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Analysis: Pakistan's Tremors Worry India

Council on Foreign Relations

November 14, 2007
Author: Jayshree Bajoria

Pakistan’s political crisis has elicited little official response from its eastern neighbor so far. India’s government expressed regret (IHT) over Pakistan’s difficulties and signaled confidence that more normal conditions will soon return. Experts say India does not want to appear to be interfering in Pakistani affairs, nor does it want to upset the delicate balance achieved in the last couple of years in the peace process.

India and Pakistan have fought four wars against each other and came very close to a fifth after the terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001. Both Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are credited with easing tensions and improving cross-border relations through peace talks. But India remains vulnerable to any instability in Pakistan, especially in Kashmir, where militant groups continue to operate. According to Indian media reports (Times Now), political uncertainty in Pakistan “has led to an escalation in infiltration and consequently militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Indian troops along the Line of Control in Kashmir as well as in other northwestern Indian states along the Pakistani border were placed on high alert soon after Musharraf declared emergency. The Times of India quoted a senior officer of the Indian army registering concern about renewed militancy in Kashmir “to placate hardliners upset with the military action being taken against Islamic fundamentalists in the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan.” But Pakistan’s Foreign Minister denied any recent increase (IANS) in infiltration across the border into India.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.