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This article further explores what kind of diplomatic or military strategies India can adopt while dealing with Pakistan and what are the alternatives available besides the Pakistani military for dialogue.

What are the various political, military or diplomatic strategies that India can pursue?

Experts from all the three fields believe that politically India needs to redirect its strategy taking into account the fact that it is dealing with an overtly unstable state. Hence, India should not take any step which further deteriorates the situation or leads to anarchy within Pakistan. Technically, Pakistan is a democratic nation and the civilians have a significant role though when it comes to security matters it is the military which seizes supreme powers.

However, India should avoid a dialogue with the Pakistani military alone and should not give the impression that it is the only institution handling Pakistan’s national policy. Any discrepancy on India’s part will legitimize the military’s action giving rise to a more insidious situation. In fact, India should keep other channels open and try and indulge with the civil society and the industrialists in Pakistan. India should also exploit its soft power to influence Pakistan in accomplishing stability and regional as well national security by peaceful means. Even the Pakistani media and intellectuals should be involved at consecutive levels in the long-term peace dialogue.

At the diplomatic level, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s approach towards Pakistan has been viewed as a prudent step and has been appreciated by the experts. India’s astuteness in maintaining persistent ties with Afghanistan independent of its dealings with Pakistan have put the ball in India’s court. India needs to build trust with Pakistan for which it needs to showcase that India is not a threat to Pakistan and vice-versa.

As stated by Dr. Ajay Darshan Behera, India will not be able to survive peacefully if its neighboring state continues to be unstable. Establishing mechanisms to share their apprehensions, information and views on terrorism will help the two countries to carry forward the peace dialogue.  India also needs to engage with Pakistan at various multilateral forums which are equally affected by these issues. This will enhance its scope to strengthen its contacts with other nations which can further force Pakistan to adopt strong measures against terrorism within its own precincts.

At the military level though, India does not have much options. India can only exploit its internal options, that is, it has to improve its counter-insurgency policies in Kashmir, its counter-terrorism measures and above all tighten its security. The counter-terrorism understanding also needs to be improved. Given the security scenario in South Asia, India is not in a state to take any military action against Pakistan as any impulsive behaviour can do severe damage to regional peace.

If the Pakistani military is the actual decision maker then how can the Indo-Pak peace dialogue be taken forward? Whom else can India speak to in Pakistan?

Both the bureaucrats and the defense personnel are unanimous on the fact that Pakistan is a complicated country and the military is the ultimate decision maker on national security matters. The military plays a significant role on the Kashmir issue and Pakistan’s foreign policy. Military involvement has been previously most visible in the Islamabad SAARC Summit meeting and the establishment of the Islamabad Accord (January 2004). The agreement that was made between Indian PM Atal Bihari Bajpai and Pakistan’s military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf resulted in maintaining peace across borders through direct involvement of the military as well the civilians, though it has now come to a standstill and needs to be revisited. While backdoor talks should continue with the democratic sections, the military continues to be the only authority with which the Indian government can engage says Salman Haider, IFS (Retd).

The Academicians however hold a different perspective. They believe that there is an internal struggle in Pakistan between its civil society, government and the military and each of them have different stakes. India should not plan any of its action on mere assumption that Pak-military is the main decision maker, by doing so India will limit its diplomatic options with Pakistan. India has its own share of problems while dealing with the military and hence, at this stage India should hold more substantive talks with the democratic government and civilians.

What should be the next step towards dialogue in the Indo-Pak relationship?

Experts believe that states must continue to talk and explore track-II level dialogues. But one needs to bear in mind that trust building cannot be unilateral and efforts should come from both sides. It is significant to pull-in other institutions so as to improve people-to-people contacts which will reaffirm India’s good intentions to the Pakistani people. It is also significant that the two countries engage with each other bearing the overall South Asian scenario in mind.

Academicians: Prof. P R Chari, Dr.Ajay Darshan Behera.

Indian Defense Personnel: Brig.(Retd.) Arun Sahgal, Brig.(Retd.) Gurmeet Kanwal, Director, CLAWS, Commodore (Retd.) C.Uday Bhaskar

Bureaucrats: Amb Salman Haider, IFS (Retd), Radhavinod Raju, IPS(Retd).