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The article attempts a comparative study of Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and the select stories of Saadat Hasan Manto, written against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan partition of 1947 which traumatized and affected millions of people. The study looks into the fictitious nature of the brand-new identity taken up by people and the manner in which they acted under the influence of radical nationalism and extremism. It unravels the consequences of partition madness upon women and children as they became the easiest targets of the fanatics. It intends to identify the similarities and dissimilarities between both writers in respect of their portrayal of the refugee crisis, partition riots, communal madness as reflected in their works, and their reactions towards the religious division of India. The adopted method of this study is a comparative study in which textual analysis involving close reading of the select texts is utilized, taking postcolonialism and feminism into account. The analysis is further substantiated with the data taken from secondary sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India-Pakistan relations are at an inflection point with India's dramatic revocation of Kashmir's autonomy and its desired objective to transform the nature of the Kashmir conflict from a "bilateral" (involving Pakistan) to a "unilateral" status (excluding Pakistan). Pakistan, on the other hand, has embarked on a diplomatic offensive making the case against India's majoritarian politics in Kashmir as detrimental not only to the Kashmiris but also to the strategic stability between the two rivals. This article reasons that India's and Pakistan's dominant zero-sum strategies—premised on winning while ensuring the other's loss—are least likely to come to fruition. Given the present nature of ties, the way forward is for the two states to engage in a minimalist framework where mutual interests, as opposed to dominant positions, are put forth as a basis for engagement. Second, engagement more than agreement should be the short- to medium-term goal. Finally, any talk during this time on freezing the Kashmir conflict is least likely to bring any long-term dividends for peace and stability between the two regional adversaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTThe geopolitical situation in South Asia is witnessing entangled trends, which are reflected as chronic India-Pakistan confrontation, the frigid China-India relationship and the increasing US-China competition. China doesn’t want to be involved in the India-Pakistan confrontation, but it’s an undeniable fact that the China factor is shaping India-Pakistan interaction to some extent. Though the United States is an extra-regional power, it has a long history of being involved in regional affairs. Considering China, India and Pakistan all possess nuclear weapons, it’s extremely important to analyze the geopolitical trends and implications for the nuclear chain. This paper argues that the United States has been focusing on strategic competition against China, and the bilateral relationship will face fierce challenges before reaching new balance. The China-India relationship is becoming competitive and volatile, and the old framework of stabilizing bilateral relations is disintegrating. The conflicting ideology of nation-building, the extremely contradicted security perception, and the battle for geostrategic advantage in the region all contribute to India-Pakistan confrontation. Though nuclear weapons, functioning as a strategic deterrence tool, will curtail concerning parties from large-scale war, and China strongly advocates for a common and cooperative security concept, the geopolitical entanglement will have serious impact on the regional nuclear situation. This paper also gives recommendations for managing this interaction. All concerned parties should strive to overcome the security dilemma and maintain peace and stability in this region by strengthening confidence-building measures, conducting nuclear issue dialogues and improving crisis management mechanisms.

No other issue has influenced the India–Pakistan relationship more adversely than the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. To understand the discourse surrounding the dispute, and how it has evolved within the foreign policies of both countries, this research undertakes a critical discourse analysis of both countries' official statements at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) between 1948 and 2020. The findings of this study are crucial to not only understanding how the two states have been internationalizing the Kashmir dispute but also what lessons can be learned from the past as both countries attempt to slowly reengage with one another. Our analysis points to the fact that both India and Pakistan's stances on the Kashmir dispute, despite their varying phases throughout the conflict, have essentially remained the same. We argue that, despite seeming to have converged toward some form of resolution during the first decade of the twenty-first century, the current context of India–Pakistan relations presents a worsening trajectory that has not been witnessed since their last major war in 1971. In highlighting the cyclical, almost scripted nature of this debate, this paper attempts to suggest ways to break free from age-old tropes and help pave the way toward more meaningful ways to redefine the issue in light of a radically altered geo-political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan-India relations are mired in power politics making the two countries as rivals with competing identities and interests. By the logic of power politics, the two neighbouring countries survive in a condition of security dilemma and are locked in patterns of enduring rivalry, militarised geopolitics and antagonistic national security paradigms. Despite the enduring rivalry, the India-Pakistan relations are also marked by contexts of cooperation where the two sides have exhibited orderly relations and given way for negotiations. In order to give meaning to this oscillating state-to-state relationship, the present study looks into the variable of threat perception whether it is an objective phenomenon or a subjective phenomenon. To this end, the study aims at demystifying Pakistan-India relations from the lens of Stephen Walt's Balance of Threat Theory. By bringing up the ideational component of 'aggressive intentions' in his model, Walt conceptualises threat perception as a subjective phenomenon, which allows for an emancipatory framework of meaning and action that goes beyond the orthodox and regressive logic of traditional power politics to understand Pakistan-India relations. The present study argues that the state elites of the two countries can dial down their tensions by transforming their will and intentions towards more peaceful behaviours and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Lina Fruzzetti, a Brown University Professor at the anthropology department. It mentions how gender and racial equality, social justice, and the universality of citizenship had to be constantly cared for, protected, and affirmed. It also mentions conflicts and tensions between India and Pakistan only intensified with the "Hindu India" idealized by Narendra Modi and have now been aggravated by the Pakistani support of Taliban's control of Afghanistan.

After the partition of British India in 1947, many pilgrimage sites important for the Sikhs � followers of a medieval poet-mystic and philosopher Guru Nanak (1469-1539) � turned out to be at different sides of the India-Pakistani border. The towns of Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur (Guru Nanak�s birthplace, and residence for the last 18 years of his life, respectively) remained within Pakistani territory. Gurdwaras located there represent utmost pilgrimage destinations, the Sikhs� �Mecca and Medina�. Owing to Indian-Pakistani relations that have deteriorated throughout seven decades, pilgrimage to Kartarpur has been extremely difficult for India�s citizens. Nevertheless, in the late 1990s, official negotiations were launched concerning the possibility of setting up a visa-free pilgrimage corridor that would allow Indian Sikhs to easily reach the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara. The potential corridor was perceived by many as a channel for cultural cooperation and the embodiment of a zone of peace at the �line of mutual hatred� � as the India-Pakistan border has often been referred to. Negotiations received a new impetus when the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party headed by Imran Khan came to power in 2018. On November 9, 2019, three days before Guru Nanak�s 550th birth anniversary, the Kartarpur corridor was inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan. This paper discusses the history of and the potential perspectives concerning the Kartarpur pilgrimage corridor drawing upon the concepts of borders as processes, sets of sociocultural practices, symbols, institutions, and networks that permanently adopt new meanings and functions.

In 1947 India was violently partitioned into the States of India and Pakistan. The political leaders behind this partition justified their decision based on the two-nation theory which had presented the two major religions namely Hindu and Muslim as two distinct civilizations that could not coexist. By marginalising and ignoring other important aspects of Indian society, and by magnifying only the religious aspect, they successfully created the metanarrative that would strengthen the 'imagined' border. Salman Rushdie, a postmodernist at heart, in Midnight's Children artistically brings the minute details of common Indian lives to the fore and thereby compels the readers to reanalyse the validity of the theory. This study, thus, by referring to the postmodern theory propounded by Jean François Lyotard, has tried to examine the legitimacy of two-nation theory in the light of the micronarratives portrayed in the Midnight's Children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the partition of British India in 1947, many pilgrimage sites important for the Sikhs - followers of a medieval poet-mystic and philosopher Guru Nanak (1469-1539) - turned out to be at different sides of the Indian-Pakistani border. The towns of Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur (Guru Nanak's birthplace, and residence for the last 18 years of his life, respectively) remained within Pakistani territory. Gurdwaras located there represent utmost pilgrimage destinations, the Sikhs' 'Mecca and Medina'. Owing to Indian-Pakistani relations that have deteriorated throughout seven decades, pilgrimage to Kartarpur has been extremely difficult for India's citizens. Nevertheless, in the late 1990s, official negotiations were launched concerning the possibility of setting up a visa-free pilgrimage corridor that would allow Indian Sikhs to easily reach the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara. The potential corridor was perceived by many as a channel for cultural cooperation and the embodiment of a zone of peace at the 'line of mutual hatred' - as the India-Pakistan border has often been referred to. Negotiations received a new impetus when the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party headed by Imran Khan came to power in 2018. On November 9, 2019, three days before Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary, the Kartarpur corridor was inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan. This paper discusses the history of and the potential perspectives concerning the Kartarpur pilgrimage corridor drawing upon the concepts of borders as processes, sets of sociocultural practices, symbols, institutions, and networks that permanently adopt new meanings and functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 divided the western Himalayan region of Baltistan in two parts. Being subject to internal colonization and nation-making by the two postcolonial nation states, the Balti community, like many other communities in the Himalayan region, has recently voiced demands for self-rule and experienced a cultural revival. The situation in Baltistan is here seen through a Zomia lens, focusing on what James Scott (2009) terms "jellyfish" strategies of the community's history, language, and culture to avoid being governed. This strategy allows for the community's escape from their rulers into a new, "virtual friction of terrain" in the form of ICT (information communications technology) and the internet. This article points out that South Asian minority communities like the Balti often find themselves suspended between demands of self-rule and a politics of development where they compete over access to the resources of the nation state. A preliminary history of connectivity in Baltistan is also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hindi cinema has long been instrumental in defining the boundaries between the "self" and the "other," often by providing stereotypical representations of the other's different religious, linguistic or ethnic affiliations. It was often Pakistan that played the role of the other, especially in films dealing with international terrorism or war. However, certain recent films focus on the lives of everyday people and emphasize the possibility of redefining the India-Pakistan relationship by portraying cross-border friendship between everyday Indians and Pakistanis. In this article, I look at two such films, Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Khan, 2015) and Happy Bhag Jayegi (Aziz, 2016) and investigate whether these films provide a more nuanced portrayal of Pakistani characters than previous war or spy films. Throughout the paper I suggest that this is not the case and that these films, despite their wholesome message, employ a variety of stereotypes related to gender, religion, and nationality, which have been crucial in delineating the cultural boundaries of the Indian nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a glimpse of the representation of India in The Pakistan Times in 1950–51, in the last months of the first phase of its editorship by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. It contextualizes this reflection in a period of relative lull, marked by pacts on minorities and trade, within the post-Partition upheaval. Focusing especially on editorials, commentaries, and cartoons, it highlights the formation of views of the neighbor from the news that was being generated. The stress is on firstly, a variety of themes included – not just the "unfinished business of Partition", secondly, a responsible review of these themes – not just a narrow-minded nationalist reading, and thirdly, an involved – if not intertwined – interpretation of both countries' socio-economic relations, while not underplaying the differences of their regimes. Further, the article goes beyond an inter-governmental framework, as The Pakistan Times went beyond it and presents a slice of the possibilities then existing, of a progressive politics on questions of class, community, and capital. In early independent Pakistan, this was personified by Faiz and this article, while not on him nor on an extensive Saidian reflection of the "other", tries to trace his imprint in the representation of India in the newspaper he edited and seeks to contribute to our understanding of India as constructed through Pakistani eyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why did India launch and later withdraw from the exercise in coercive diplomacy – Operation Parakram – against Pakistan in response to the attack on India's Parliament by terrorists based in that country? This paper marshals factors operating at the systemic, state and individual/small-group levels of analysis to show that, despite the paucity of evidence on decisionmaking of the kind required for an effective foreign policy analysis (FPA) approach, a reasonably clear picture can be developed. It combines deductive logic relating to state behavior in a nuclearized environment with the limited empirical evidence available to show that India never intended to go to war and that the operation was essentially a bluff that, having eventually reached a dead end, was called off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Editorial Postscript was a late addition to this issue of Perspectives on Terrorism, but it felt necessary to contribute something to the Special Correspondence. There is value in the essays by Muhammad Feyyaz and Abhinav Pandya[1], even taken separately, but greater significance comes from discussing where the authors agree and where they disagree, both about Pulwama and about its consequences. Below is an attempt to connect the two pieces, to help generate broader discussions over the challenges of studying and writing about political violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since its occurrence in mid-February 2019, the Pulwama incident has obsessively gripped Indian and Pakistani political circles and society alike. It has also remained at the centre of policy, security and opinionated analyses within and beyond South Asia. Ironically, most of these encounters, barring a few notable exceptions, have largely been ridden more by polemics underlying typical Indian and Pakistani nationalism and by partisan descriptions rather than being the product of a systematic analysis of the possible causes behind the incident, the cycle of reactions that it has produced and the ensuing very dangerous security implications. The present account contextualizes the incident within a broader, quite complex, and multi-tier national and geopolitical landscape, to determine its objective status, and reflects on a few broad policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-Pulwama Indo-Pak stand-off marks a strategic change - a much more assertive Indian state in response to the terrorist activities of Pakistan-sponsored non-state actors. It demonstrates India's firm determination to root out terrorism even if that requires smart cross-border operations, violating the sovereign space of Pakistan, and risking a full-fledged war. Also, with the global attention that the recent stand-off received, it is highly likely that the Kashmir issue, which has somehow remained a local problem, will not be so anymore. Any Indo-Pak conflict over Kashmir is likely, in the future, to have strong international ramifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 14 February suicide attack that killed more than 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Pulwama district of Indian Kashmir has resulted in a number of security and political challenges for the Indian government. The attack almost brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. Following Indian airstrikes on Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) camps in the Balakot district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Pakistan responded with its own retaliatory strikes in the Indian Kashmir. This article examines the significance and implications of the Pulwama attack and consequent state responses. It argues that terrorist groups like JeM, through their terrorist attacks, have repeatedly influenced foreign policy and the regional security of South Asia. Given the adversarial ties between India and Pakistan and the lack of a credible crisis management mechanism, terrorist groups may continue to exploit this gap to precipitate crises between the two countries in future as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jaish-e-Mohammad's (JeM) impact on the jihadist landscape in Pakistan is immense. The February 2019 Pulwama attack in Indian Kashmir carried out by the JeM has highlighted that the terror group would remain a thorny issue between India and Pakistan. This article examines the background and profile of JeM and its founder, Maulana Masood Azhar, and the impact of his thoughts and ideology on Kashmir's militant landscape against the backdrop of the Pulwama attack and subsequent escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. The article further elucidates the ramifications for Pakistan in the light of JeM's jihadist activities in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The India-Pakistan relationship is shaped by internal and external variables - which form very complex interactions between the two. Externally, both countries are influenced by multiple factors which shape their foreign policies - the geopolitics of South Asia is the major one. However, another important factor in the relationship between the two nations and a source of great tension between the two of them is the persistence influence of the 'realist school'. This school of thought, holds that nations are rivals and will only seek their own interests at the costs of those of their neighbors. This theory of international relations holds that countries such as India and Pakistan need to compete with each other, especially militarily. This paper will focus on the geopolitical factors which shape India-Pakistan relations in contemporary times - how the geostrategic culture is shaping the relationship of both South Asian neighbors in bringing more distrust, and an antagonized sense of insecurity and mistrust. This article will analyze the geopolitical settings and related factors - bilateral nuisance such as Kashmir, wars and other border disputes; regional factors such as China, Afghanistan - and geopolitical interests of both nations. This research can lead to a better understanding of the strategic culture of the region which greatly influences the relationship between India and Pakistan. This research examines the negative impact of the 'realist school' on the relationship between Pakistan and India and indicates that only a change in the political culture of both nations can lead to peaceful co-existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bibliometric analysis of the research papers explores different aspects of the contribution from an individual author to the country as a whole. The growth of publications, authorship patterns, paper lengths, referencing trends, prolific contribution of authors, etc. about a particular journal are includes in bibliometric studies. Keeping in mind the Indian contribution to a peer review e-journal namely Library Philosophy and Practice (e-Journal) this study began. Meanwhile, it is observed that already work has done on several related aspect. Further, it is also found that the same study has already conducted by Anwar, (2018), exploring the Pakistani contribution to the same journals from 2008-2017. Finally, the present study has designed to explore and compare the contribution of Indian and Pakistani authors to Library Philosophy and Practice (LPP) for a period of ten years from 2008-17. The India and Pakistan are two significant countries in South-East Asia those shares historical, political, and economic background together. This study is based on the bibliometric analysis on LPP covered a period from 2008-2017 in which 432 articles (86 articles from Pakistani & 346 articles from Indian authors) were published during the marked period. Study examines the various bibliometric parameters such as authorship pattern, geographical distribution, major authors, and length of articles. Study finds that 41.8% (181) articles were contributed by two authors. Further, the study found that 11-15 pages of articles published in majority by the authors in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peace communication in media flows fosters civil discourse, emphasizes shared culture, values, collective well-being, and works for reduction in violence and conflict. This study addresses a gap in the literature on citizen-initiated peace communication in the context of interstate relations, conflict and public diplomacy, with a focus on the understudied case of media flows between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed nations embroiled in perpetual enmity since the 1947 Partition. Revolutions in ICTs led to a shift in the dominant media flow from top-down and statist to bottom-up, with horizontal media flows fostered by individuals and groups now on social media platforms that opened up space for civil discourse. Dozens of different online citizen groups promoting peace on Facebook, YouTube and other platforms lead to the conclusion that peace communication in cross-border media flows indeed may have the potential to result in peace dividends in the form of fostering civil communication in shared values, culture, and collective well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adopting John Galtung's war and peace theoretical framework, this study has been conducted to examine the framing of the Indo-Pak relations in the newspapers having large readership such as Dawn and Nation from Pakistan and the Hindu and Hindustan Times from India. The content analysis was carried out from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. The study is grounded in Galtung's model of War and Peace journalism and Media Framing theory. The editorial and columns published in the mentioned newspapers during the aforementioned period of time were analysed. The data collected for this study has been tested by various statistical operations, which are based on Chi Square test. The findings of the study show that the elite press of Pakistan and India, predominantly, used war frames for the coverage of Indo-Pak relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the effectiveness of the use of Indian aircraft carriers during wartime with its strategic rivals. Topics covered include contextualization of the issue in a hypothetical Indo-Pakistani war in line with the continuing dispute between the two nations, dynamics of Indian carrier operations against Pakistan and recommendations for Indian naval planners.

This article seeks to determine whether the ideology of Hindu nationalism has influenced the course of Republic of India's foreign policy since 2014 (when Hindu nationalists took over power). The conclusion is that while Hindu nationalism might have been and probably was important in certain regards, the broad direction of the policy generally remained the same as during the previous governments. Despite the anti-Muslim stance of Hindu nationalists, India has not changed its stance towards certain Arabic Muslim countries, while building warmer ties with Israel. New Delhi has also not employed any new tactics or solutions - whether bold or conciliatory - towards Islamabad. India's China policy has not become more aggressive while the 'Act East Policy' that focuses on ties in East and Southeast Asia did not employ more references to common heritage than previously. New Delhi also tried to retain it similar cooperation with Russia and the US, though the one with Washington is visible growing (as ideological overtones are not visible in Indian policy on Russia, US and China, sections on relations with these powers were not included in the final version of this article). These conclusions lead the author to believe that India's foreign policy will largely remain the same even if the Hindu nationalists retain power after the 2019 elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the induction of new weapon systems in South Asia, notably BMDs, the region would gradually become prone to risk of war especially due to unresolved disputes, notably Kashmir. The sporadic events of violence and state terrorism in Indian Held Kashmir, as have been witnessed in past few months, pose serious threat to a major chuck of the entire world population. Due to mutual hostility and suspicion, role of international community, especially the major powers, would remain critical in facilitating the bilateral peace between the South Asian nuclear rivals or else possibility of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would keep the populace of this region hostage to the nuclear radiation effects around the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a multidisciplinary analysis of the relationship between India and Pakistan. The authors contend that much would be gained by Pakistan and India if normalization between the two could be achieved. By examining the failures of past negotiations and examining current conditions, the paper puts forth areas where there exist common interests and what they believe could be a path to peace between these nation-states. The work suggests there are numerous factors that have contributed to the current state of affairs between India and Pakistan. Some of the factors are more obvious than others like the Partition trauma and Kashmir. The paper then highlights some of the more obscure issues which include anti-other education in Pakistani and Indian schools. All need to be considered as we try to unravel the knot of distrust between these two countries and look to establish common ground in areas which require urgent attention and push for reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study has started with the sole argument that peace process of this region is now turned into a complex political theatre where terrorism is the major menace. The aim of this study is to scrupulously investigate the nature and substance of South Asian peace process with particular emphasis on India-Pakistan. Thus intends to extend the scope of further research on peace process through linking it with terrorism. The methodology of this research relied largely on qualitative analysis. Methodologically, the study does not directly address the policies of the South Asian countries rather it uses already available literature of policy experts to research the linkage between terrorism and peace process, test their correlations (whether it is positive or negative) in context to South Asia, and to conclusively make a judgment based on the research question-to what extent the incidence of terrorism is hindering the progress of South Asian peace process? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is design to analyze the role of print media in portrayal of water dispute between Pakistan and India. The researchers analyzed the content published in newspaper regarding Pakistan and India water dispute. This study provides a brief over view of water dispute between Pakistan and India and some of policy failure which has led to water crises especially in Pakistan. It suggests some innovative way to deal with vexed issue through media collaboration. The methodology of the research was content analysis. Data was gathered from Editorials, News Articles and News Stories from two leading newspapers of Pakistan and India. The study was conducted under the light of "Agenda Setting Theory" and "Framing Theory". The research covers the period of five years from 2010 to 2014. The results showed that both of the newspaper gave large space to the topic concerned. The Nation gives more coverage to water dispute as compare to The Hindu. Moreover, "The Hindu" Indian newspaper supported his government more than the Pakistani press on water dispute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though it has been a longtime since 1947, both Pakistan and India couldn't steer the trajectory of their relations in the right direction. Even in the twenty first Century, this relationship is, by and large, determined through the prism of history. The nuclearization of South Asia, triggered by India and the strategic arms race alongside perpetual state of conflict, have aggravated the threat of war that may no more remain limited or restricted to convectional arsenal; but has strong indicators of escalation of any future conflict to nuclear plane, leading to Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD.) The assumption that economic interdependence can lead to normalization of relations, has failed in this particular case. The determinants and dynamics of bilateral relations, holdout that normalization of relations is a complex phenomenon intricately embedded in the resolution of the core disputes. Be it the domain of military and strategic relationship, or either political or economic dimension, there has been no substantial improvement. The resolution of the core disputes including Kashmir is the key to the betterment of relations, which remains as an unfulfilled agenda in the United Nations. Bilateralism has failed so far, and there is a dire need for a sustainable conflict resolution mechanism assisted by third party mediation in order to restraint the region from arm race and the threat of nuclear war, and to ensure a prosperous and peaceful future for South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What role does India play in Pakistan’s international strategy? The article tackles this question and explores the crucial elements of Islamabad’s policy towards India, focusing on selected internal and external security issues. Pakistani political/military leaders look upon India as its major security challenge. The alleged threat from the powerful neighbour has served as the convenient explanation for justifying enormous military expenditures and building powerful army in Pakistan, which substantially weakened democratic institutions and civilian governments and consolidated military’s grip of the state power. This sense of fear was fuelled by the catastrophist mindset, claiming that India has always regarded partition of the subcontinent as a “historical aberration” and its main goal was to undo the partition or at least to subjugate Pakistan into a client‑state. The protracted, war‑prone relations between the two nuclear states can be defined as “difficult neighbourhood.” The chapter approaches the problem of Pakistan’s policy towards India in several key parts. The introduction looks at the historical developments and current internal situation in Pakistan. The first part offers an in‑depth analysis of Pakistan’s attitude towards the Kashmir issue, the second part analyses the strategies aimed at counterbalance India’s hegemony in the region, encapsulating the phenomenon of Pakistan‑China and Pakistan‑U.S. relations. The last part briefly observes the problem of water scarcity in India‑Pakistan relations, which has a direct impact on South Asian security.

What role does India play in Pakistan's international strategy? The article tackles this question and explores the crucial elements of Islamabad's policy towards India, focusing on selected internal and external security issues. Pakistani political/ military leaders look upon India as its major security challenge. The alleged threat from the powerful neighbour has served as the convenient explanation for justifying enormous military expenditures and building powerful army in Pakistan, which substantially weakened democratic institutions and civilian governments and consolidated military's grip of the state power. This sense of fear was fuelled by the catastrophist mindset, claiming that India has always regarded partition of the subcontinent as a “historical aberration” and its main goal was to undo the partition or at least to subjugate Pakistan into a client‑state. The protracted, war‑prone relations between the two nuclear states can be defined as “difficult neighbourhood.” The chapter approaches the problem of Pakistan's policy towards India in several key parts. The introduction looks at the historical developments and current internal situation in Pakistan. The first part offers an in‑ depth analysis of Pakistan's attitude towards the Kashmir issue, the second part analyses the strategies aimed at counterbalance India’s hegemony in the region, encapsulating the phenomenon of Pakistan‑China and Pakistan‑U. S. relations. The last part briefly observes the problem of water scarcity in India‑Pakistan relations, which has a direct impact on South Asian security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]