Since · the return of the POWs, the exchange of their
respective citizens between Pakistan and Bangladesh, and the recog nition of the hitter by Pakistan, Indo-Pakistan relations were quite correct. India's detonation of a nuclear device on May 1 8, . 1 97 4, did not alter the intention of bettering future relations, nor did Delhi 's decision to make . Kashmir an ordinary state within the Indian union. It is true· · that in both instances, Bhutto made state ments critical of the Indian government. But his public declarations were meant pri marily for dome�tic consumption, intended to pacify
his audiences. The Indians were conde
m
ned and warned that Pakistancould not stand idly by. Pakistan, too, could build nuclear weapons if it wished to put its resources into such a programme. Bhutto called· for a nationwide work stoppage to demonstrate · Pakistan's
dissatisfaction with the · Indian decisi
o
n to absorb Kash mir. Butthe bellicosity of the past was noticeably subdued .
.
Pakistan under Bhutto's leadership ( 1 972-77) tried to move with the times. Reali zing that the old militant attitude towards India would not profi.t him or his country, he emphasized reducing old enmities while . making new friends. For more than two decades, Pakistan had harboured the notion that it was the equal of India, despite that country' s vast numerical superiority. As a result, successive Pakistani governments assumed an aggressive posture towards India that made any kind . of meaningful accom modation difficult. Apparently, a . new realism was shown by the Pakistani
leadership after Bangladesh 's emergen<;:e. : : !
- Since j uly 5, 1 977, Pakistan · came under another spel l of martial law. South Asia saw a brand of populism in the early 1 970s. from Colomqo to New Delhi and from Islamabad to Dacca; regimes were swept int.o office and stayed in power by arousing the expectations of the masses through leftist slogans and progr1,lm mes. Unfortunately, they couldn't tran.slate them into reality, which gave way to discontentment and resort to unconstitutional ' methods . to contain it. All of those regime's have collapsed-'-through electoral defeat in India and Sri Lanka, ·through military takeover in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Armed forces of Pakistan, particularly the army, have pla.yed
/ ' a dominant role in the country since its existence. They have been
engaged in four armed conflicts with India in 40 years. For al most half of this period, the military of Pakistan, with the army as its vanguard, has wielded the sceptre as well as the sword. Tradi tionally the domestic interests of the armed forces establishment in Pakistan had been linked to Pakistan's posture of confr.ontation with India. An inflated military establishment could only be justified
in terms of a threat from India • . This inflated military machine
is considered essential in order to preserve the political power -of the top military elite as the arbiters of the country's destiny.
But · this time, instead · of play{ng up the tune of constant Indian threat, the military regime of Pakistan under General Ziaul Haq seemed .to follow the foreign policy broadly formulated by Bhutto's government. In its relationship with India, · Pakistan is trying to resolve the problems and promote relations on the principle of bilateralism.
Normalization of relations is taking place slowly but
steadily. The process has been started by the exchange of. visitors. · Efforts have been made by both countries to provide visa facilities to people to travel easily in both countries. To create good wi11 : and to ease tension, hockey and cricket teams of India and Pakistan have exchanged visits. 1
On the diplomatic scene, India's External Minister, A.B.
Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan · in February 1978 was the most
·lndo-):lak Relations
with a pause of 1 4 years to come to Pakistan to negotiate v:ith his Pakistani counterpart on matters of mutual interest. It was
interesting that Mr. Vajpayee, who as a member of the J an Sang
�
party denounced the. Smila agreement as · a "stab in the back," came to Pakistan to discuss matters in the spirit of the Simla agreement. While addressing a press conference, he showed his desire to bring relations ·between the two countries to normal. ·
He said, "if there are misgivings we will try to remove these. rr3
Besides exploring the possibilities of improving trade, both sides showed keen interest in promoting exchanges in various fields like culture and sports. An important topic which came under discussion related to the Salal dam project on the Chenab
. . 4
River in J ammu and Kashmir. The talks resulted in an agreement. Pakistan,. under the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, was entitled
to , examine the I
�
dian design of the hydroelectric project thatcountry planned to build. It had originally raised objections
<;>n
·the , grounds that the design did not conf6rm to the criteria
�
aiddown in that treaty. After the restoration of diplomatic , relations under the Simla agreement, an initiative was taken by. both countries to resume bilateral negot_iations to resolve this problem. " Talks have been continued since 197 4. Two rounds of discussions were held at the foreign secretary's level in October 1976· at New Delhi and Islamabad, but no agreement was reached. Mr.
' Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan was mostly to solve this problem
bilaterally. "5
The good will generated by the normalization of relations between the two countri'es in mid seventies was' not allowed to suffer a setback . during that decade which witnessed internal changes in governments in both countries. Settling of disputes through bilateral negotiations showed the intentions of India and Pakistan to maintain · normal relations and to live in peace. It
was for the first time in the last forty years that the subcon-
, ::� I
tinent was not one of t_he troubled �reas of the world at that time.