Pakistan's security strategy aims for a century of peace with India,
Pakistan's security strategy aims for a century of peace with India,

Pakistan's security strategy aims for a century of peace with India.

Pakistan's security strategy aims for a century of peace with India.

Pakistan's new national security policy seeks peace with India, implying that there will be no hostility for the next 100 years, and does not rule out normalising trade and financial ties without waiting for a final decision on the Kashmir situation "provided there is progress in the talks" between the two countries.

After India lost Jammu and Kashmir's special status in 2019, Pakistan reduced ties with India and halted trade. Last year, Islamabad also broke its vow to reopen imports from India, claiming that normalising relations would be impossible unless India reversed its August 5, 2019, decision to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir.

The new national security policy appears to be in keeping with Pakistani military head Qamar Javed Bajwa's previous call to "bury the past" in international policy and focus on geoeconomics. It's unclear whether Pakistan will be able to convince India to reconsider its demands on the Kashmir issue, particularly a guarantee not to execute demographic adjustments and the restoration of full statehood. According to diplomatic sources, Pakistan remains keen that India meet these "conditions" before any real dialogue between the two countries. Although, as the Indian administration has often stated, it is critical for Pakistan to stop supporting cross-border terrorism.

In reality, a Pakistani media article quoted an unnamed Pakistani official as claiming that there were no chances for rapprochement with India under the current Modi-led government in New Delhi. Pakistan had delayed granting India MFN status even before the restructuring of Jammu and Kashmir, in 2014-2015, although having seemingly considered it for some time.
The new policy is said to call for a focus on economic diplomacy in the immediate neighbourhood, ostensibly over the long term, and does not recommend any conclusive actions in ties with any specific country.


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