FOR many years, the Pakistani state has alleged — sometimes credibly, sometimes seemingly less so — that India is involved in stoking violence and terrorism inside Pakistan. Of particular concern have been Balochistan over the last decade, Fata and Khyber Pakthunkhwa for several years now, and Karachi for at least a couple of decades. Never before, however, has the state here tried to formally substantiate its allegations. That changed this week with the handover to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s office of three dossiers containing evidence of Indian involvement in Karachi, Balochistan and Fata. The dossiers were originally to be handed over to Indian officials, but after the cancellation of the NSA talks and with no meeting transpiring on the sidelines of the UNGA, the Pakistani government appears to have decided to take up the matter with the world body itself.

It is hoped, especially since the dossiers are to form the basis of a renewed push by Pakistan to internationalise its troubles and disputes with India, that there is indeed substantive and serious evidence contained in the documents. While the outside world, and global powers in particular, have been courting the Indian market, and India has been ramping up its diplomatic ties with the world, the fact is that as a nuclear region, potential conflict between India and Pakistan is a continuing worry for the global community. As such, bringing to light evidence of Indian attempts to destabilise Pakistan, a country already wracked by many hues of militant violence, could possibly galvanise international attention towards the continuing and dangerous tensions in this region. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy of effectively not talking to Pakistan is perhaps as much a danger today as the threat posed by non-state actors — when the state itself closes the door on dialogue, all manner of hawkish and non-state elements in both countries tend to get mobilised.

Fortunately, the handover of the dossiers has not led the Pakistani government to also shut the door on dialogue. As Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz reiterated, his government prefers to address all issues through dialogue. But what last week’s events — be it the prime minister’s meetings with world leaders; the four points mooted by him in his UNGA address; or the dossier-related actions — do not amount to is a coherent plan for any kind of forward movement. If anything, the petulant reaction of the Indian government to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s four points suggests that bilateral tensions are unlikely to subside or dissipate anytime soon. Perhaps, though, in the meantime, the Pakistani side can work on bringing the various institutional actors on the same page when it comes to its India policy. The gap between the approaches of the civilian government and the military establishment is noticeable — and wholly unwelcome.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2015

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