It is officially a thaw. In the first major engagement between India and Pakistan after a deep freeze post the scrapping of article 370 in 2019, a meeting of the Indus Water Commission was held on Tuesday.
The meeting comes after a gap of two years. On the agenda is the rather contentious issue of hydropower projects that India has cleared in Ladakh, which Pakistan has objected to. While there has been no official statement as yet—there is a possibility of a joint statement later—sources claim the discussions were “cordial’’ and centre around old projects.
“Pakistan wants to have friendly relations with all countries including India,’’ said Charge d’ Affairs Aftab Hasan at the Pakistan Day event held at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi on Tuesday. To achieve peace both countries shall resolve all outstanding issues, he added.
The meeting of the Indus Water Commissioners may be the first tangible engagement between the two countries in a long while, but it comes on the heels of signalling of softening on both sides. In February, the two sides surprised the world by conjuring up a mythical beast in the world of the India-Pakistan relation: The joint statement.
“The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere," the statement said. “In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two DGMOs agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have the propensity to disturb the peace and lead to violence." Both sides agreed to strictly observe “all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the LoC and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021," the statement read.
The agreement—which indicates that there were channels open between the two governments despite the hostility—has sparked off various theories. There is a suggestion of the American nudge—President Joe Biden wants to ensure a stable Afghanistan—as well, as well as a report by Bloomberg on Monday that suggested that the UAE brokered the deal. The ministry of external affairs has not issued a statement so far.
Apart from the stand-off on the LoC, a ceasefire, which no one knows will hold for how long, there have been other signals that imply that there may be slightly less tense times for India and Pakistan.
Last week, the Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at a forum waved a white flag asking India to “bury the past and move forward’’. It is important to understand that without the resolution of Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, the process of sub-continental rapprochement will always remain susceptible to derailment due to politically motivated bellicosity,’’ he has been quoted as saying. Prime Minister Imran Khan had made a similar statement earlier—indicating that the two are on the same page again—“India will have to take the first step. Unless they do so, we cannot do much”.
And with Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishing Khan a speedy recovery after testing positive, India might too, be willing to be receptive. “Best wishes to Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI for a speedy recovery from COVID-19,’’ tweeted Modi earlier this week.
