Over the last couple of years, Islamic terror-related issues have been escalating in southern and western parts of India. Terrorist outfits are not only targeting security forces and government establishments but aiming at vital economic and strategic assets.
There has been much ado over the neutral expert’s verdict on the Baglihar Hydel Project (BHP). For over sixteen years, the 450 Mega Watt (MW) BHP on the Chenab River in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir has been the bone of contention between India and Pakistan. After holding five meetings – in Paris, Geneva, London, Paris & Washington; visiting the project site, including its hydraulic model at Roorkee University and examining the written and oral submissions made by both parties, the final report of the neutral expert has given the BHP the ‘go ahead’.
The Havana meeting has certainly removed, though for the time being, the chill in India and Pakistan's bilateral relations. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf had agreed to restart the peace process that has been stalled following the July 11 terrorist strikes in Mumbai. The apprehension regarding the breakdown of the composite dialogue process has ended.
The recent Havana initiative by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh depicts a marked shift in India’s Pakistan policy. Manmohan Singh at Havana had announced on the sidelines of the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) summit that India and Pakistan are proposing to handle the threat of terrorism jointly. This novel concept of resuming formal peace negotiations with Pakistan (frozen after 11 July Mumbai train blasts) and setting up of a joint agency to tackle terrorism appears to be an ‘atypical’ step as compared to the earlier ‘cautious’ approach.
Indo-US relations have been on the upswing since the signing of the coveted nuclear deal during the US President’s visit to India in March. On the other hand, the Americans have not forgotten their old ally, Pakistan, altogether. The seriousness of the AQ Khan affair prohibits Americans from offering nuclear energy to Pakistan, but on the military front, they are ready to help their ally considerably.