Pakistan Army Chief Talk of Extending “Hand of Peace,” New Delhi Skeptical

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Feb 3: A day after India invited the Pakistani diplomats in Delhi to join other foreign missions to participate in the phase-wise Covid-19 vaccination drive, Pakistan’s chief of the army staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa sprang a surprise for Delhi talking about extending a “hand of peace in all directions.”

He, however, was quick to qualify his statement with Pakistan’s old rhetoric of “resolving the long-standing issue of Jammu and Kashmir” but his talk of “dignified and peaceful manner” to resolve the issue come in sharp contrast to his erstwhile strident pitch against India, particularly after New Delhi carried out aerial strikes at terror training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the 2019 Pulwama bombing and scrapping of article 370 withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

India, however, has so far refused to read much into General Bajwa’s statement coming at a time when he and Prime Minister Imran Khan have been facing fierce attacks from an alliance of opposition parties.

“Pakistan is committed to the ideal of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence and it is time to extend a hand of peace in all directions,” Bajwa said at the graduation ceremony of Pakistan Air Force cadets. “Pakistan and India must also resolve the longstanding issue of Jammu and Kashmir in a dignified and peaceful manner as per the aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir and bring this human tragedy to its logical conclusion,” General Bajwa said at the military event.

Gen Bajwa said his country was “firmly committed to the ideal of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence” and that “it is time to extend peace in all directions.” He maintained that Pakistan was a “peace-loving country that has rendered great sacrifices for regional and global peace” he said and added, “We stand firmly committed to the ideal of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. It is time to extend hand of peace in all directions. Pakistan and India must also resolve the longstanding issue of Jammu and Kashmir in a dignified and peaceful manner,” according to a statement by Pakistan’s Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR). It also quoted Bajwa as saying that Pakistan would not allow anybody or any entity to misinterpret its “desire for peace as a sign of weakness.”

Gen Bajwa lauded the role played by Pakistan Air Force in “war on terror.”

A counter-terror official in New Delhi said it might be too early to conclude that General Bajwa had changed his position. “We will need to track if this is a one-off comment or there are other indicators of a possible change as well,” he said.

Either way, it will take a lot more than words to help put bilateral ties between the two arch-rivals back on an even keel. Pakistan, the official said, would have to take concrete steps to dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil and end support to terrorists to convince New Delhi that it was serious about improving ties.

Gen Bajwa’s remarks, officials in Delhi believed, could be a mere co-incidence that it came a day after India on Tuesday invited the Pakistan diplomats to get inoculated. It was part of India government’s offer to the entire foreign diplomatic community based in Delhi to take part in India’s vaccination drive for its citizens. Pakistan is yet to take a decision if it would accept India’s offer.

India has already gifted India-manufactured vaccines to more than ten countries in the region and many West Asian countries. In the neighbourhood, four countries–Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka began their vaccination drive in last two weeks using India-manufactured and India gifted vaccines.

In addition, India in the recent past had been reaching out to foreign diplomats over its vaccination drive and how it is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. In December 2020, more than 50 foreign envoys were taken to Hyderabad to showcase India’s vaccine production centres.

In November 2020, foreign envoys were briefed on the action plan to deal with the COVID crisis by Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla. Around 190 heads of diplomatic missions were present in the briefing that took place in Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan began its COVID-19 vaccination drive on Tuesday with Imran Khan thanking its all-weather friend China for sending five lakh doses of vaccine Sinopharm.