by Brig Arun Bajpai

The original Track II initiative, Neemrana Dialogue, received a fresh start with an Indian delegation travelling to Pakistan. Neemrana is a non-governmental dialogue. Sources said that Pakistan did not host the dialogue earlier because Islamabad refused to approve it

Goings on in India –Pakistan relations proves the saying that more things change more they remain the same. God knows for how many times India and Pakistan have had track 2 diplomacy going on but at the end of it achieving nothing. It has now being reported that both Pakistan and Indian officials have had two sittings on track 2 diplomacy on 28 and 30 April recently.

At this juncture when elections in Pakistan are just few months away and the combination of Supreme Court of Pakistan and Pakistani Army as a team have ousted the most popular Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on trumped up charges for life, what purpose this track 2 diplomacy will serve is anybody’s guess. Nawaz, all said and done was the only prime minster of Pakistan who apart from having brute majority in Pakistan had openly stated that he wants friendly relations with India. Actually in last elections he had this point of good relations with India as his election manifesto. Nawaz with his brute majority had tried to cut Pakistani Army to size which was not liked by Pakistani Army which remains the king maker and responsible for relations with India and Afghanistan.

What political leaders in India must understand that Pakistani Army which enjoys 72% popularity in Pakistani population as saviour of the Pakistan from Indian bogey has painted India as all set to gobble up Pakistan but for Pakistani Army. This hate India campaign of 70 years, has allowed Pakistani army to do 20 billion dollar business in Pakistan (Pakistani Author Ayesha Siddiqua book The Military Incorporation), surely Pakistani Army will not give away all these goodies just for good relations with India? Actually whenever the civilian government of Pakistan had tried to improve relations with India Pakistani Army and ISI combo had let loose their sponsored jehadis on India. On 25 December 2015 Indian prime minster Shri Modi surprised everybody by making an unscheduled visit to Pakistan to wish Navaz Sharif happy birth day and attend his granddaughter’s marriage. Within a month Pakistani Army and ISI combo sent across their sponsored jehadis to attack Pathankot air base and URI army camp resulting in Indian Army launching a surgical strike. Since then Pakistani Army and Pakistan SC is after Nawaz Sharif finishing of his political career. Now which political master in Pakistan will try to improve relations with India?

Pakistani Army is a political Army incapable of fighting wars. They have fought four wars with India and lost all wars but they have ensured that Pakistani population does not know of their defeats. They have actively sponsored and pampered Jihadist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish Mohammad and Hijbul Mujaheddin against India, and Haqqani network and Afghan Taliban against Afghanistan. These jihadists are theirs actual fighting arm. With this background it is just not possible that Pakistan read Pakistani Army will ever develop good relations with India so why this Track-2 Diplomacy which itself is track less ? These measures only divert us from our goal which should be to break Pakistan by weaning away Baluchistan and Sindh from Pakistan. We must treat Pakistan as an eternal enemy which Pakistan has been doing for India since its inception. Pakistan has sold its soul against India first to US and now China.

Brig Arun Bajpai (Retd) is a distinguished Defence and Strategic Analyst. Views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IDN. IDN does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same