EDITORIAL ANALYSIS  26 SEPTEMBER 2022 

THE INDIAN EXPRESS:

INDIA PAKISTAN RELATIONS:

 Pakistan-India relations:

 Despite having linguistic, cultural, geographic, and economic ties, India and Pakistan's relationship
has been complicated by a number of political and historical events.
 The violent partition of British India in 1947, the Jammu & Kashmir conflict, and the various military
conflicts fought between the two countries have all had a significant impact on Indo-Pak relations.
 India and Pakistan forged diplomatic ties soon after becoming independent, but the bloody separation
and competing territorial claims soon eclipsed such ties.
 The two nations have engaged in countless armed encounters, military standoffs, and three major
wars, one undeclared war, since gaining independence.
 With the exception of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War and the Bangladesh Liberation War, which led to
the independence of East Pakistan, the Kashmir Conflict is the focal point of all of these conflicts
(now Bangladesh).
 Relations between the two countries have gotten worse since the early 1980s, especially after the
Siachen conflict, the escalation of the Kashmir insurgency in 1989, the Indian and Pakistani nuclear
tests in 1998, the Kargil War in 1999, the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001, the Samjhauta
Express bombings in 2007, the Mumbai attacks in 2008, the Pathankot attack in 2016 and the
Pulwama attack in 2019 dealt a serious blow to the ongoing India-Pakistan
 Efforts at engagement:

 In accordance with its "Neighborhood First Policy," India has pursued a principled and consistent
approach toward Pakistan. India wants to have cordial relations with Pakistan as a neighbour.
 There have been various attempts to strengthen the connection, most notably the summits at Shimla,
Agra, and Lahore.
 For PM Modi's inauguration in 2014, India extended an invitation to Nawaz Sharif, the country's then-
prime minister.
 In response to cross-border acts of terrorism and violence against India, including the cross-border
terror attacks on the Pathankot Airbase on January 2, 2016, the Army Camp in Uri in August 2016,
and the terror attack on the convoy of Indian security forces in Pulwama by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-
Mohammad (JeM) on February 14, 2019, the External Affairs Minister (EAM) took the initiative to
propose a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.
 India has often emphasised the need to build trust and a climate free of terrorism and bloodshed in
order to create cooperation for regional peace, development, and prosperity.
 Pakistan unilaterally downgraded its diplomatic ties with India on August 7, 2019 in an effort to paint
a worrying picture of the two countries' relations with the rest of the globe.

 Security concerns:

 Cross-border terrorism: The main source of tension in bilateral ties continues to be terrorism coming
from areas under Pakistani control. India has often emphasised that Pakistan must take action to stop
cross-border terrorism against India that is credible, irrevocable, and verifiable.
 India has consistently urged Pakistan to swiftly prosecute those responsible for the terrorist attacks in
Mumbai. Even after all the evidence was supplied with the Pakistani side, the current trial in the
Mumbai terror attacks case has not advanced.
 Trade & Business:

 In 1996, India granted Pakistan the designation of Most Favored Nation. The cabinet's decision to
reciprocate has not been carried out.
 India announced a decrease of 30% in its SAFTA Sensitive List for non-LDCs of SAFTA [including
Pakistan] in August 2012, lowering the tariff on 264 products to 5% over the course of three years.
 Pakistan's trade restrictions against India have not changed.
 Following the cross-border terror assault in Pulwama, India removed Pakistan from its list of most
preferred nations.
 On February 16th, 2019, India increased its import taxes on goods coming from Pakistan by 200%.
Pakistan then banned bilateral commerce with India on August 7, 2019, as part of its unilateral
measures.

 Accord on Indus Water:

 The rivers that flow from India into Pakistan are governed under the Indus Waters Treaty.
 Water is mentioned as one potential source of tension between the two countries, although up to now,
diplomatic solutions have been found for problems like the Nimoo Bazgo Project.

 Relations between Individuals:

 209 fisherman and 52 other civil detainees, all of whom are thought to be citizens of India, were in
Pakistani custody as of July 1st, 2019.
 India recommended to Pakistan that the Joint Judicial Committee, which examines the humanitarian
issues of fishermen and detainees in each other's custody, be reactivated.
 The Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, which India and Pakistan signed in 1974,
governs visits to religious sites between the two countries. The protocol calls for three Hindu and four
Sikh pilgrimages to visit 15 shrines in Pakistan each year, while five pilgrimages from Pakistan travel
to seven sanctuaries in India.

 Corridor of Kartarpur:

 In order to facilitate easier access and hassle-free travel for Indian pilgrims throughout the year, the
Government of India in 2018 formally informed the Government of Pakistan that it would begin
construction on the Kartarpur Corridor on the Indian side and urged Pakistan to build a corridor with
suitable facilities in its territory from the international border to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in
Pakistan.

 Cultural connections:

 Due to their shared Indo-Aryan ancestry, which extends throughout both nations and much of the
northern subcontinent, India and Pakistan, especially Northern India and Eastern Pakistan, have some
similarities in their cultures, cuisines, and languages. These similarities also underlie the historical ties
between the two nations.
 Singers, musicians, comedians, and other performers from Pakistan are very well-liked in India. In
Pakistan, Indian movies and music are hugely popular.

 Sports ties:

 Political issues have frequently come up in the two teams' cricket and hockey matches.
 The tennis team known as the "Indo-Pak Express" is made up of Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and
India's Rohan Bopanna.