BackWhere does Narendra Modi’s stand on Pakistan?
Modi may build on previous govt initiatives on India's relationship with Pakistan, a group of retired diplomats and academicians said
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New Delhi: Although little is known about his policy toward Pakistan, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Narendra Modi may build on previous government initiatives if he becomes the next prime minister, a group of retired diplomats and academicians from India and Pakistan said.
India’s new government is expected to build on initiatives taken by previous governments to normalize ties between India and Pakistan, including reviving peace talks that have been stalled since early last year, the group said in a statement after a meeting in New Delhi last week.
“Despite scepticism on the lack of clarity on Modi’s policy towards Pakistan," a new government in New Delhi was expected to “build upon earlier initiatives taken under previous governments and expeditiously pursue the revival of the stalled dialogue process with Pakistan."
The meeting was part of an India-Pakistan Track II diplomacy initiative by the Islamabad-based Jinnah Institute and the New Delhi-based Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation.
Modi has revealed little about his thoughts on foreign policy after being named the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in September. The last BJP-led government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee saw India launch peace efforts to build friendly ties with Pakistan, including the launch of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in 1999. Vajpayee extended what he called a “hand of friendship" to Pakistan in April 2003 after a rupture in ties following the 13 December 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament.
In a joint resolution, participants agreed that both countries “must move forward on a menu of outstanding items in order to move the region out from the shadows of instability, human insecurity and lost opportunities in trade, energy and information connectivity."
They urged both governments to fully implement all agreed confidence building measures “in letter and spirit" and work towards making the peace process irreversible. The joint resolution called upon both governments to urgently take up discussions on Kashmir in order to find a solution that is acceptable to India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).
Noting that people-to-people contacts were essential to improving relations between the two neighbours, the meeting recommended the extension of the one-year multiple entry visa scheme to all travellers, particularly media-persons, artistes, students and academics. It also called on Pakistan to extend non-discriminatory market access to India at the earliest and urged India to remove all non-tariff barriers to facilitate bilateral trade.
India-Pakistan peace talks have been stalled since early last year after soldiers on both sides were reported killed during patrols along the de-facto line of control border.
According to India, two Indian soldiers were beheaded by Pakistani troops along the border last January.
The ties took another dive when five Indian troops were killed in an ambush along the border in August. Persistent violations of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan since 2003 have kept tensions high.
New Delhi has been pressing Islamabad to grant India most-favoured nation status under World Trade Organisation rules to ensure normalisation of trade ties.
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