INDIA-PAKISTAN
Mounting tensions in South Asia between India and Pakistan have raised worries that their
prolonged conflict over Kashmir may escalate. Since independence, India and Pakistan have
fought two wars over the divided, predominantly Muslim region, which both countries claim. The
two nations tested nuclear weapons in May 1998, prompting serious concern in the international
community that a war between them could have disastrous consequences.
The relationship between India and Pakistan has been complicated by the post-September 11
global security environment. Pakistan has given its support to the war against terrorism, but has
been accused by the Indian government of continuing to back incursions across the Line of
Control and terrorist attacks against India by Kashmiri militants. Following a terrorist assault on
the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001, relations between the two countries deteriorated
seriously, a situation further exacerbated by terrorist attacks in April and May.
At Whistler, the G8 Foreign Ministers are expected to discuss the ongoing crisis, aided by
assessments of the situation made during the recent series of coordinated visits to the region
by ministers and officials from the United States, Britain, the European Union and Canada.
What the G8 has done
At a special meeting in London shortly after the Birmingham Summit in 1998, the G8 Foreign
Ministers issued a communiqué condemning the nuclear tests carried out by India and Pakistan
and declaring that the “negative impact” of their actions would be “serious and lasting.” They
called for a halt to the nuclear and missile arms race on the subcontinent and a stop to all
further tests, among other measures.
In Cologne the following year, the foreign ministers expressed deep concern about the
continuing military confrontation in Kashmir and urged both India and Pakistan to respect the
Line of Control, work for an immediate cessation of fighting and return to the negotiating table
in the spirit of the Lahore Declaration signed by the two countries in February 1999.
The Foreign Ministers issued a similar call in 2000 at their meeting in Miyazaki, pressing both
India and Pakistan to join the international community’s non-proliferation and disarmament
regime and sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
In Rome last year, Foreign Ministers welcomed the India-Pakistan Summit in Agra and
supported continued high-level dialogue and the two nations’ commitment to a nuclear test
moratorium.
The buildup of tensions following the attack on the Indian Parliament led the G8 Foreign
Ministers to issue another statement of concern on December 28, 2001. In recent days,
Britain’s Foreign Secretary and the EU’s External Affairs Commissioner, as well as two senior
U.S. officials and a senior Canadian official, have visited the region. On May 31, 2002, G8
Foreign Ministers issued a new statement calling on India and Pakistan to continue to work
towards a diplomatic solution to the current crisis, as well as urging Pakistan to end infiltrations
across the Line of Control and to stop terrorist groups operating from territory under its control.
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