The 2003 ceasefire understanding between India and Pakistan—reiterated by the two governments in February last year—is holding, said Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane. He added, “because we have negotiated from a position of strength”, a comment Islamabad termed “misleading.”

The remark by the Indian Army chief came on Thursday, a day after Pakistan National Security Advisor (NSA) Mooed Yusuf, in an interview to The Indian Express newspaper, had claimed that India agreed to hold the ceasefire understanding because it was facing "pressure from the West" on the Kashmir issue. 

On the other General Naravane said, “Ceasefire on the Line of Control continues to uphold because we negotiated from a position of strength.” Since 2014, the shelling and firing by both armies across the LOC had increased dramatically, resulting in the loss of life of soldiers, and especially, people living in villages on both sides of the border. 

In February 2021, after holding backchannel talks for months, the director-general of military operations of both armies had released a joint statement, reiterating their commitment to hold the 2003 ceasefire understanding on the LOC. 

Responding to the comment made by General Naravane, the Pakistan Military on Friday said the comment was “misleading.” 

“Indian COAS claiming LOC ceasefire holding because they negotiated from [a] position of strength, is clearly misleading. It was agreed only due to Pak’s concerns 4 [for the] safety of ppl of Kashmir living on both sides of [the] LOC,” the ISPR, the media wing of the Pakistan Military, said in a Tweet. 

“No side should misconstrue it as their strength or other’s weakness,” it added. 

The joint statement released last February had created a lot of hope, indicating a thaw in India-Pakistan relations, but little progress has been observed since then beyond the ceasefire. 

Speaking on its ties with India, Pakistan NSA Mooed Yusuf, in the interview, said, “We do want to move forward, but the enabling environment has to come from India.” He further blamed the "ideology" of the current Indian government for no progress. 

“Pakistan wants to be at peace with India. But the sad reality is that India is now in a situation where the prevailing ideology of the Indian government, if I may say so, has blocked all avenues because the conversation with us is not rational,” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Importantly, Yusuf’s remark came a few weeks after Islamabad, in its first-ever published National Security Policy, said it doesn’t seek hostility with India for the next 100 years. 

He also clarified that the issue of Kashmir is a matter of "cardinal national interest" for Pakistan and they were not giving up on it just because they were seeking better relations and connectivity.
  
Furthermore, this week, billionaire Pakistan businessman Mian Muhammad Mansha claimed that backchannel [talks] are still working between the two countries, and if we (Pakistanis) get our act right, “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit Pakistan in a month.” 

“If things improve between the two neighbours, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit Pakistan in a month,” the chairman of Nishat Group told a gathering of businessmen at the Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, according to Dawn.

He further said "Pakistan should improve trade relations with India and take a regional approach to economic development".

There has been no comment on this so far from either capital. 

 (SAM)