Nabila Jaffer
Nabila Jaffer is Research Analyst at the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad.
DOI: http://DOI Number
Keywords: India, Pakistan, antagonism,one-point agenda,Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), Hindutva politics, persistence of rivalry, normalisation of relations
Abstract
The prospects for peace between India and Pakistan further diminished after their relations entered into a new phase of antagonism in 2016. India stressed the issue of terrorism more forcefully as a principal irritant in bilateral relations after the Uri terrorist attack in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) in September 2016. The growing gulf on core issues between the two countries and attaching peace with a one-point agenda has acted as a disincentive for the peace process. India has refused to engage with Pakistan despite Pakistan’s repeated overtures and has continued to blame Pakistan for the turmoil in IHK as well as sporadic terrorist attacks. The existing tense relations between India and Pakistan are a product of longstanding grievances and changing dynamics in Indian power and policy. India’s transition from Nehruvian secularism to communal and Hindutva politics has further complicated its political engagement with Pakistan. Since the dialogue process cannot be resumed in such circumstances, the prerequisite for the peace process is normalisation in relations. In the backdrop of the troubled relations between India and Pakistan, this paper attempts to analyse the major stumbling blocks to the peace process. The paper is divided into three sections. After an overview of the troubled relations between India and Pakistan post-2014, the first section analyses the core issues between the two countries. In order to understand why the core issues have become stumbling blocks, the second section examines the contributing factors to the persistence of rivalry. The third section proposes options for normalisation of relations and the peace process.
First Published
December 25, 2017
How to Cite
Nabila Jaffer, “Troubled India-
Pakistan Relations and Major
Stumbling Blocks in the Peace
Process,” Regional Studies 36,
no.1 (Winter 2018): 46-88,
https://regionalstudies.com.pk/wp/article/troubled-india-pakistan-relations-and-major-stumbling-blocks-in-the-peace-process/
Issue
Volume 36, issue 1