Time for India, Pakistan to bury the past and move forward: Pakistan Army chief

Bajwa avoided any strident criticism of India while addressing the maiden edition of the Islamabad Security Dialogue, a summit organised by Pakistan’s National Security Division and leading think tanks.

Pakistan’s powerful army chief said on Thursday the time has come for Islamabad and New Delhi to “bury the past and move forward”, though he contended that any peace process would be susceptible to disruption without the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Last month, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had spoken of extending a “hand of peace in all directions” while addressing an event at the Pakistan Air Force Academy. He had also called for the two countries to resolve the Kashmir issue in a peaceful manner. (AP PHOTO.)

The remarks by Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said India will have to take the first step for improving bilateral ties by addressing Kashmir, the only issue standing in the way of better relations.

Like Khan, Bajwa avoided any strident criticism of India while addressing the maiden edition of the Islamabad Security Dialogue, a summit organised by Pakistan’s National Security Division and leading think tanks. Bajwa also said a stable India-Pakistan relationship is “a key to unlock the untapped potential of South and Central Asia by ensuring connectivity between East and West Asia”.

“This potential, however, has forever remained hostage to disputes and issues between two nuclear neighbours. [The] Kashmir dispute is obviously at the heart of this problem. It is important to understand that without the resolution of [the] Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, process of sub-continental rapprochement will always remain susceptible to derailment due to politically motivated bellicosity,” Bajwa said.

“However, we feel that it is time to bury the past and move forward. But for resumption of peace process or meaningful dialogue, our neighbour will have to create conducive environment, particularly in [Jammu and Kashmir],” he added.

Last month, Bajwa had spoken of extending a “hand of peace in all directions” while addressing an event at the Pakistan Air Force Academy. He had also called for the two countries to resolve the Kashmir issue in a peaceful manner.

Days after that address, the Indian and Pakistani armies recommitted themselves to the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir from the midnight of February 24. This was an apparent outcome of behind-the-scenes contacts between the two sides.

Bajwa’s speech at the Islamabad Security Dialogue contained several references to the need for a better regional security environment to allow Pakistan to focus on internal and external challenges. “A nation at peace and a region in harmony are...essential prerequisites for attainment of national security in the true spirit,” he said.

Countries have the option of staying “etched in the acrimony and toxicity of the past” and promoting conflict, or moving ahead to bring the dividends of technological and scientific advancements to their people, he said.

Despite South Asia’s tremendous human and resource potential, “unsettled disputes are dragging this region back to the swamp of poverty and underdevelopment”, and the region is among the least integrated in terms of trade, infrastructure, and water and energy cooperation, Bajwa said.

He noted Pakistan is “ready to improve our environment by resolving all our outstanding issues with our neighbours through dialogue in a dignified and peaceful manner”. Pakistan has also “learned from the past to evolve and [is] willing to move ahead towards a new future”, though “all this is contingent upon reciprocity”, he said.

Bajwa said Pakistan’s geo-economic vision is centred on four pillars – moving towards a lasting and enduring peace within and outside, non-interference of any kind in the internal affairs of neighbouring and regional countries, boosting intra-regional trade and connectivity, and sustainable development and prosperity through the creation of investment and economic hubs in the region.

However, he also said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is at the heart of Pakistan’s economic transformation plan and central to its vision.

“This vision, however, remains incomplete without a stable and peaceful South Asia. Our efforts for reviving SAARC, therefore, are with the same purpose. Our efforts for peace in Afghanistan [and] responsible and mature behaviour in crisis situation with India manifest our desire to change the narrative of geo-political contestation into geo-economic integration,” Bajwa said.

However, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi struck a different note while addressing the Islamabad Security Dialogue, tacitly accusing India of sponsoring terror in Pakistan, deploying destabilising weapon systems and using offensive military doctrines.

Noting that Pakistan is ready to consider east-west connectivity to help address poverty and under-development in South Asia, Qureshi said: “But obviously, we need a willing partner that is ready to engage in good faith, that is prepared to eschew belligerence and that is committed to meaningfully address the factors that have bedevilled peace and security in South Asia for decades.”