Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri

Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan

Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri is the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 2002-2007 as well as a former caretaker Minister for Parliamentary Affairs. He had a brilliant academic record. He topped in the B.A (Hons.) examination of the Punjab University. He did his Tripos in law at Cambridge University. After Cambridge, he was admitted to Oxford University for post-graduate studies in Public Administration and Political Science. He took French Civilization courses at the Sorbonne University in Paris and the University of Nice in France. He was called to the Bar from Gray’s Inn, London. Mr Kasuri is the author of Neither a Hawk Nor a Dove: An Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy, a comprehensive account by a Pakistani Foreign Minister who contributed to moving the peace process with India forward. It provides a detailed analysis of the Kashmir issue and the complex Pakistan- US-Afghanistan-India quadrangular relationship. Mr Kasuri took an active part in improving relations with India as he strongly believed that regional connectivity would best serve Pakistan’s national interest. It’s now generally accepted that major improvement in relations took place as a result of the peace process conducted under the Composite Dialogue as well as on the backchannel on Kashmir. He became a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly from NA-142 (Kasur- V) in 1993 to 1996 and later in 1997 to 1999 and served on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Relations. He was elected as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Information and Media Development from 1997- 99. He again became a member of the National Assembly in 2002 and became the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is the Chairman of the ‘Institute of Peace & Connectivity’ (IPAC), the ‘Understanding China Forum (UCF), and the Pakistan Forum and is the Co- Chief Patron of the Karachi-based ‘Pakistan Council on Foreign Relations (PCFR).

Event Chair

Air Marshal Asim Suleiman (Retd)

President, CASS Lahore

Event Coordinator

Ambassador Muhammad Haroon Shaukat (Retd)

Director Foreign Affairs, CASS Lahore

Master of The Ceremony

Nida Rehman Khattak

Researcher, CASS Lahore

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