Military and Foreign Policy in Pakistan: Understanding the Origins of post-2004 Indo-Pakistan Peace Process.

In this paper, I will attempt to explain the decision by General Pervaiz Musharraf to start peace negotiations with India in January 2004. This understanding was reached between the leaders of India and Pakistan at the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad after a period of extreme tension between the two sides. During the last decade, relations between the two sides have been very unstable in the wake of nuclearization and limited war in Kargil.General Musharraf is widely credited to be responsible for the Kargil adventure. India blamed Musharraf government for attack on its parliament on December 13, 2001 and moved its forces to forward positions on the border. This stand-off was eventually defused with the initiation of official dialogue between the two governments in 2004. Thus, I seek to analyze the decision by Gen. Musharraf to begin peace negotiations with India. Beyond this, I want to explain the larger process of foreign policy decision-making in Pakistan. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]