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27 June 2014, Gateway House

India-Pakistan bonhomie

The deliberations during a India-Pakistan young scholars’ workshop in the historic city of Istanbul held out a renewed hope for the bilateral relationship and a genuine desire for peace. The magnificent city of Istanbul offered an excellent backdrop to the serious, often heated discussions.

Former Fellow, International Security Studies Programme

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The gathering was a mixed one – some like me were researchers, the rest a mix of journalists and academia. However all of us had one thing in common – an abiding interest in forging peace between India and Pakistan, and envisioning a new future for the Indian subcontinent.

We were gathered at a plush hotel in Istanbul for a three day Carnegie-Stimson workshop on ‘Deterrence Stability in South Asia’ to suggest ways in which the governments of India and Pakistan could deepen the bilateral engagement. The tone was set by the participants’ responses to a question sent in by the organisers prior to the workshop: how do you define nuclear stability for the Indian subcontinent?

The differing responses brought out the varied concerns within our countries as well as among the participants. They broadly revolved around – the conventional and nuclear asymmetry, bilateral trust deficit, threats posed by terrorism, and the danger of misperception among our leaders.

The contentious issues were thrashed out over the next three days over breakfast tables, sumptuous dinners, and on board a magnificent cruise on the Bosphorus strait which connects Europe and Asia. We fought a lot – sometimes bitterly – and raised uncomfortable issues like Kashmir, Balochistan, Afghanistan, the perceived instability of Pakistan, Pakistan-China relations and the India-U.S. nuclear deal. In the end we were the better for it as it helped comprehend each others’ perceptions, and agreeing to disagree.

More importantly, we came up with some viable confidence building measures (CBMs) in the conventional and nuclear arenas for both the governments. We were realistic, knowing all too well that it needed just one terror attack for our voices to get drowned amidst the calls for a tit-for-tat response. But we genuinely felt that if these proposals could be implemented seriously, then Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Sharif would be able to carve out a new future for the bilateral relationship.

The fights extended to the quality of mangoes in India and Pakistan as well. Gladly, we found no answer and decided to continue the fight when we met again.

Istanbul provided an excellent background to our discussions and I made sure to explore the city as much as I could during my stay. With the help of an Indian friend studying there, I visited some of the lesser known tourist spots including the wonderful campus of the Istanbul University, ate the famous Donear sandwich, drank freshly pressed Orange juice and admired the city’s vista from a rooftop café frequented by locals, sipping cups of Elma chai (apple tea)!

The city, with its blend of Asian and European cultures, comes to life particularly during the night. I got a glimpse of this during a visit to the Thaksim Square, which was bustling with energy even at midnight. It was unimaginable that this was the site of the angry protests against Prime Minister Erdogan a couple of months ago.

However, Turkey and Istanbul have also been paying the price of the regional instability. More than one million Syrians have fled their war ravaged homeland to take refuge in Turkey. Istanbul’s streets are flooded with Syrian refugees begging for alms – indeed a heart wrenching sight. I tried to talk to some of them but the barriers of language could not be dismantled. The refugees were a reminder that innocent civilians are left bearing the brunt of the wars that nations fight. A lesson for all of us talking about India-Pakistan relations to never forget.

Sameer Patil is Associate Fellow, National Security, Ethnic Conflict and Terrorism, at Gateway House.

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