Pak premier raises Kashmir, seeks to reset ties with Nepal

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made a concerted effort to give a new direction to Pakistan’s ties with Nepal during his two-day visit, raising issues ranging from the holding of the much-delayed Saarc Summit to the situation in Kashmir.

An official announcement had said the purpose of Abbasi’s visit was to congratulate his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli after the successful conclusion of elections. However, Abbasi’s discussions with his interlocutors showed the visit was about much more.

Abbasi raised the “Kashmir issue and the ongoing human rights violations” in Jammu and Kashmir during his meeting with Oli, according to Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency.

He also made a strong push for Nepal’s support for holding the Saarc Summit in Islamabad, officials said. Abbasi said the full potential of Saarc was not being exploited and there is a “need to hold the next summit on priority basis”.

The Saarc Summit was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November 2016, when it was postponed after India and several other members of the grouping pulled out in the wake of terror attacks in Kashmir that were blamed on Pakistan-based groups.

India is actively taking part in Saarc meetings at various levels but has not given any signal about the hosting of the stalled summit. “The key question is whether India and Pakistan will be able to sort out their differences. It is very unlikely that the summit will take place soon,” said one Nepalese official.

Abbasi also talked at length about the benefits of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Nepalese leaders and urged them to take advantage of the connectivity project. He was also very vocal about Nepal taking advantage of the BRI in two interviews with the local media.

“This is a project of a generation, a paradigm shift,” he said in an interview. “The whole region needs to connect into BRI, which will then open markets and opportunities for us in the West and in Central Asia.”

Nepal has signed an MoU with China to become part of the BRI but is yet to select any projects for it. There has been a big push from Beijing to select big ticket projects for inclusion in the BRI.

According to Nepalese officials who participated in the talks between Abbasi and Oli, the Pakistani premier also spoke of how the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would be a game changer for South Asia.

One observer remarked that it appeared as if Abbasi was acting as a “Chinese spokesperson and an emissary of the BRI”.

“At a time when India’s clout in South Asia is being challenged by China, the visit seemed to be aimed at giving psychological counter to India,” said a leader from Nepal’s ruling party.

Others noted that Abbasi’s visit had come against the backdrop of the formation of a nationalist government in Nepal under the leadership of Oli, who shares warm relations with China and is seen as cool towards India.

In an interview published in two national dailies, Abbasi also suggested Nepal could facilitate India-Pakistan talks.

“Yes, the Saarc forum is available here. The third forum always helps whatever confidence-building measures or whatever other issues you want to deal with. Nepal has a unique sense of history as well and that can help facilitate those initiatives,” he said when he was asked if Nepal could mediate between India and Pakistan.