Are India-Pakistan ties on the mend with delegation visit, Kashmir statehood promise?

A Pakistani delegation’s visit to Indian-administered Kashmir, coupled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise to restore statehood to the region, has sparked optimism for improved relations between India and Pakistan during his third term.

However, experts expressed mixed views on the potential impact of these developments, with some saying they were signs Modi would take a reconciliatory stance towards Islamabad while others said such a move was unlikely since it would “cost him his fanbase”, hurting him and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politically.

Zafar Choudhary, a political commentator and journalist based in India-administered Kashmir, told This Week in Asia that he believed Modi was planning to take a more pragmatic stance towards Kashmir in his third term while rebuilding some semblance of a relationship with Pakistan.

“To my understanding, there are some back-channel talks happening. Allowing Pakistan’s delegation to Kashmir can be seen as a baby step to engage with Islamabad at some level,” Choudhary said.

A five-member Pakistani delegation visited Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday to address Pakistan’s objections under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty to 10 hydroelectric projects in the region. It is the first visit by a Pakistani delegation to the region since 2019.

The Indus River originates in the southwestern Tibet autonomous region of China, flows through the disputed Kashmir region and enters into Pakistan, draining into the Arabian Sea.

The treaty established the rights and obligations of both countries regarding the use of the Indus River system’s waters. It allocated the waters of the western rivers – the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab – to Pakistan, and the eastern rivers – the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej – to India.

Th