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India watches with anxiety at developments in Pakistan  

The key issue from the Indian perspective is how the change of power in Pakistan will impact ties between the two neighbours given the generally hostile position Imran Khan has taken towards India

India watches with anxiety at developments in Pakistan  

(Photo: Twitter)

India is watching anxiously at the turn of events in Pakistan where cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan is appears set to become the Prime Minister as the neighbouring country witnesses the transition of power from one civilian government to another only for the third time in its history.

There is a sense of scepticism in official circles in New Delhi given the generally hostile position Imran has taken towards India. While there was no official reaction from India, Union Minister R K Singh said he did not expect any change in Pakistan’s policy of exporting terrorism to India under the new regime.

Many here believe that this was an election rigged by the Pakistan Army to pave the way for Imran to become the PM since the 65-year-old maverick politician is considered a ‘blue eyed boy’ of the military establishment.

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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief’s election campaign was often marked by jingoistic slogans against India even as he clearly avoided giving a clear view on how he would deal with growing extremism and radicalisation in the country.

On Jammu and Kashmir, Imran repeatedly talked about what he called the ‘atrocities’ by the Indian establishment and sought resolution of the issue in accordance with UN conventions while ignoring the 1999 ‘Lahore Declaration’ and the 2004 ‘Islamabad Declaration’ for bilaterally settling all issues between the two countries.

Experts in New Delhi believe that the Pakistan Army had for the last few years been vigorously working behind the scene to ensure Imran’s victory. The objective ostensibly was to install a puppet civilian representative rather than attempt a coup because the military takeovers have a poor credibility.

It is said that public sentiment in Pakistan was also in his favour because he spoke vociferously about corruption in the civilian government, especially when Nawaz Sharif was at the helm.

The key issue from the Indian perspective is how the change of power in Pakistan will impact ties between the two neighbours which have had an accident-prone relationship in 71 years of their existence as independent countries.

It would indeed be naive on the part of New Delhi to ignore the statements made by Imran against India. Also, any possibility of the resumption of dialogue between the two countries immediately is virtually ruled out in view of the fact that India has already gone into the election mode.

But New Delhi will certainly have to initiate steps after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to set the stalled dialogue process into motion because neither India nor Pakistan can afford further slide in bilateral ties.

However, only time will tell whether Imran will get a free hand to run the country’s foreign policy vis a vis India. The army is not likely to surrender to the civilian leadership the veto power it has strategically kept in its hands all these years over the nature of relationship with India.

The million-dollar question is: Will Imran, who enjoyed immense popularity in India as one of the greatest all-rounders in the world of cricket, assert his authority and walk the extra mile to mend fences with India?

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