Daily Times

It seems to be working for North and South Korea. Channelling the camaraderie of sportsmanship, that is, to dismantle man-made barriers built by politicians. After all, the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics saw Pyongyang and Seoul march under a united flag. Not only that, the two sides may also be fielding a joint women’s hockey team. And the positive fallout of all this, according to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, is a genuine thaw in bilateral relations. Indeed, he is now said to be hopeful of a spill-over in terms of Pyongyang-Washington ties.

So what, really, would Pakistan and India have to lose if they took up the notion of cricket diplomacy, most recently floated by Shahid Afridi? The answer is: not a lot. Relations between Islamabad and New Delhi could not deteriorate much more; barring full-on nuclear war. And we like to think this is something that neither side wants. Even though the old song only asks if the Russians love their children too.

The point is and always has been that we have to look beyond the men at the top and remind ourselves that we share the same biology regardless of ideology. Or at least be thankful that they no longer make propaganda pop songs like they used to on the velvet side of the Iron Curtain.

Yet all facetiousness aside — nothing brings the citizenries of the two countries together quite like cricket. It is the one colonial overhang that counts. And it sees Pakistani and Indian fans regularly ‘joining hands’ when one of their teams is playing a non-regional one; so overcome are they by longing to see the cup come back to or stay in South Asia. Thus if ordinary people can see the larger picture there is no excuse for the respective leaderships’ failure to do so.

After all, as far as Pakistan is concerned the best way to secure the US exit from the Afghan quagmire and have it fly verily over the regional cuckoo’s nest is to sincerely work towards rebuilding the Indo-Pak bilateral relationship. Admittedly this may mean putting Kashmir temporarily on the backburner and Kabul to the front. For cooperation in this regard will rob, in large part, Washington’s justification for its prolonged military presence there. Naturally, this will not mean that the US will be going anywhere anytime soon. But it does mean that the Chinese can be left with dealing with the regional imposter. And with Beijing trying to bring the Afghans into the CPEC fold, having already made the Indians the same offer, there is perhaps not as much reason for New Delhi to worry that its regional wings will be unduly clipped. For as things stand presently, it is beholden to American diktats. Yet with Beijing at the helm, all local players will have a turn at steering the ship; though to varying degrees. This has surely got to be worth a shot. Or a wicket.  *

Published in Daily Times, February 20^th 2018.