Despite frequent calls from experts for India to engage in dialogue with Pakistan, history shows a pattern where Indian peace initiatives are met with state-sponsored terrorism.
Key Terminology
- Jihadi Tanzims: Terrorist organizations used by Pakistan as strategic tools.
- Composite Dialogue: A framework to discuss all bilateral issues (terror, water, Kashmir, etc.) simultaneously.
- Modus Vivendi: A “working solution” where both sides agree to coexist peacefully despite unresolved disagreements.
- Irredentism: An ideology where a country claims territory in a neighboring state (e.g., Pakistan’s obsession with Kashmir).
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Issues Under Composite Dialogue
The issues were broadly divided into three categories:
- Cooperation-related issues: Trade, culture, people-to-people contact, and economic cooperation.
- Humanitarian issues: Prisoners, fishermen, divided families, and cross-border movement.
- Conflict-related issues: Kashmir, terrorism, security concerns, and military tensions.
Historical Background
- During the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the United States and Pakistan supported Mujahideen groups to fight against the USSR.
- After the Soviet withdrawal, many of these militant networks later evolved into radical groups, including the Taliban.
- Pakistan realised that such groups could also be used in Jammu and Kashmir.
- As a result, Pakistan started supporting terrorism and insurgency in Kashmir.
Historical Timeline of Failed Peace Efforts
- 1997-1999: Efforts began to structure dialogue into three categories: Cooperation (trade/culture), Humanitarian (fishermen), and Conflict (Kashmir/terror).
- Vajpayee Era: The 1999 Lahore Bus Yatra was immediately followed by the Kargil War. The 2001 Agra Summit failed because Pakistan’s leadership refused to move past the Kashmir issue, followed by the Parliament Attack in December 2001.
- Manmohan Singh Era: Attempted “back-channel” talks to reach Modus Vivendi. However, the 2008 Mumbai attacks occurred just ten days after a meeting of the Joint Terrorism Action Force.
- Modi Era: In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Nawaz Sharif to his oath-taking ceremony.
- In 2015, both leaders met at Ufa, Russia, and agreed on a joint statement.
- Prime Minister Modi also visited Lahore in 2015, signalling a major goodwill gesture.
- However, the Pathankot attack in 2016 and the Uri attack in 2016 led to a sharp deterioration in relations.
- After the Uri attack, India carried out surgical strikes.
- Later, after the Pulwama attack in 2019, India conducted air strikes.
Why Pakistan Avoids Peace (Three Core Reasons)?
- Identity Crisis: If Kashmir (a Muslim-majority region) remains peaceful and prosperous in India, Pakistan’s “Two-Nation Theory”—the basis of its existence—fails.
- Deep-seated Irredentism: The psychological obsession with Kashmir is so strong that Pakistan is willing to ruin its own economy to pursue it.
- The Pakistan Army: The army functions as a business. Peace with India would lead to budget cuts and a loss of power for the military generals.
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India’s Current Policy Approach
- India has increasingly moved away from unconditional dialogue.
- India now insists that talks and terrorism cannot go together.
- Suspension of Treaties: India has even suspended talks under the Indus Water Treaty to exert pressure.
- Limited Engagement: Experts suggest India should now only engage with Pakistan on humanitarian issues, such as prisoner or fisherman exchanges, as broader political issues are currently unresolvable.
- Active Retaliation: Using surgical strikes and air strikes to signal that India no longer differentiates between the Pakistani state and the terrorists it supports.
The 1998 Durban Summit Anecdote
- 1998: Nuclear Era
- By September 1998, both India and Pakistan had conducted nuclear tests.
- These nuclear tests increased tensions between the two countries.
- Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee attended the NAM Summit in Durban.
- The Final Blueprint: Vajpayee instructed Indian negotiators to finalise the dialogue process with Pakistan.
- A long one-on-one negotiation session took place in a hotel room.
- The session was held with Pakistan’s diplomat Tariq Altaf.
- This meeting helped prepare the final blueprint for the dialogue process.
- Announcement of Composite Dialogue
- Later, Nawaz Sharif and Atal Bihari Vajpayee met in New York.
- After this meeting, the Composite Dialogue (CD) was officially announced.
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Conclusion
- India has made several attempts to improve relations with Pakistan, but each major peace initiative has been followed by terrorism or military hostility.
- The main obstacle is not the absence of dialogue, but Pakistan’s structural dependence on anti-India hostility, terrorism, and the Kashmir issue.
- Therefore, India’s policy should combine firm deterrence with limited humanitarian engagement
19 May 2026
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