Mapping of Track Two Initiatives: A Case of Pakistan-India Conflict (1988-2001)

Abstract

The concept of Track Two Diplomacy for conflict resolution in
bilateral relations is quite an old phenomenon. This study is
focused to investigate what initiatives, within the framework of
Track Two Diplomacy, were taken by Pakistan and India for the
resolution of their bilateral conflict and enhancement of
confidence building between them. The individuals, former
government officials, technical experts, defence and strategic
analysts took several initiatives to bring the people of the two
countries closer by promoting people-to-people contacts. The role
played by Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and
Democracy (PIPFPD) in the sphere of Track Two Diplomacy has
also been carefully examined in this study. This study finds that the
civil societies in developing countries of Asia like Pakistan and
India have not still achieved awareness and consciousness to the
tune of their counterparts in the western world, nevertheless the
civil society in these two countries has uninterruptedly made
attempts to pave the way for conflict resolution and has marked
several suitable measures towards the process of confidence
building between their respective countries. Lastly, this study
attempts to analyze the hawkish role of the print media with
special reference to the Lahore peace process of 1999 when the
Indian Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan. The
study concludes that there exists a “mind-curtain” between
Pakistan and India which should be removed. People-to-people contacts between Pakistan and India should be acknowledged as a
sine qua non for an enhanced peaceful relationship between them.