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New Delhi: The Pakistan military is on the same page as that of the civilian democratic government as Islamabad seeks to redress its relations with India, Lt Gen. Talat Masood, the retired three-star general who was in charge of the country's Missile Integration Programme, told IBNLive in an exclusive interview early this week. While acknowledging that the Hafiz Saeed issue was a major stumbling block, he said Pakistan was hopeful that economic opportunities will far outweigh individuals who seek to compromise the chance of peace between the two neighbours.
"There is no doubt that the armed forces of Pakistan has long been dictating foreign policy, especially when it came to the US, India and Afghanistan. But of late, there has been a shift in the military thinking process that the civilian leadership should own responsibility for conducting the foreign policy. That effectively means that the military does not want to have a veto on the civilian leadership's decision," said Lt Gen. Masood.
"After fighting four wars, I think both Pakistan and India have realised that there is not going to be a military solution to the thorny issues of Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and terrorism. That is why you are seeing this focus on building up trade and economic rapport," he said, while adding that "It is hoped that increased trade and economic partnership with India will lead to creation of more jobs which will wean the young, employable people away from terrorism."
The expression for interest in the track change in India-Pakistan relations comes in the wake of a realisation in Pakistan that stability in Afghanistan is a must for peace to return to the tribal areas of northern Pakistan. And for that, it is imperative that India and Pakistan see eye to eye. The Pakistan establishment, long used to propping up jehadi fighters but now at the receiving end of their bullets, has started seeing the lack of economic activity and the availability of unemployed, radicalised youth as the main lifelines of terror groups.
However, there would be scepticism on part of India where the government and security analysts see Pakistan as a part of the problem and not a solution. "The terrorism in Pakistan does not emanate from Afghanistan. However, the perpetrators of terrorism in Afghanistan, including those involved in the last few attacks, invariably come from across the border in Pakistan where they have training facilities and shelters," a top Indian security official, who refused to be identified but has considerable experience in the region, told IBNLive. He, nonetheless, said that walking the trade path was not necessarily a bad thing.
Stability in Afghanistan is dependent on setting the house in order in Pakistan's FATA areas, the Indian establishment contends and Kabul concurs. Even if the Indian contention is right, it makes sense for New Delhi to push for greater economic engagement as it would only better the situation and may lead to a relationship of trust when more thorny and generic issues could be put on the talks table.
Also, faced with utter lack of investment and a slow-growing economy, Pakistan stands to gain more from greater economic engagement with India than its larger neighbour. Once it realises the benefits of better ties with India, it may be more malleable on the crucial issues.
Trade won't solve the basic issues of conflict like Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, etc. But economic engagement, cultural ties and people-to-people contacts may create the bedrock of long-lasting peace.
'Pak Army wants to give peace with India a chance' - Pakistan News - IBNLive
"There is no doubt that the armed forces of Pakistan has long been dictating foreign policy, especially when it came to the US, India and Afghanistan. But of late, there has been a shift in the military thinking process that the civilian leadership should own responsibility for conducting the foreign policy. That effectively means that the military does not want to have a veto on the civilian leadership's decision," said Lt Gen. Masood.
"After fighting four wars, I think both Pakistan and India have realised that there is not going to be a military solution to the thorny issues of Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and terrorism. That is why you are seeing this focus on building up trade and economic rapport," he said, while adding that "It is hoped that increased trade and economic partnership with India will lead to creation of more jobs which will wean the young, employable people away from terrorism."
The expression for interest in the track change in India-Pakistan relations comes in the wake of a realisation in Pakistan that stability in Afghanistan is a must for peace to return to the tribal areas of northern Pakistan. And for that, it is imperative that India and Pakistan see eye to eye. The Pakistan establishment, long used to propping up jehadi fighters but now at the receiving end of their bullets, has started seeing the lack of economic activity and the availability of unemployed, radicalised youth as the main lifelines of terror groups.
However, there would be scepticism on part of India where the government and security analysts see Pakistan as a part of the problem and not a solution. "The terrorism in Pakistan does not emanate from Afghanistan. However, the perpetrators of terrorism in Afghanistan, including those involved in the last few attacks, invariably come from across the border in Pakistan where they have training facilities and shelters," a top Indian security official, who refused to be identified but has considerable experience in the region, told IBNLive. He, nonetheless, said that walking the trade path was not necessarily a bad thing.
Stability in Afghanistan is dependent on setting the house in order in Pakistan's FATA areas, the Indian establishment contends and Kabul concurs. Even if the Indian contention is right, it makes sense for New Delhi to push for greater economic engagement as it would only better the situation and may lead to a relationship of trust when more thorny and generic issues could be put on the talks table.
Also, faced with utter lack of investment and a slow-growing economy, Pakistan stands to gain more from greater economic engagement with India than its larger neighbour. Once it realises the benefits of better ties with India, it may be more malleable on the crucial issues.
Trade won't solve the basic issues of conflict like Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, etc. But economic engagement, cultural ties and people-to-people contacts may create the bedrock of long-lasting peace.
'Pak Army wants to give peace with India a chance' - Pakistan News - IBNLive
they are running short on cash. there nuke program alone cost them around 2.5 billions.. and they have only 5 billion for defense budget. things like saichen cause them 300 million merely to maintain their presence.. plus, they are day dreaming of N.sub with SLBM's, stealth frigates, stealth fighters, modern missiles that can match agni 5, BMD, modern chinese made tanks and fighters... you see, they have laundry list of things to do.. from where are they going to get such money?
it's worth billions lol
