India - Pakistan: Five Years after 370, Pakistan Remains Relevant in Kashmir
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
The constitutional change in Kashmir, made five years ago, according to C Raja Mohan (visiting professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore and contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express) “rendered the issue irrelevant to the engagement between India and Pakistan.” Also, “India’s growing partnerships with the West have helped blunt efforts by Pakistan and China to internationalise the Kashmir question. That does not mean the issue disappears from the template of the conflict with Pakistan. Note, for example, the surge in cross-border terrorism in Jammu….”
Partnerships with West and Islamic world, helped neutralise Pakistan’s Kashmir agenda
While the domestic tasks in Kashmir remain significant, “Delhi can take credit for significantly reducing the global salience of the Kashmir question….India’s new partnerships in the West and the Islamic world, helped neutralise long-standing bases of international support for Pakistan and its anti-India causes. Facilitating this process, indeed, is the steady evolution of the economic balance of power in favour of India, whose GDP today is nearly 10 times larger than that of Pakistan.”
Cannot ignore the Army
Although India has had a relatively easier time dealing with Pakistan since August 5, 2019, Mohan cautions “Delhi should not assume that it can simply ignore Rawalpindi or that the Kashmir question is no longer relevant. The Pakistan army may be down, but it is certainly not out. Renewed political trouble in Kashmir will inevitably draw international attention. Accelerating the effort at internal reconciliation in Kashmir, countering the renewed cross-border terrorism, and connecting with diverse elements of the Pakistan polity should be at the top of India’s national security priorities.”
