Peace-Building in South Asia: A Need for Third Party Mediation

56 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XXXVII, No.2, Winter 2014 Peace-Building in South Asia: A Need for Third Party Mediation Naeem Ahmed* Introduction For the last sixty years or so, India and Pakistan have been locked in several conflicts, engulfing most of the resources of the region with the capability to absorb more. Although efforts, both at the governmental and non-governmental levels, have been made to resolve the conflicts, the region has so far failed to observe a durable and long-lasting peace. Although the “Cricket Diplomacy” between the two countries at the time of the Cricket World Cup, held in India in February-March 2011, has melt the ice, the normalization of relations between the two nuclear-armed neighboring countries are still in the transitional phase. They can only become normal if the long-standing element of mistrust, which developed after their inception in August 1947, is removed. The current thaw in relations between India and Pakistan needs to be noticed for several reasons. First, a realization occurred on both sides of the border that a continued brinksmanship may escalate into a full-fledged war. India and Pakistan are the world’s only nuclear neighbors involved in active conflict with each other. The Kashmir issue has become a nuclear flashpoint between the two states. The world narrowly escaped a nuclear disaster when both the states deployed over a million troops on borders during the crisis after the attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001. Second, the interest of the US in the South Asian affairs has also put pressure on both India and Pakistan to work for peace-building in the region. For the success of the US-led “war on terror” peace between India and Pakistan is a prerequisite. *Naeem Ahmed: PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, and Editor, Pakistan Journal of International Relations (PJIR) 57 After the 9/11 incident, Pakistan became the frontline ally of the US in the “war on terror.” Washington needed Islamabad’s active support in counter-terrorism operations both in Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan. The normalization of India-Pakistan relations was necessary so that Islamabad could concentrate on its western borders. A realization has dawned in India and Pakistan that for economic growth and development, peace in the region is a prerequisite. The visits of Pakistan’s and India’s commerce ministers in September 2011 and February 2012 respectively are positive steps in the right direction. Lastly, in case of Pakistan, growing terrorism has deeply shattered the fabrics of the society. The militant Jihadi groups, which were previously nurtured by the Pakistani state, have now become too powerful to control. The blowback of the policy of using the Salafi/Jihadi groups in Afghanistan and Kashmir can be seen in the form of sectarian violence in Pakistan. A crackdown against those militant groups was imperative. This policy also satisfies the Indian demand to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan before the beginning of a meaningful dialogue between the two countries. A significant change, which occurred after 9/11, is that the US has now become an important regional actor in South Asia because of its physical presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US is likely to remain involved in any crisis which might occur between India and Pakistan. The US would no more tolerate Pakistan’s policy of supporting militant Jihadi groups in Kashmir in order to engage India in a low-intensity conflict. It is speculated that the US presence would determine the future course of India-Pakistan relations and the solution of disputes, including Kashmir. Two important factors support this assumption. First, the US today enjoys a greater degree of influence on India and Pakistan simultaneously. Second, the United States, India and Pakistan have concluded that the common threat to the region and global peace and security is the menace of terrorism. The article is an attempt to analyze the prospects for peace between India and Pakistan, and that whatever peace agreements were signed between then have proved short-lived and failed to establish enduring peace in the region. Since India and Pakistan have failed to resolve their...