The 21st century has been named as Century of Economy. The world politics is shifting its focus on securing resources rich regions especially in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region (IOR).
The US has already shifted its 60 percent naval power to IOR to counter China. China, too, aims to reach the Indian Ocean through the strategic port of Gwadar, Balochistan.
Both Pakistan and India are also looking for privileged positions in changing geo-strategic scenario. Cooperation in economic, political, security, cultural, education, and trade is essential to much to ensure peace and stability in the region. The rising importance of hydro-politics needs serious consideration for Pak-India ties in the future.
The NDA’s thumping victory in India’s Lok Sabha elections last month and Modi’s invitation to BIMSTEC – and not SAARC – members for the swearing-in ceremony signals a clear shift in the country’s mindset.
An active perusal of a combination of “Neighbourhood First” and “Act East” policies with a tough stand towards Pakistan seems to be on the cards by the Modi government.
However, while PM Modi can sidestep the SAARC as he commences his second tenure, he cannot afford to sidestep the conflicting relationship with Pakistan. Terrorism and Kashmir continue to be the major thorns in Indo-Pak relations and do not appear to be resolved anytime soon.
However, there are plenty of other areas that require equal, if not more, attention, and can be possible avenues not only for reconciliation but also for cooperation. It is time that governments on both sides of the border give them thoughtful consideration.
The biggest area where India and Pakistan can cooperate is the environment. India and Pakistan share common and continuous geography and climate, and by extension, common challenges and opportunities.
Both countries are experiencing rising populations, overexploitation and deterioration of natural resources and increased vulnerability to climate change. Glaciers across the Himalayas are melting, soil quality is degrading, rivers are getting polluted and flowing erratically, groundwater is drying up and biodiversity is increasingly endangered.
This is directly impacting agriculture; both countries are largely agrarian and hence the effects on the economy and food security are alarming. As both countries scramble to address these multi-faceted issues on their own, they forget one crucial point: climate and environment do not adhere to political borders.
Apart from the Himalayas and the shores of the Arabian Sea, India and Pakistan also share the Indus River Basin. While the combined population (along with parts of Tibet and Afghanistan) is expected to rise to 383 million in 2050, per capita water availability in the Indian and Pakistani parts of the Indus River Basin is expected to halve during the same time.
Both India and Pakistan have extensive irrigation systems, but economically inefficient policies and programmes threaten soil quality and agricultural productivity. While it is commonly recognised that any damage to the Indus River Basin has a direct impact on Pakistan’s agriculture and food security; the fact that the Indus tributaries are responsible for generating 25 percent of India’s grain production and making up for deficits in other regions, is less grasped.
Both countries also share similar issues on their coastlines, which include loss of mangrove forests, seawater intrusion, the threat to coastal species, and resultant adverse impacts on fisheries, navigation and marine trade.
While all of these seem to be purely environmental problems at first, their cumulative impact on the country’s economic and social stability is only being discovered. Poverty forced migrations, unemployment, and widespread health and nourishment issues are hurting both Indian and Pakistani societies and economies. It also engenders anti-social and terrorist elements harming both countries’ security. Without a stable economy and society, neither country can aspire to aim for expanding their political power in South Asia and beyond.
When challenges and problems transcend man-made borders, it is evident that solutions do too. The Indus River Basin has been divided twice (first by the Partition, second by the IWT) but that is no reason why Indo-Pak cooperation cannot exceed beyond sharing water and creating infrastructure.
Pakistan shares its coastline with Western India; both countries can look to execute joint studies and programmes in securing coastal ecosystems. Both countries must also work together to address the common issues plaguing the environmentally fragile Himalayas.
Primary sector communities (farmers, fishermen, livestock rearers etc.) on both sides of the border are vulnerable to climate change; both countries have a vibrant civil society and through track 2 diplomacy and civil sector initiatives, local knowledge and practices can be exchanged to help each other tide through times of crises.
There are many such avenues for collaboration and cooperation which would not only solve commonly faced developmental problems but also build much-needed trust among the two nations.
However, for that, the Kashmir issue, for once, needs to be relegated to the backburner and both sides have to sit across the table with an open mind and a sense of urgency. Whether it is realistic enough to expect political will for this to actually happen, time will tell.
However, the gravity of environmental problems has pushed both countries to the wall; now it is more likely that the question of survival will make both India and Pakistan keep aside their geopolitical conflicts and choose to work together.
Very informative piece we can slove these problems together
it is a good anylasis geographycally&politically demonsrating current Indo-Pak strained relations.None the less it is a eyeopene.I suggest this be forwarded to PMO’s office&foreign ministy.