- Latest addition to crises makes Indo-Pak harmony more unlikely
Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan are quite possibly at their lowest ebb in years. The attack last year by a home-grown Kashmiri terrorist in Pulwama against Indian security personnel resulted in an operation by the IAF in Balakot that was paid back in kind by Pakistan. It was the closest that both countries have come to another war in over a decade. Later, the elimination of Indian Occupied Kashmir’s special status dealt another blow to any chance at normalization of relations. Most recently two Pakistan high commission officials were expelled by India on accusations of espionage. The latest in a spate of unfortunate diplomatic incidents involves two Indian High Commission staffers who were booked for a hit-and-run in Islamabad, temporarily detained and later released. India has of course given a different spin to this, with its media first reporting incorrectly that the two men had gone missing and then suggesting that it was a tit-for-tat move by Pakistan for what happened in India a few weeks back with the spying accusations and resulting expulsions.
It is no secret that both India and Pakistan, through their high commission staff and other diplomatic setup in the other’s country, will engage in some level of intelligence gathering. This does not however mean that accusations of spying are made willy-nilly without any proof. These are serious allegations and have far reaching implications. There is a need to establish better cordial relations and ease tensions, especially since both countries are nuclear-armed. Multiple crises that have transpired over the course of a year and half have brought both countries to a stage where any further escalation would result in a conflict that neither affords, nor does the region or the world. Prime Minister Imran Khan was optimistic that once Indian PM Narendra Modi won a second term, there was a likelihood of him ramping down the anti-Muslim anti-Pakistan demagoguery. Modi instead has doubled down and does not seem to be in any mood to stop. Pakistan has made offers to talk things out but India refuses. Something will have to give from across the border before things start to normalize.
