India-Pakistan Strategic Relationship: Its Impact on Regional Transition

Abstract

India and Pakistan emerged through conflict and have remained immersed in it ever since their inception. The factors and causes that led to the partition of the subcontinent after the British rule and the establishment of two distinct national entities, India and Pakistan, have been accounted for in a variety of ways. The South Asian saga seems like as if it has been played out in a Greek tragedy, where the violent outcome was foretold. It is idle now to speculate whether given more time and preparation some of the resultant violence could have been prevented. Or, with better planning the ultimate results might have been better. Yet, given the prevailing circumstances and the history of the subcontinent this was perhaps inevitable.¹ The conflicts that it generated are essentially bilateral between India and Pakistan, but those conflicts have affected the rise of mutual trust and cooperation in the region and prevented it from becoming a region of peace and prosperity.