New Delhi: India should consider re-establishing economic ties with Pakistan, “if they come forward”, the Standing Committee on External Affairs has recommended in a report on the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.
Chaired by BJP MP P.P. Chaudhary, the committee tabled its report in Parliament Tuesday.
The report also urges India to formulate a strategy to keep the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) — a regional body stalled due to tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad — “active”.
Following the Indian government’s decision in August 2019 to abolish Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcate it into two Union territories [J&K and Ladakh], the Pakistan government, then led by Imran Khan, expelled India’s ambassador to Islamabad and halted bilateral trade.
“Despite the lack of progress on the diplomatic front, the committee urge the [Indian] government to consider the establishment of economic ties with Pakistan if they come forward,” the committee said.
This, it added, could reduce feelings of enmity among citizens of both the countries.
Speaking to ThePrint, Chaudhary said: “Even if diplomatic ties are on the decline, people-to-people ties between India and Pakistan should not suffer. We can set an example by pursuing economic ties.”
The panel also said that they discussed the efficacy of SAARC, adding that, as a founding member, India should take a more “proactive” role.
“As one of the founding members of SAARC and BIMSTEC, the committee desire that in the interest of the region, India should play a more proactive role in both the bodies and formulate a fresh strategy for the purpose and to keep them active and utilise both whenever the occasion arises,” stated the report.
SAARC is an eight-nation grouping consisting of India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Nepal. The last SAARC Summit was held in November 2014 and though one was scheduled to be held in 2016 in Islamabad, it was cancelled due to friction between India and Pakistan over the Uri attack.
BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is a seven-member body comprising India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The panel also raised issues regarding investment by China in neighbouring countries, Beijing’s footprint in the Maldives, and the “nexus between Pakistan, Taliban and China”.
Also Read: Pakistan is an insecure state, not a failed one. Its crisis gives India a breather
Deepening ties with ‘smaller neighbours’
The report refers to the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ as a “central pillar” of Indian foreign policy. In light of China’s and the US’ attempts to compete for influence in the region, it is important for India to nurture relations with “smaller neighbours”, it adds.
“Being aware of China’s Belt and Road vision and America’s Indo-Pacific vision, the committee are of the considered view that it is in India’s strategic interests and foreign policy requirements to focus on wider engagements and deepening of ties with smaller neighbours,” the report said.
Improving economic development and connectivity in northeast India, which shares borders with key neighbours and is seen as the gateway to Southeast Asia and beyond, is also necessary, it added.
Afghanistan features prominently in the parliamentary panel’s latest report, including specific references to the Taliban regime that grabbed power in the war-torn country in August 2021.
It notes that the Chabahar Port in Iran is needed for sea-access to landlocked Afghanistan.
The committee also discussed “future prospects of establishing good relationship with new Afghan regime”.
This report has been updated with a quote by panel chair P.P. Chaudhary
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: Pakistan is imploding. A failing neighbour will be a nightmare for India and the world