Pakistan-India Relations: Fractured Past, Uncertain Future

Looking at Pakistan's foreign policy since 1947, one theme stands out with unmistakable clarity: the sheer weight of geography and history in its relationship with India. It is plain to see how the proximity has been both a source of strategic anxiety and a wellspring of unrealized potential. So many of Pakistan's policies derive from being a neighbour of India. The hopes, the misgivings, the overtures toward peaceful coexistence, and the opportunities and concerns that emanate from it – all seem to orbit around one question: Pakistan and India have remained stuck between a fractured past and an uncertain future. Is it because they could not resolve disputes or is there a larger obstacle to peace? This book is an attempt to answer that question. It examines the missteps of the past and explores whether a different and more hopeful future might yet be in reach.

About the Author:

Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has served as a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan for 37 years. He served as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan from 2013-17. His last diplomatic assignment was as Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States of America. He also served as Ambassador of Pakistan to the Netherlands, Foreign Office Spokesman, and Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York. As Director General for relations with South Asia, and later as Foreign Secretary, he remained closely associated with India-Pakistan peace process. After his retirement from the Foreign Service, Ambassador Chaudhry served as the Director General of Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad for over four years. Presently, he is Chairman of Sanober Institute Islamabad, a private sector think tank. He has authored three books and numerous research articles, including his memoir 'Diplomatic Footprints' that discusses the intricacies of foreign policy making in Pakistan.