Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR (AJK): USIP Special Report by Pawan Bali and Shaheen Akhtar, “Kashmir Line of Control and Grassroots Peace buildingâ€, looks at efforts to bridge the divide between the Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) and Pakistani sides of Kashmir – the AJK.
Based on survey and focus group work with residents on both sides, the study finds local support for confidence-building measures and trade and travel initiatives begun in 2005 with the goal of building greater people-to-people contact between the people dwelling either side of the line of control in Jammu & Kashmir.
Another study report – Bridging the gaps between occupied Jammu & Kashmir and Azad Jammu & Kashmir – A new USIP Peace Works study by Happy Jacob titled “Ceasefire Violations in the Jammu and Kashmir: A Line on Fireâ€, draws on in-depth interviews with Indian and Pakistani military officials and several primary datasets to look at the factors behind violations of the 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two countries across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
The study report continued as saying “during subsequent periods of bilateral tension, and especially since 2009, this ceasefire agreement has broken down repeatedly, with exchanges of fire across the border risking an escalation of crises. While overall bilateral relations shape the security environment behind the two sides, the report concludes that local military factors are the primary drivers in these incidentsâ€.
At the same time, many respondents expressed concerns that these measures were not broadly accessible beyond a small constituency permitted to travel across the LoC / border, and that grassroots groups lacked the political influence necessary to translate local peace building efforts to national policy making. Broader efforts to build economic linkages between India and Pakistan have frequently been stalled by mutual government mistrust, the report said.
A USIP Peace Works report by S. Akbar Zaidi, Saba Alsam, and Farheen Ghaffar, “Misperceptions About India-Pakistan Trade: Beyond Politicsâ€, argues that the reasons for limited India-Pakistan trade are ultimately rooted in managerial, bureaucratic, transportation, and other local issues that must be addressed if broader proposals for economic connectivity are to be realized.