Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has recognised that the way of achieving peace and prosperity in Pakistan could be done by military cooperation with India, according to an analytical report published by UK-based think-tank Royal Unites Services Institute (RUSI).
According to the report written by RUSI’s expert on South Asia and Middle East Kamal Alam, General Bajwa had recently invited Sanjay Vishwasrao, the Indian military attache, and his team to the Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad in March, Geo TV reported.
After two weeks, General Bajwa reportedly said that he wanted peace and dialogue with India. The report said that India and Pakistan will also take part in joint military drills in Russia in September, with Chinese participation.
These initiatives come against a background of almost weekly exchanges of fire along the Line of Control in Kashmir.Excerpt from the report
The report further said that senior Pakistani officer Lieutenant General Aamir Riaz headed the first ever high-level contact group with India as Director-General Military Operations.
The report added that another top officer, Major General Ahmed Hayat, the Director General of analysis wing of the Inter-Services-Intelligence (ISI), authored the so-called “India Plan” in 2013, which tried to ascertain how and when Pakistan should approach India.
General Hayat underscored that the Pakistani military would approach India after Islamabad strengthened it defence diplomacy without pressure or threats from Washington DC.
It is a no-brainer that one cannot live in an environment of perpetual enmity with a neighbour six times your size, but the indicators have to be right.Major General Ahmed Hayat, Director General of analysis wing of the Inter-Services-Intelligence (ISI)
Meanwhile, India has rejected Pakistan's offer of a transit trade dialogue on Afghan-Indian commerce, as per the report.
The report further said that with a sustained approach by the Pakistani military to India, it could only be a matter of time before New Delhi agrees to at least talk to Islamabad for improving relations and pressing for peace and stability.
(With inputs from ANI)
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