India calling off the proposed meeting between Indian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week has elicited a sharp reaction from newly-appointed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said that he is disappointed by the arrogant and negative response from India to his peace overtures. He also took a dig at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that throughout his life he has come across small people occupying big offices but lacking the vision to see the larger picture. Going by Khan's outbursts, it seems that he had hoped the proposed meeting to go smoothly and lead to a resumption of formal talks between India and Pakistan. On the contrary, India not only called off the talks within 24 hours of the confirmation but also castigated the new Pakistan premier over the killing of three Special Police Officers by militants in J&K and release of postal stamps glorifying Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The Indian statement also said that these anti-India actions have revealed the true face of Imran Khan. Pakistan had apparently decided to take forward the peace initiative by offering India a corridor for Sikh pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib shrine during the proposed meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on September 26. Another idea that was to be discussed and a decision was to be made during the meeting was the proposal to make it easier for Indian journalists to visit Pakistan. The Pakistani side was also eager to make India agree to attend the SAARC summit, which is due this year and Pakistan wants to host the event. Pakistan had hoped that Prime Minister Modi would finally land in Pakistan for the SAARC summit. But the cancellation of talks by India has put a stop to all such possibilities for now.
Imran Khan's disappointment over India cancelling the talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries reflects he had pinned a great deal of hope on the proposed talks. For the last seven decades, anyone who batted for better India-Pak relations has to face disappointments and Imran Khan is only the latest victim of such misplaced optimism. At the core of the strained relationship between the two countries lies the fact that Pakistan has not been able to reconcile with the partition and seeks the annexation of J&K. For this, it planned an elaborate mechanism of armed militancy and caused unrest there, where, in the past three decades of militancy, more than 50,000 people and Indian security forces have been killed. A large number of families have lost their breadwinners in the ensuing fight between the militants and security forces. Normal life has been thrown out of gears and ordinary people are forced to take to the streets. The presence of a large number of security forces in J&K has ensured that the situation is under control and Pakistan's nefarious designs are defeated. Pakistan has been supporting the secessionist elements and militants. As if this was not enough, it set up terror infrastructure, trained militants and sent them into India to carry out terror activities. India has suffered a lot due to these mindless activities of Pakistan. Successive governments in India tried their best to convince Pakistan to shun violence and hostility but to no avail. Now, the impasse has reached to such a pass that in the last two years, there has not been a single official engagement between the two countries. While India can do without talking to Pakistan, Pakistan does not have that luxury. The policy of harming India has harmed Pakistan as much, if not more than India. The terrorists based in Pakistan run a parallel system in the country and keep the government in check. They do not want Pakistan to follow a progressive agenda that can threaten their stranglehold on the government and the system.
The main problem in holding talks with the Pakistan government is that other important institutions such as the Pakistan military do not give the talks a chance to move forward. Just when a new Prime Minister assumed power in Pakistan and the Indian government was taking its peace talks seriously, a BSF man was brutalised and killed along the international border in Jammu region. A day later, three security personnel were abducted and killed in South Kashmir. A dreaded terrorist killed in an encounter with the India security forces, was glorified by issuing postal stamps in his name. India was deeply disturbed and disappointed by these actions that not only provoke various Indian agencies but also leaves the government without a choice. Giving Imran Khan the credit for the peace initiative, India would expect him to create a conducive environment for the talks to take place.