pakistan’s

the Siachen and Sir Creek disputes. Improving relations with Pakistan remained a priority during
Singh’s second term as well. Thus, despite the baggage of the November 26 attacks in Mumbai in
2008, India resumed talks with Pakistan in April 2010 and strived to enhance economic and trade
ties, liberalize the visa regime, and promote greater energy cooperation.
In the fiteen years since the Lahore Declaration was signed, a number of CBMs have been
undertaken. The most significant of these agreements has been the ceasefire along the LoC in
November 2003. Other significant CBMs include an agreement on advance notification of ballistic
missile tests; the resumption of bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, Amritsar and
Nankana Sahib, and Delhi and Lahore; the resumption of the Samjhauta Express train, which runs
between Delhi and Lahore; the commencement of a rail service between Munabao in Rajasthan
and Khokhrapar in Sindh; the opening of the first overland truck route between the two countries
at Wagah; the revival of trade across the LoC; the reactivation of the joint economic commission
and joint business councils; and the creation of an institutional mechanism for India and Pakistan
to cooperate on fighting terrorism. 9
Islamabad and New Delhi, however, have struggled to build on these measures. For instance, the
LoC ceasefire has been violated on a number of occasions, and with increasing frequency, since 2013.
Such border skirmishes, along with political differences and other adverse security developments,
have oten led to political standoffs between the two countries. In such situations, measures to
promote closer economic and trade ties and increased people-to-people contact have suffered.
Avenues for Cooperation
Promoting Economic Interdependence
India’s emphasis on greater economic engagement with Pakistan is rooted in the belief that this
approach could strengthen domestic constituencies in Pakistan, as well as in India, that recognize
the mutual benefits accruing from harmonious bilateral relations. This logic seems to hold special
appeal to Sharif and Modi, who have a record of emphasizing economic development and growth.
Sharif’s victory in May 2013 was welcomed in India for this reason. Sharif’s party, the Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), represents the business and trading class in Pakistan, and Sharif
himself belongs to an industrialist family. Indian observers viewed his background and his clear
political mandate as providing a good opportunity to boost bilateral economic relations.
Economic development and trade ties underpin Modi’s foreign policy decision-making as well,
particularly toward South Asia. Indeed, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) election manifesto stated
that “political stability, progress and peace in the region” were essential for the region’s growth and
development. 10 In his speech at the 2014 SAARC summit in Kathmandu, Modi also claimed that
the Indian vision for South Asia rests on five pillars—trade, investment, assistance, cooperation
in every area, and increased contacts between people. 11 For Modi to achieve his development
priorities, better relations with India’s neighboring countries are an important foreign policy
9 Syed Rifaat Hussain, “The India Factor,” in Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis State, ed. Maleeha Lodhi (New York: Columbia University Press,
2011); and Sajjad Padder, “The Composite Dialogue between India and Pakistan: Structure, Process and Agency,” Heidelberg Papers in South
Asian and Comparative Politics 65 (2012), http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/13143/1/Heidelberg_Papers_65_Padder.pdf.
10 For the BJP’s full election manifesto, see Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas, “Election Manifesto 2014,” BJP, 2014, http://www.bjp.org/images/
pdf_2014/full_manifesto_english_07.04.2014.pdf.
11 For the full text of Prime Minister Modi’s speech at the 2014 SAARC summit, see “PM’s Speech at the SAARC Summit,” Prime Minister’s
Office (India), http://pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pms-speech-at-the-saarc-summit.
INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS u BHATNAGAR AND MOHAN
83