 "Indo-Pak ties in 2016: Peace process stalled, conflict escalated")
The year 2016 could go down as one of the worst for Indo-Pak ties as terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups stalled the peace process and India's surgical strikes inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) followed by the trading of heavy fire at the border raised fears of a large-scale conflict.
The year began on a sordid note when on January 2, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants stormed the Pathankot airbase in Punjab and killed seven security personnel before they were eliminated.
India demanded answers from Pakistan while linking the peace process to action against terrorism emanating from its soil.
The Pathankot attack was devastating for bilateral ties as it followed a brief but important visit to Lahore by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the birthday of his counterpart Nawaz Sharif on December 25 last year.
That trip had come on the heels of a high-level visit by an Indian delegation led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Islamabad in early December to attend the Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan.
On the sidelines, she had fruitful talks with Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and the two countries agreed to revive the stalled peace process.
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The Indian Foreign Secretary was scheduled to visit Pakistan in mid-January but the Pathankot incident effectively scuttled the momentary thaw in ties.
The relations had not fully recovered from the blow when Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with Indian security forces in Kashmir in July, setting in motion a chain of events which drove Pakistan and India in opposite directions.
In September, matters again came to a head between the two sides when JeM militants assaulted an army camp in Uri and killed 19 soldiers. The Indian government again demanded action from Pakistan.
Just days after the assault, the two sides clashed at the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) annual session, blaming each other for militancy and violation of human rights.
Raking up Kashmir at the UN, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif glorified Wani as a "young leader". Sharif devoted much of his 20-minute speech at the UN General Assembly session to Kashmir and the situation in the Valley and said Pakistan "fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people for self-determination".
Swaraj delivered a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Sharif's "tirade" on Kashmir, saying those accusing others of rights violations must introspect. India also censured Pakistan for the first time at the UNGA for perpetrating the "worst form of state oppression" in Balochistan.
India's response to the Uri attack, came in the form of "surgical strikes" which Pakistan denied. India carried out "surgical strikes" on seven terror launch pads across the LoC with the Army inflicting "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.
However, the move created a war-like situation on the Line of Control. Dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed and injured in intermittent clashes at the border which went on for weeks.
The two sides blamed each other for "unprovoked firing" and took reciprocal diplomatic action by summoning each other's envoy many times.
A major diplomatic row erupted between the two countries at the end of October when India declared a Pakistan High Commission staffer as persona non-grata for espionage activities after he was caught by Delhi Police with sensitive defence documents including deployment details of BSF along the Indo-Pak border.
In swift tit-for-tat action, Pakistan also declared an Indian High Commission official as persona non-grata and asked him to leave the country within 48 hours.
In a further blow to Indo-Pak ties, Pakistan pulled out six officials at its High Commission in November.
The six Pakistani officials, including four senior diplomats, named for spying by a High Commission staffer, who was arrested and expelled for espionage, left India for home as bilateral ties continued to slide.
Pakistan then claimed that the Indian High Commission officials were involved in "espionage, subversion and supporting terrorist activities in Balochistan and Sindh, especially Karachi, sabotaging China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and fuelling instability in the two provinces."
Those Indian officials named by Pakistan also returned to India subsequently.
In late November, another terror attack took place at an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Nagrota in which seven soldiers were killed, leading to further strain in ties.
The animosity between the two countries also shifted to the waters with the Indus Waters Treaty soon coming into focus.
India took strong exception to the World Bank's decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistan's complaint against it over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, in December, the World Bank paused the separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty to allow the two countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.
Pakistan was also caught on the wrong foot when Aziz admitted that the government was presented with only "insufficient evidence" on alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav who is under detention.
Addressing a full Senate chamber, Aziz said the dossier on Jadhav contained mere statements.
December again proved to be an important month for improving the situation.
This year, Amritsar was the venue for the Heart of Asia conference and Pakistan decided to send Aziz for the meeting amid the strain in ties. But, no bilateral meetings with the Indian side could take place and he only exchanged pleasantries with the top Indian leadership.