Pakistan and India
As it is known, India is ill-focused on Pakistan and does not think well of it. Even though “Cross-border-terrorism” has been replaced by President Gen. Musharraf with “cross-border-trade”, in practical terms, India hasn't changed its ill-feeling towards it neighbour. Recent developments in Pakistan have caused nerve problem in New Delhi.
Musharraf seems to have made the strategists' job easier by tracking the so-called “terrorists” in and around Pakistan. India has got this job done without any expenses incurred for the purpose. Gen Musharraf's crackdown on the militants has meant that support for the Kashmiri groups has dried up. It has further meant that India can even consider decreasing the number of soldiers it has stationed in Kashmir, although this is a step it has not yet taken. The situation along the border is also much calmer, since a ceasefire came into place in 2003.
Emergency is not unknown to India that has witnessed the real rigours of emergency in all respects. Yet, New Delhi is in a dilemma. One of the main reasons for India's dilemma stems from the fact that relations between the two neighbors have improved considerably in the years that the General has been in power. And with Gen. Musharraf wearing two hats - as president and as chief of the army - India's job has been made somewhat simpler. It knows who it's dealing with. When the state of emergency was declared, Indian private television stations had wall-to-wall coverage of the situation in Pakistan - by switching over to their Pakistani counterparts. Talk of media has been the vague democracy and freedom of expression in Pakistan, as if they got an opportunity now to openly criticise Pakistan, since the USA is considered to be in their own “pockets” already.
In spite of its strenuous efforts, India has failed to influence the polices of Pakistan in any manner. For India, future of politics in Pakistan, like in the USA, is unpredictable.
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