Hello defence lovers! Recently India and Pakistan have jointly released a statement on the DGMO level on an agreement of ceasefire on the line of Control. However, before this, the Pakistan Army chief has also made statements that indicate some peace gesture. But Why Pakistan suddenly wants peace? What are the reasons behind Pakistan’s this move? let us understand in this article.
‘Time to extend hand of peace’
Pakistan Army chief Gen Bajwa
Brief History Of Hostilities On LOC
Right from the Independence and creation of Pakistan and India, Pakistan had an obsession on Kashmir. This obsession resulted in the 1947-48 Kashmir war which ended with United Nations mandated ceasefire.
The Ceasefire line was later termed as the Line of Control which is abbreviated as LOC. This designation was adopted in the Shimla agreement of 1972 after the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Almost for seven decades LOC has remained active with regular cross border firings. Ironically the actual ceasefire never happened.
Is This Ceasefire Agreement Historic?
So if the hostilities are going on for the past seven decades on LOC, is this ceasefire agreement historic? The answer is a big No. India and Pakistan have time and again agreed upon such agreements but these were always broken by Pakistan. In fact, there is a cycle of peace and violence on the LOC. When former PM Atal Bihari Bajpai made peace agreements with Pakistan, Pakistan stabbed India’s back by planning and executing 2001 Parliament attacks.
In 2006 Manmohan Singh government made similar agreements, but the result was the 26/11 Mumbai Attacks. In 2014 when the Modi Government came to power, it tried to restore peace with Pakistan. In fact, PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif was invited to PM’s oath ceremony. Despite the efforts, Uri, Pathankot, Pulwana attacks were the results.
Why Pakistan Suddenly Wants Peace?
So let us understand why Pakistan is showing friendly gestures and want LOC to be peaceful (at least for the coming few months).
(Note: The below-stated points are personal opinions and one might disagree with these. Readers are most welcome to express their opinion in the comment section)
Abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A
Its been almost two years since article 370 and article 35A was abrogated. Now the Indian government has restored 4G internet services, there are no more violent protests, there are no stone pelting events. Indian Army continues to wipe out remaining Pakistan-trained terrorists and local terrorist recruitment is also negligible. Pakistan’s Plan to spread unrest in Kashmir has miserably failed. Pakistan must have realised that there is no point in crying for Kashmir now as Kashmir was, Kashmir is and it will be an integral part of India. Although we don’t expect such wisdom from Pakistan. That might be one of many reasons behind Pakistan’s peace gestures.
Disengagement In Ladakh
China is disengaging with India at full pace in Ladakh. The reasons behind this are explained here. China wants stability in south-east Asia in the coming few years as it wants to restore its reputation. Thus Pakistan has to cooperate with China with or without its will to do so. This is because Pakistan has nowhere else to beg for loans. Thus Chinese influence must be a factor behind Pakistan’s peace gestures.
FATF Greylist
Pakistan has spent a long time in the FATF Greylist. Without China’s help, Pakistan would have already been on the Blacklist by now. There is no doubt that Pakistan is a safe haven for terrorist and it will continue to sponsor terrorism even if its people die in starvation. But behind FATF Greylisting Pakistan, there is the Indian Diplomacy. Pakistan understand that very well
The FATF Greylist is damaging Pakistan’s almost bankrupt economy adversely. Pakistan is currently under the extreme burden of loans. Thus Pakistan would want to get out of FATF greylist as soon as possible
Friend Turning Into Foe
Saudi Arabia was beleived to be Pakistan’s all weather friend but things are changing very rapidly. Due to India’s diplomatic moves Saudi Arabia is getting closer to India. This closeness is negetively impacting Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations. Pakistan’s increased engagement with Turkey and sending its soldier to Yemen has also stained their bilateral relation. as a result of all these Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan to immediately repay $1 billion loan.
Saudi loans were the primary resources for promoting terrorism in the Kashmir valley. If we look at the broader perspective, Saudi Arabia is responsible for spreading its so-called “Wahabi” ideology in the middle east, which is in fact the root cause of all terrorist activities. Under Joe Biden administration, Saudi Arabia is going the face criticism for that.
India’s Vaccine Diplomacy
Another reason why Pakistan suddenly wants peace is India’s Vaccine diplomacy. The world is struggling to recover from the impact of the Chinese Virus. India’s vaccines are lifesavers and helping many countries to recover from the effect of Chinese Virus. It is quite clear for Pakistan that without having peaceful relations with India, it cannot get India COVID 19 vaccines. And it is not possible for Pakistan’s Bankrupt economy to afford any other vaccine.
So these were the answer to the question- Why Pakistan Suddenly wants peace with India? Tell us in the comments what you think about this.
There most people don’t like any war with India.
Seems a very naive argument Nidhin….considering all that has happened on planet earth since 1947 between these two nations including the 2019 Feb incident in Balakot and subsequent capture of Indian Pilot Vardhaman