Imran, “Naya” Pakistan And India

How stable will Imran Khan’s new government in Pakistan be? Will India-Pakistan relations improve under his regime?

- D Suba Chandran

 Imran Khan is the new Prime Minister in India’s neighbourhood. And he has promised a “Naya Pakistan”. Immediately after the elections, the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad met Imran Khan; earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Imran over phone to congratulate him on his victory. The newly-appointed Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, emphasising the need for a “continued and uninterrupted dialogue” as the only way forward, underlined the security reality that “we are not just neighbours; we are atomic powers. We have a lot of common resources”. He also opined that I India and Pakistan “coming to the table and talking peace is our only option. We need to stop the adventurism and come together. We know the issues are tough and will not be solved overnight, but we have to engage…We cannot turn our cheek. Yes we have outstanding issues. Kashmir is a reality; it is an issue that both our nations acknowledge.”

Clearly one could get a sense. The new government wants to talk to India. It wants to engage India in a continuous and uninterrupted dialogue. It also wants India to realise that Kashmir is a reality and an issue that both countries need to acknowledge.

From an Indian perspective, the need to engage Pakistan in a “continued and uninterrupted dialogue” is imperative. But, how important are India and Indo-Pak relations in Imran’s immediate priorities? And how much space will Imran have in pursuing an uninterrupted dialogue with India vis-à-vis Pakistan’s establishment? And what would the contours of such an engagement be?

Imran’s Four Likely Immediate Priorities