WAR AND PEACE IN SOUTH ASIA: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF PAK-INDIA RELATIONS (2008-2018)

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the War and Peace in South Asia: A Historical Analysis of Pak-India Relations (2008-2018). The aim was to analyze the relationships of both countries with regard to war and peace in connections with mutual disputes and negotiations efforts for peace process. Because of India and Pakistan's history of poor ties going back to 1947, discussions of collaboration have often occurred in the midst of threats of war and military confrontation. They have deployed their soldiers on several times as a consequence of a major threat of conflict. Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have been strained since the early 1990s as a result of turmoil in Kashmir and terrorist actions in other Indian states. After a series of high-profile terrorist strikes that took many lives, India's hostile spirit based on hatred against Pakistan has faded. Those opposed to the peace effort between India and Pakistan have established a pattern. Terrorist attacks have thwarted almost every Indo-Pakistani peace endeavor in recent years. As a consequence, belligerent minds dominate dialogues between India and Pakistan, constantly spreading negative narratives that condemn the adversary while creating virtue-based self-images in their own countries. Such negative narratives have been reinforced during a period of conflict, when there are numerous acts of violence, leading to an ongoing cycle of distrust, anxious to fight and violence that is difficult to escape. As a result, a positive cycle of trust and confidence growing between the two countries was never able to acquire traction or establish itself. Keywords: Pak-India Relations, Kashmir Issue, Kargil Conflict, Water Dispute.