BEIJING – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take pragmatic actionsto recover the bilateral dialogue process, promote better relations withPakistan and work to establish peace in the region.
“If India wants to show its intent to combat terrorism and promote its risein the Indian Ocean, Modi should not merely express his gratitude forKhan’s good wishes, but take pragmatic actions to recover the bilateraldialogue process, which has been suspended since January 2016, promotebetter relations with Pakistan and work to establish peace in the region,”Chinese newspaper Global Times commented in an article published on Monday.
Modi’s second term is a good chance for India. If he can grasp the chanceand restrain nationalist sentiment to improve ties with Pakistan, it wouldbe significant progress for the two countries and for the stability anddevelopment of the region and Asia.
Modi said in the Maldives that India wants to plug “the loopholes thatterrorists and their supporters exploit.” Yet cooperation with Islamabad isindispensable to fight against terrorism if New Delhi wants to promote aglobal convention.
The two sides must strengthen mutual trust and diminish the tensions beforethey can root out and dismantle terrorism. If India-Pakistan ties improveand stabilize, India will gain more esteem in the region, the article added.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a letter sent to his Indian counterpartlast week that Islamabad wants talks with New Delhi to resolve allreconcilable problems, including the Kashmir issue.
Khan noted that “talks between the two nations were the only solution tohelp both countries’ people overcome poverty and that it was important towork together for regional development.”
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Although the Indian Ministry of External Affairs remarked “there is nobilateral meeting being planned” between the two leaders on the sidelinesof the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit which will be held fromJune 13 to 14, Pakistan’s active attitude underlines its vision to strivefor peace and prosperity in South Asia to lay the groundwork for the twocountries to figure a benign way out.
Modi chose the Maldives for his first foreign visit after his re-election.There Modi delivered a speech during which he called for a globalconference on anti-terrorism, which shows that he attaches great importanceto anti-terrorism and to increasing India’s influence in the Indian Ocean.
Modi is reinforcing his “neighbourhood first” foreign policy, which placesIndia’s relations with neighbouring countries as the topmost priority. Thisindicates that New Delhi’s strategic focus ought to be on its ties withIslamabad.
The 70-year conflict between India and Pakistan has brought tensions to thetwo countries’ relationship and has created instabilities in their borderareas, in particular, the disputed Kashmir region.
