Elusive amelioration
India’s strong-worded response at the SCO amid Pakistan’s unrelenting pursuit of cross-border terrorism indicates that thaw between the two neighbours is a distant possibility
In a blistering attack on his political opponents on May 6, Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan strongly criticised Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for their foreign trips amid what he described as the ongoing crises in the country. Prime Minister Shahbaz was in the UK for the coronation of King Charles III, while Foreign Minister Bilawal visited India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) of Foreign Ministers. Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to India is seen as a spoiler in the further deteriorating Indo-Pakistan relations, dampening any positive prospects.
Imran Khan further reckoned that Pakistan is being humiliated in the world, as seen from the Indian Foreign Minister’s behaviour when Bilawal went to India, and it is a shame for all Pakistanis. Imran also questioned what benefit was gained from the India trip with the kind of language that Bilawal received from his Indian counterpart.
It may be reiterated that India’s Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar, in his remarks at the SCO meet, had said terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, must be stopped, in a candid and unambiguous reference to Pakistan. He also believed that there could be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped comprehensively. Later, he also charged that Pakistan wholeheartedly backed terrorists in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, there have been widespread reactions in Pakistan over the Indian External Affairs Minister’s remarks. Senior PTI leader Shireen Mazari tweeted that earlier Bajwa, and now the Progressive Democratic Movement (PDM), want Pakistan to appease India. He described the unbelievable absurdity of Bajwa’s plan, which was now being carried forward by the PDM. In other words, Bilawal’s visit has drawn huge flak from his adversaries and others alike. On the other hand, Myra MacDonald, a noted journalist and author on the two countries, including one on the Siachen dispute, was sympathetic to India’s grievances about terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
According to official US sources, while India and Pakistan did not hold any bilateral talks on the side-lines of the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting, their sparring at a multilateral stage has nevertheless underlined the need for South Asia’s two nuclear powers to at least stay engaged with each other.
Significantly, US scholar of South Asian affairs Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Centre, Washington, remarked in a tweet that while there was much criticism of the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s visit to India for the SCO, he appears to have accomplished what Islamabad had sought. He defined Pakistan’s goals as participation in the SCO deliberations and separate side-line meetings with all SCO members except India. He described comments by the Pakistani and Indian Foreign Ministers as ‘pedestrian stuff ’, normal for such relationships and mostly targeting domestic audiences. However, he felt that this development will have no impact on India-Pak ties.
On his part, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari claimed on May 5 his trip to India as a ‘success’, saying that the ‘false propaganda’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that every Muslim was a terrorist had been negated. The Foreign Minister made these remarks upon his return to Pakistan from India. Jaishankar had said Bilawal’s address revealed the mindset of that country, adding that “his position was found out and called out”. The Bilawal incident did not augur well in light of the prevailing Indo-Pak relations, which are already dismal with no signs of any amelioration.
In a not altogether separate development, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari Bhutto met his Afghan counterpart in Islamabad on May 6 upon his return. This meeting could possibly signal Pakistan’s fresh attempts to reach out to the Taliban regime in Kabul and send a message to India about the new Pak-Afghanistan proximity. This is mainly due to Pakistan’s suspicion of a growing thaw in the relationship between India and Afghanistan, amid Pakistan’s misplaced apprehensions that all terror attacks on Pakistani soil, particularly in Peshawar and Karachi and allegedly carried out by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were at the behest of India. Additionally, China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan recently jointly affirmed their commitment to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on May 6 in Islamabad. This alignment is taken seriously, particularly considering China’s recent diplomatic efforts in brokering peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This new realignment has raised hopes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, the recent snub to Bilawal in the SCO and Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism are clear indications that there is a very remote possibility of any improvement in the Indo-Pak equation, at least in the near future. Either way, Bilawal Bhutto, his political leadership, and his own coterie may have to endure considerable time before recovering from the recent drubbing.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s recent outreach to Afghanistan may be a deliberate attempt to send a message to India about the new PakAfghanistan proximity