A delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Swedish Parliament visited IDSA on January 12, 2009. Ms. Carina Hägg of the Social Democratic Party of Sweden led the delegation. The focus of the interactive session was regional security in South Asia. Dr. Arvind Gupta, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Chair at the institute, chaired the interactive session. Members of the South Asia cluster at IDSA as well as the members of the other clusters participated in the discussion.

Dr. Arvind Gupta gave an overview of the political and economic situation in the South Asia region including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives. He said that while there is democratic change in the region and the environment for regional cooperation was good, the recent terror attacks in Mumbai represent a setback for India- Pakistan relations and regional peace. He noted that Pakistan was in a denial-mode about the Mumbai attacks. Islamabad’s reluctance to come to terms with the fact that Pakistan’s soil was being used for terrorist attacks was not helping matters. In India there was deep anguish and despair about Pakistan’s denial and its diversionary tactics. The Indian government has acted with great restraint and relied on diplomacy. The international community must appreciate the gravity of the terror threat emanating from Pakistan and take effective steps curb to it.

Captain Alok Bansal, Research Fellow at IDSA, gave a brief overview of the security situation in Pakistan. He indicated that the Pakistan government’s control over its territory was rather tenuous. Besides the economic crisis, the state was beset with a resurgence of ethnic aspirations and various ethnic groups are seeking a greater share of Pakistan’s economic resources. However, the gravest threat to Pakistan is the progressive Talibanisation of its North-Western territories. Taliban had established firm control over North and South Waziristan and Orakzai agency and they are active in Mohmand agency. Large parts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) including Swat valley had come under the influence of the Taliban. Talibanisation has also led to sectarianism. Sectarian violence has become endemic to Kurram agency and parts of NWFP. Currently Pakistani forces are not undertaking any operations against the Taliban. They are instead pursuing isolated and limited action in Mohmand and Khyber agencies. In the past six months major operations have only been confined to Bajaur agency and Swat valley.

The Swedish delegation raised a number of issues during the interaction. They wanted to know about Sino-Indian relations, India’s role in UN peacekeeping missions, and the security implications of climate change. Suitable briefings were given to the visitors on these issues. It was emphasized that although India faces a number of security challenges, India’s approach in dealing with these problems was rooted in its democratic and multi-cultural ethos. The visiting delegation was also briefed on various issues relating to Sino-Indian relations. They were informed that though Sino-Indian engagement increased considerably in recent years such as in trade, tourism and students’ exchange programme, but there are still unresolved issues like the border dispute and Tibetan refugees. The capability and future aspirations of the Chinese Navy, its manoeuvrings in the Indian Ocean, bases in neighbouring countries of India and the strategic implications of its naval expansion for the region were also discussed.

Prepared by Alok Mukhopadhyay, Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.