ISLAMABAD: Experts believe that India wasted the whole year of 2016 and did not respond to Pakistan’s offers for dialogue on all outstanding issues including Jammu and Kashmir. Daily Times contacted the experts of regional affairs to know their stance on Indo-Pak relations during 2016.

In this regard, Aziz Ahmed Khan, who remained Pakistan’s High commissioner to India from June 2003 to September 2006, said that India had lost yet another opportunity to take its place at the negotiation table despite all efforts from Pakistan to restore the dialogue process. He said that Pakistan wants to move forward its relations with India.

He said that terrorism is the core issue for both the countries and the region. Pakistan suffered more from terrorism than India and both countries could cooperate with each other. But due to India’s attitude, the south Asian region was suffering badly.

While responding to a question, Ambassador Khan said that Indian PM Modi’s meeting with PM Sharif at Jati Umra in December 2015 was not between the two PMs but actually it was between Modi and Sharif. In spite of this, the meeting created some goodwill gestures, but unfortunately after the Pathankot incident, India’s attitude completely changed.

He said that until and unless some development took place on the Kashmir issue, progress in the relations between the two neighboring countries could not improve. He said that PM Modi was playing into the hands of RSS and adopting an extremist attitude . “I do not see any major breakthrough in Indo-Pak relation in near future” he concluded.

Dr. Nazir Hussain, Professor of School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-e-Azam University told Daily Times that Modi was playing into the hands of the Indian establishment, which does not want good relations with Pakistan. He said that in March 2017, elections in two important Indian states, UP and Punjab would be held and preparations for general elections in Pakistan would start next year. “I see similar cold relations between Pakistan and India next year too. However, some cosmetic steps might be taken in 2017,” he added.

Dr. Hussain said that from Pakistan’s perspective, it was good that a new alliance was forming between Russia, China and Pakistan. Dr. Noor Fatima, Assistant Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations, Islamic University said that 2016 was the year of fractured bilateral relations between two arch rivals particularly after Uri attack, Modi’s statement on Balochistan and Indian claims of a surgical strike.

She said that Pakistan was always ready for talks on all outstanding issues including Kashmir but it was India who turned down the repeated requests. India took a stance that it was ready for talks only on terrorism for which India always held Pakistan responsible. “Now India has threatened Pakistan for stopping the flow of Pakistani water to distract international eyes from the Kashmir issue” she added.