Context: In this episode of the Perspective Prog. based on 'Pakistan's National Security Policy'. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan recently launched his country’s National Security Policy. 

• Prepared after seven years of consultations, it is being flaunted as the first policy document with guidelines for achieving national security goals. 
• The Policy is divided into eight sections and places economic security of the country at the core. 
• The other sections talk about national security and cohesion, internal security, defence & territorial integrity, foreign policy and human security. 
• The document is meant for five years, starting from 2022, and is supposed to be updated by National Security Division in demanding circumstances that have implications for Pakistan’s security. It can also be updated whenever a new government is formed in the country. 
• On India, Pakistan’s National Security Policy says the country wants to improve its relationship with the neighbor, although it places the Jammu and Kashmir issue as the core of the bilateral relationship. 

On the show today, we will analyse with an eminent panel of experts the key points of the security policy of Pakistan, what it means for the country which is staring at economic instability, the policy vision on peace with India and how serious is it on resumption of talks and trade.

Key Point

• Pakistan’s (official) policy now leaves the door open for trade with India even without the settlement of the Kashmir issue – provided there is headway in bilateral talks.
• Earlier, Kashmir used to be at the centre-stage of all Pakistani outcry.

About their New Security Policy

• The country’s new policy would act as an umbrella document, to be used as a guideline for Pakistan`s foreign, international and defence related policies.
• The five-year-policy document, which will span 2022-26, is being touted by the Pakistan government as the country’s first-ever strategy paper of its kind.

Key highlights

• Focus on trade: The 100-page policy document has also put out elaborate plans to open trade and business ties with India.
• Silent on Kashmir: Kashmir issue with India has been identified as a ‘vital national policy’ issue for Pakistan.
• No public discussion: Only a part of the national security policy will be made public.
• Defying hostility with India: The document states that Pakistan is not seeking hostility with India for the next 100 years.
• Curbing militancy: The new policy also deals with the issue of militant and dissident groups and advocates dialogue with ‘reconcilable elements.’
• No re-conciliation with India: There are no prospects of rapprochement with India under the current government.
• Others: On the internal front, the new policy identifies five key areas of population/migration, health, climate and water, food security and gender mainstreaming.

Significance of such policy

• Pakistan and India have mostly been at loggerheads with each other throughout history.
• During the first term of Narendra Modi in 2014, the relations took a positive turn when he announced his intentions to have cordial relations with Pakistan.
• He had also visited Islamabad in 2015 unannounced to attend a marriage ceremony in Ex-PMs family.
• However, the relations deteriorated following the horrific 2016 Uri attacks.

Road Ahead

• Pivotal equations between India and Pakistan will continue to be dominated by Kashmir, the ongoing proxy war and terrorism. It is unlikely that this prevailing equilibrium is likely to be reset by this classified policy document. That too overnight.The India-centric security obsession will remain the core of this policy.