India’s Diplomatic Tightrope Act – OpEd

As the era of unipolarity is almost over, major powers as well as the rising powers from across the globe are eyeing to maximize their strategic and diplomatic footprint. International organizations play a critical role in the geopolitical maneuverings. China and the US have global competitiveness while states like India are ogling for regional supremacy.

In the same vein, Pakistan amid her huge financial crunch is refurbishing its posture. The 2024 SCO summit, held in Islamabad, marked a pivotal moment in Pakistan’s efforts to revitalize its international stature. The summit, attended by heads of state from member countries, underscored Pakistan’s diplomatic maneuvering within the region. India was represented by Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who stood in for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This diplomatic engagement reflects the interplay of state interests in a multilateral setting, reinforcing the notion of “complex interdependence” as outlined by Keohane and Nye, where states prioritize diplomacy even amid geopolitical tensions. 

Pakistan has always prioritized promoting an atmosphere where peaceful coexistence is the outcome. This behavior has often negatively affected Pakistan’s interests, but her quest for ensuring global peace has been consistent. Considering regional hostilities, emanating from her western and eastern neighbors it has still relied on diplomatic resolutions rather opting an offensive approach. Amidst ongoing economic challenges and regional instabilities, Pakistan’s commitment to multilateralism has allowed it to regain a significant diplomatic foothold. The 2024 SCO summit in Islamabad, attended by key global actors, illustrates this resurgence. Even Indian Prime Minister could not afford bypass the meeting, so he sent Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on his behalf. Despite expectations that J. Shankar would continue with his typical dig at Pakistan, portraying it as a state sponsoring terrorism the rhetoric was tempered by recent developments. Canada’s expulsion of Indian diplomats implicated in transnational terrorism, a move that undermined India’s moral high ground. As reflected in the theory of “constructivism” in international relations, this turn of events showcases how norms and perceptions are shaped by evolving political dynamics, influencing state behavior on the global stage.

Primarily, J. Shankar’s speech at the SCO forum manifests Chanakya Kautiliya’s teachings on hiding true motives and seemingly keeping good intentions. While India projects itself as a champion of multilateralism and peaceful coexistence, it simultaneously pursues strategic autonomy under the aegis of the United States. This duality reflects India’s efforts to position itself as a regional hegemon, leveraging its relationship with major powers to evade accountability. The transnational terrorism activities linked to New Delhi underscore this lack of restraint, as India capitalizes on the absence of effective international oversight. 

J. Shankar in his speech repeatedly focus on “three evils” terrorism, extremism, separatism that aims to target Pakistan, as it always framed it as a source of cross border terrorism in global forums. Here it aimed to downplay the growing unrest in India where it is faced with active separatist movements in Manipur, Khalistan and Kashmir. Its social fabric is shrinking against religious and ethnic minorities. Since last four years, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has consistently recommending the US department of State adding India in the list of “Country of Particular Concern,” owing to the gross violation of human rights against religious minorities, where they have been lynched by vigilante groups their homes and worship places being bulldozed. The laws are discriminatory against minorities such as Citizenship Amendment Act, cow slaughtering laws, etc. and the government officials’ hatred speeches openly call for violence against them. 

As far as terrorism is concerned, India has been caught red handed in transnational repression where its diplomats along with High Commissioner expelled from Canada for their involvement in transnational terrorism activities in Canadian soil. The US also foiled Indian attempt to kill Sikh activities on American soil. Indian spying network recently caught in Australia, its naval officers were spying in Qatar for Israel. While in Pakistan, Kulbhushan Jhadev, a serving officer of Indian Navy caught for spying and involvement in terrorist activities. RAW was involved in up to 20 assassinations Kashmiri activists in Pakistan in 2020. 

India being a critical of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) claimed it to be against its territorial integrity and sovereignty. In SCO summit, J. Shankar reiterated the same stance via emphasizing need for cooperation based on sovereignty and territorial integrity aimed at criticizing CPEC project contrary to India itself promoting connectivity to Central Asia. 

India’s strategic posturing towards the western bloc portrayed in J. Shankar’s speech who promoted multi-polarity & rebalancing in his speech, where India aimed at consolidating its influence through QUAD and other Indo-Pacific initiatives. While on other hand, its strategic alignment with Western bloc excludes China and Russia. Furthermore, his desire to make SCO platform for honest dialogue is unrealistic amid bilateral tension with Pakistan where it is unwilling to engage with Pakistan bilaterally. Although India accepted the invitation to join SCO summit, its reluctance to engage in any bilateral talks with Pakistan was apparent. 

India attended SCO summit 2024 with a purpose to pursue its strategic objectives in the contesting geopolitical landscape. It tried to portray its anger towards the US and Canada amid its bashing by the formers concerning transnational terrorism. In light of growing concerns about New Delhi’s human rights abuses, it is a challenge for the Modi government to not only refute the charges but also to keep the relations with the West smooth. The delicate balance approach depicts that India wants to garner maximum from both blocs but wants to pursue its hegemonic designs in the region as well.

About the authors:

• Syeda Tahreem Bukhari is a Research Officer at the Centre for International Strategic Studies-AJK. A NESA Alumni and an MPhil Scholar in Peace and Conflict Studies from National Defence University, Islamabad. 
• Abdul Basit is an Associate Research Officer at Strategic Stability Desk, Center for International Strategic Studies, AJK. A NESA Alumnus and a graduate student of International Relations from National Defence University, Islamabad.