Peace talks or terroristan?

The Indian delegation at the UN has lashed out at the Pakistani government and has called Pakistan a “terroristan”.

The statement was in response to the speech by Pakistani Prime Minister ShahidKhaqan Abbasi who accused India of being guilty of war crimes.

Background

Relations between India and Pakistan have always been tense since their violent partition in 1947. Over the decades, they have fought for control of Kashmir, and also engaged in major wars like the ones that took place in 1965 and 1971. The Kargil War was fought during the winter months of 1998 and 1999.

There have been attempts to foster peace between the two countries but those have often stalled or ended in failure. The relations have further deteriorated post the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that was orchestrated by Pakistani nationals.

Analysis

By August 2017, the Pakistan Army had violated the ceasefire agreement between the two nations,  285 times. In comparison, in the whole of 2016, there were 228 violations. A total of eight Army personnel were killed due to the ceasefire violations last year. A total of 11, including nine soldiers have been killed as a result of ceasefire violations from the Pakistani Army in the month of July alone.

Pakistan's Prime Minister, ShahidKhaqan Abbasi, was highly critical of India during his recent address at the UN General Assembly. He accused India of “war crimes” and said that the nation was exporting terrorism to Pakistan. He said, “Shotgun pellets have blinded and maimed thousands of Kashmiris, including children. These and other brutalities clearly constitute war crimes and violate the Geneva conventions.”

India in response described Pakistan as “terroristan” and said that it was extraordinary that the nation that had sheltered Osama Bin Laden was playing the victim. Eenam Gambhir, a First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN responded noting, “By now, all Pakistan's neighbors are painfully familiar with these tactics to create a narrative based on distortions, deception and deceit. In its short history, Pakistan has become a geography synonymous with terror.”

Gambhir also broached the subject of Kashmir, stating that the region was an integral part of India. She said, “The state of Jammu and Kashmir is and will always remain an integral part of India. However, much it scales up cross- border terrorism, it will never succeed in undermining India's territorial integrity.”

The international community has routinely called for peace talks between India and Pakistan. However, experts believe that such dialogue might be counterproductive. The two nations are deeply divided over ideology and territorial differences. For now, India has the advantage of being superior to its neighbor economically and through its military might.

Assessment

Our assessment is that the current antagonistic status-quo between India and Pakistan is likely to continue into the future as well. We believe that the sharp repartee by India was in response to the belligerence shown by the Pakistan Prime Minister earlier in the week. We do not attach much importance to this diatribe.