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Pakistan Army chief reaches out to India, says time to bury past, move forward  

19th March, 2021 International Relations

Context: The Pakistani military establishment signalled a potentially radical shift in how it has traditionally viewed relations with India in a speech by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, which set out a vision of regional economic integration for the betterment of both countries and for South Asia — with the only ask that New Delhi create a “conducive environment” in Kashmir for the resumption of a dialogue towards peace between the two countries.

 

Details:

  • Bajwa, who spoke at a high-powered event called Islamabad Security Dialogue organised by Pakistan’s national security establishment, did not specify what he meant by conducive conditions in Kashmir, but it was significant that he did not mention the Pakistani mantra of the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Kashmir, nor did he demand a rollback of the August 5, 2019 changes in Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has often said that his government and the Army are on the same page, also projected a vision of connectivity and economic prosperity for the region, but said Kashmir remained the “biggest hurdle between the two countries”.

 

Strategic Shift:

  • At a strategic level, faced with a huge economic crisis that has only got worse due to the Covid-19 epidemic, and amid a geopolitical flux in West Asia, humiliating demands from even friendly nations to return their loans, Pakistan has been signalling to the world that it is rethinking its national security model.
  • The central theme of this new model is Pakistan’s “economic location” and the connectivity between east and west that Pakistan can offer and development partnerships – no more assistance from the world, but co-investment opportunities, of which CPEC is an example, but not the only one.

 

https://indianexpress.com/article/pakistan/india-pakistan-military-kashmir-ceasefire-7234960/