Despite the fact that Pakistan and India share cultural similarities, their relationship remained complicated due to a number of historic events. The two countries have a complex history. There have been three major wars, continued border skirmishes, and many standoffs in 75 years. In recent years, relations between Pakistan and India have been at an all-time low. There are a lot of hopes and expectations riding on the new Pakistani government’s promise to improve relations with India. But can they deliver? And what does it mean for Pakistan if they do?

The dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir was sparked by a fateful decision in 1947, and has resulted in decades of violence, including two wars. Reason for the current standstill in relations is India’s highhanded unilateral moves to annex the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Historically, Pakistan believes that Kashmir was illegitimately ceded to India by a ruler who did not represent the people. Additionally, since a majority of the Muslim majority states went to Pakistan, they believe Kashmir should belong to them.

Recently Pakistan New Army Chief Asim Munir was appointed. He has commanded a division that overlooks Pakistan’s northern areas, part of Jammu and Kashmir, where he worked in tandem with General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who then headed the Pakistan army’s elite X Corps.  As Gen. Munir has taken charge, the LoC may get active again in the coming months, post-winter. Asim Munir will also have an interest in maintaining the immediate stop with India anywhere along the Line of Control (LoC), as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) continued attacks on the military on the western border will demand both resources and attention. Pakistan’s Army chief Asim Munir will play a key role in managing risks of conflict with nuclear-armed rival India on its eastern border, while dealing with potential instability and friction with Afghanistan on its western frontier.

Some major events have shaped Indo-Pak relations over the years. Pakistan decided to open Kartarpur Corridor as a gesture of goodwill for the Sikh Community on the 550^th Birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Jee. Eversince 2004, Sikh community has been performing all religious rituals in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. However, the actual dream of Kartarpur corridor became a reality in 2019 when Kartarpur Corridor was opened on 09 November 2019 by then Prime Minister Imran Khan. Then there have been many other smaller events that have also had an impact such as Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was captured by Pakistan in 2019 after his MiG 21 Bison aircraft was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jet and he was later handed over in a gesture of peace to India at the Wagah border on March 1, 2019.

On October, 23,2021 Days after direct flight operations between Srinagar and Sharjah were resumed, some media reports have claimed that an Indian airline had violated Pakistani airspace. Omar Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), also raised the matter on his official Twitter handle.The most recent escalation begun with India’s unilateral constitutional moves in IIOJ&K, followed by India’s violation of Pakistan’s airspace. This resulted in both countries suspending trade relations. There is currently no formal dialogue between the two governments and the relations are not likely to improve anytime soon. This is a major worry for both countries as well as for the international community given the potential for further escalation.

The extremist face of India under the Hindutva ideology has affected its domestic as well as foreign policies. Though India has maintained good relations with all the Muslim states, regional and international powers however, with Pakistan, India always remained tense (Naveeda Yousaf, June 2017). Hindutva is a modern political ideology that advocates for Hindu supremacy and seeks to transform India, constitutionally a secular state, into an ethno-religious nation known as the Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation). Hindutva is the official platform of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an extreme right political party in India. The supporters of Hindutva sought to protect the native Hindu culture and traditions especially those that symbolised the Hindu culture. They believe that Indian culture is identical with the Hindu culture. These include animals, language, holy structures, rivers and medicine.

Pakistan and India are at a standstill because India led by the hardline nationalist BJP government seems unwilling to make concessions. On the other hand, Pakistan has shown some willingness in previous years on different occasions. However, India’s highhandedness has led the two countries to a stalemate. Pakistan has made a number of moves in the last two years that indicate the country’s institutions have collectively decided to pursue a working-level relationship with India rather than unnecessary hostility. Because of the introduction of Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy (2022-2026), which sets a direction for Pakistan to pursue trade and interconnectivity in interstate relations, this goal is expected to outlast personnel changes in the civilian and security domains. This is the general direction and motivation underlying signs of the country reaching out to India.

There is no easy solution to this problem. Pakistan and India need to find a way to communicate and work together. Otherwise, the standstill will continue and relations between the two countries will remain strained. such as withdrawing from the LoC desist or changing Pakistan’s strategy to the India-China border dispute, the risk of military escalation between India and Pakistan in times of crisis increases. This would hinder the United States’ efforts in South Asia to balance two strategic interests: preventing conventional or nuclear escalation between India and Pakistan while deepening partnership with India to counteract China as a main aspect of the Indo-Pacific strategy.

Attempts by the two countries to resolve disputes over the last seven decades have been unsuccessful due to a variety of domestic, regional, and global factors. Since India’s emergence as a “strategic partner” of the United States and other Western powers, India’s position on almost every issue concerning Pakistan has hardened. Recent events, such as New Delhi’s unilateral decision to repeal Articles 370 and 35A and change Kashmir’s constitutional status, which Pakistan regards as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and the Simla Agreement, have strained relations between the two countries even further.

Even after long-standing issues between Pakistan and India, progress is possible. Leaders on both sides of the border must forge a national consensus in support of the peace process and enlist the support of all stakeholders, including core constituencies, the media, and opposition parties. As in the past, the United States and the United Kingdom can help to defuse tensions.