Pakistan military forces discreetly reach out to Indian counterpart for peace talks
Pakistan has not been at a very stable international position lately. It is suffering from international isolation and a faltering economy. The powerful military of the country is quite concerned regarding its situation. That is why it has discreetly reached out to its archrival, India.
The army of the country has shown interest in resuming peace talks with India. But according to western diplomats and a senior Pakistani official reported that India did not show much enthusiasm towards the talks.
The reaching out process was initiated the top commander of the army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. This had begun months before Pakistan’s national elections.
Peace talks over the Kashmir border region had been stalled since 2015 as violence had flared up in the region. Now, Pakistan is offering to resume these talks.
One of the key objectives of the country is to open trade barriers between the countries. This would give it access to regional markets. This would act both as a confidence-building measure and as a way to improve the economy.
Pakistan’s military views the poor economy as a security threat. The country is expected to ask $9 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the coming weeks. Earlier this year, the country had already received a large number of loans from China in order to pay its debts.
India and Pakistan have been blood-rivals since the partition of 1947. Pakistan’s army chief wants to conduct these peace talks in a more moderate fashion than his predecessors.
The new Imran Khan-led Pakistan government has been pushing for these peace talks. But ultimately, it is the army which controls defence and foreign policy. And now, even the army general is asking for these peace talks.
Is this the time for the rivals to finally end their rivalry and come to a peaceful solution for the betterment of both nations? What do you think about this strategy taken Pakistan?
