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The optics of the grand reception—featuring horses, schoolchildren, banners & ceremonial pageantry—stand in stark distinction to the on a regular basis realities confronted by Sikhs in Pakistan
Ajay Banga’s go to to Pakistan was deeply private. His Sikh household was compelled to flee Khushab in the course of the violence of Partition in 1947. (News18)
Pakistan’s unusually heat public welcome to World Financial institution President Ajay Banga throughout his current go to to the nation is being seen by Indian authorities sources as a calculated diplomatic transfer aimed squarely at safeguarding Islamabad’s pursuits beneath the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and securing future monetary help, quite than a gesture rooted in non secular outreach or cultural goodwill.
Banga, who serves because the President of the World Financial institution Group, occupies a essential procedural place in dispute decision mechanisms linked to the Indus Waters Treaty. Underneath the treaty framework, the World Financial institution performs an outlined position in appointing impartial specialists and facilitating arbitration processes when India and Pakistan disagree on hydroelectric initiatives and water-sharing interpretations.
High authorities sources advised CNN-News18 that Pakistan sees engagement with Banga as a strategic necessity at a time when water safety and financial stability are each beneath pressure.
“Pakistan understands that technical rulings and procedural selections can form a long time of water management. Sustaining goodwill with World Financial institution management strengthens Islamabad’s possibilities of getting its disputes formally entertained,” a senior Indian authorities supply advised CNN-News18.
Sources added that Pakistan’s institution is acutely conscious that the Indus river system stays its financial and agricultural lifeline. With a number of Indian hydropower initiatives beneath scrutiny, even procedural delays or beneficial interpretations can considerably alter outcomes on the bottom.
The optics of Banga’s go to, together with ceremonial receptions, banners, schoolchildren and mounted escorts, had been extensively circulated by Pakistani media. Nevertheless, Indian officers interpret this show as transactional.
“This isn’t a couple of Sikh being welcomed residence. It’s about Pakistan’s desperation for World Financial institution cash and affect over water negotiations,” one other senior supply mentioned.
Banga’s go to additionally intersected with Pakistan’s ongoing financial disaster, the place engagement with multilateral lenders stays essential. Authorities sources say Islamabad hopes that seen heat towards the World Financial institution chief may reinforce its credibility as a cooperative stakeholder at a time when mortgage negotiations and debt restructuring stay pressing.
On the identical time, sources accustomed to Sikh affairs in Pakistan level to a stark contradiction in Islamabad’s posture. Most Sikh gurdwaras in Pakistan, together with historic shrines, are administered by the Evacuee Belief Property Board (ETPB), a state physique with negligible Sikh illustration and powerful affect from Pakistan’s safety institution.
Over time, Pakistan Military–linked authorities have repeatedly interfered in gurdwara land administration, entry and safety. Sacred Sikh areas, sources say, are sometimes handled as strategic belongings and revenue-generating pilgrimage centres quite than protected non secular establishments.
“The welcome to Ajay Banga needs to be seen in distinction with the on a regular basis actuality confronted by Sikh establishments and activists in Pakistan,” a supply near Sikh gurdwara committees mentioned.
Ajay Banga’s household historical past additionally underlines this contradiction. His Sikh household was compelled to flee Khushab in the course of the violence of Partition in 1947 — atrocities in opposition to Sikhs that Pakistan’s institution has by no means formally acknowledged.
Indian intelligence sources additionally level to the continued home arrest of Gopal Singh Chawla, a Sikh activist beforehand utilized by Pakistani intelligence businesses for Khalistan-related propaganda. Chawla has reportedly been beneath surveillance and motion restrictions for almost three years.
CNN-News18 had earlier reported that his extended home arrest is seen as a deliberate sign to each Sikh communities and overseas observers — underscoring that engagement with minorities stays tightly managed and instrumentalised.
“As soon as Chawla outlived his utility, restrictions had been imposed within the title of safety,” a supply mentioned.
For Indian officers, the distinction is telling: a high-profile embrace of a globally influential Sikh determine on one hand, and tight management over Sikh non secular and political expression on the opposite.
As one senior official summed it up: “Ajay Banga’s go to is private. Pakistan’s welcome is transactional — pushed by water, loans and leverage.”
Islamabad, Pakistan
February 05, 2026, 10:37 IST
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