Kashmir (now called the Line of Control) between the two countries. This was followed up by the Delhi Agreement in 1973 where India allowed the return of Pakistani Prisoners of War (PoW). 4, Non-Nuclear Aggression Agreement (1988): In 1981, Israeli Air Force made a surprise attack on Iraq’s nuclear facilities and crippled the nation’s nuclear program. Pakistan was quite worried after this and in 1998, Prime Minister Bhutto invited her counterpart Rajiv Gandhi to Islamabad. They both agreed on a treaty whereby neither nation would aid the destruction of the other’s nuclear facilities. 5. Lahore Declaration (1999): Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made a historic journey to Pakistan, a few months after the two countries went nuclear. For a while there was euphoria. With weeks after this agreement, Pakistan's army staged intrusion into Kashmir causing yet another war in the summer of 1999. 6. Agra Summit (2001): Yet another time, there was a meeting between the two countries after a long period of lobbying by UN and other powers. Vajpayee invited President Pervez Musharraf to Agra. Within months of the agreement, there was a major terrorist attack on Indian Parliament and the two nations yet again went back to high tensions. Key issues that hamper relationships: 1. Kashmir: Both nations have a claim on Kashmir. Although the monarch of Kashmir had officially acceded to India, Pakistan didn’t accept the accession. Both nations see the other's occupation of a part of Kashmir as illegal. 2. Indus water: Water is among the most scarce commodities in the dry South Asia. Both countries often fight to makes the best utilization of the waters of Indus river that they both share. 3. World powers: Pakistan was often a playground for world powers. US used the region for its proxy war against the Soviet Union and the war in Afghanistan. Pakistan is also close to China. India, for the most part, remained on the opposite side - USSR - or part of no side at all. 4. Terrorism: From India’s side, the key issue is one of terrorism. Since the late 1980s, Pakistan has been exporting terrorism to India and has been unable to contain its support for the insurgents. When | was about 11 years old, my parents took me to the Wagah 146border near Amritsar. There is a daily event at the Indo-Pak border that allowed people from both sides to get the glimpse of each other. We looked similar and still there was a big obstacle between us. Outside of India, | have met plenty of people from Pakistan and find that as people we have always got together well. We have even watch Indo-Pak cricket matches together. There is no reason why India and Pakistan can’t have a peaceful relationship. Relationship with China For thousands of years, civilizations in India and China had little contact of each other and those contacts were always positive. Things changed in 1950, when the People’s Republic of China annexed Tibet. This brought the two civilizations too close to each other. In 1962, India and China fought a border war. Since then, the relationship has often grown tense. Key issues 1. Unresolved borders - India and China are yet to decide their borders in Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. 2. Support for Pakistan - Since 1962, China has been having an increasingly strong cooperation with Pakistan and this often worries Indian strategists. 3. Trade imbalance - Since 1970s, China grew much faster than India and thus exports to India more than it imports from it. Also, India's exports to China is more of raw materials than finished products. This adds some concern for Indian economists. Relationship with Bangladesh As a student, my friends and | once had a long journey to Bangladesh capital of Dhaka crossing many rivers and traveling in small buses. It took 4 days for us to complete the journey and we made great friends there. The country looked practically the same as India, but still there was such a barrier between the two countries. India and Bangladesh started off well. India helped Bangladesh get independence from Pakistan in 1972. However, things started going downhill due to a range of thorny issues. 1. Sharing of Ganga waters: After the 1975 opening of Farakka 147