Sir: There is a national consensus in Pakistan that a normal and peaceful relationship with India should be created and maintained. But this could not be achieved by putting the issue of Kashmir on the back burner. There should not be any doubt that Pakistan wants to have a boreal and peaceful relationship with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual interest. There is national consensus on this in Pakistan. However, there is no short-cut to achieving a lasting peace. Nor does cherry picking work; we need to engage uninterruptedly, comprehensively and meaningfully. Let’s be realistic, it is the Jammu and Kashmir dispute that is root causes of mutual distrust and other bilateral issues. It is my appeal to take the Kashmir issue head on and realise how it is affecting so many other policies. It is high time to break the carapace of complacency and dispense with sold-serving approaches. We need to move on all first simultaneously if we have benefit from the opportunities. JALAL AGHA BALUCH Turbat Published in Daily Times, February 5th 2018.