Difference of opinion in Pakistan over normalisation of ties with India

Pakistan, notwithstanding its recent efforts to woo Saudi Arabia and UAE, to facilitate dialogue with India, has hardened its stance by emphasising that Islamabad will not resume talks unless New Delhi restores Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistani political class interestingly is making this demand and putting restoration of Article 370 as a pre-condition for talks. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Islamabad will not resume talks with New Delhi until it restores the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Unless India reverts its August 5, 2019 action, Pakistan will not hold talks,” Premier Imran said while responding to a caller on ‘Apka Wazir-e-Azam Apke Sath’ programme during which he took telephone calls from citizens.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also stated that no talks presently were taking place with India but parleys could be held if New Delhi revisited its policy regarding Kashmir.

“There seems to be major differences of view in Pakistan about relations with India. For a change the Establishment seems to favor normalization given the all round mess that Pakistan is in. However, the Imran Khan government is adopting a hard line attitude towards normalization lest it seems to be compromising on the Kashmir issue. It perhaps also feels ignored in the decisions being taken by the Establishment. So the civil and military will have to resolve the differences between themselves sooner or later,” Tilak Devasher, a Pakistan expert & author of 4 books on Pakistan told ET.

Imran’s comments during the programme came days after Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said that Saudi Arabia will work to encourage reduction in tension between Pakistan and India. “On [the] relationship with India, I really want to commend [on] what has been achieved recently of a calming of tensions and a ceasefire. This is an excellent step in the right direction,” Prince Faisal said.

Last month, the United Arab Emirates’ envoy to Washington confirmed the Gulf state is mediating between Pakistan and India to help the nuclear-armed rivals reach a “healthy and functional” relationship.

Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said in a virtual discussion with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution that the UAE played a role “in bringing Kashmir escalation down and created a ceasefire, hopefully ultimately leading to restoring diplomats and getting the relationship back to a healthy level”.

Top officials from India and Pakistan reportedly held talks in Dubai in January following which a ceasefire arrangement along Line of Control was reached. This was followed by Pak Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s statement that the neighbours should “bury the past”.

By the end of March, the Pakistan government’s economic coordination committee had allowed imports of sugar, cotton, and wheat to combat rising inflation. But the decision was reversed within a day.