Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistani historian and writer Ayesha Jalal has said that Pakistan should not repeat it mistakes with CPEC and should develop a relationship of partnership with China rather than the one of dependency.

The renowned writer stated these views during a talk with fellow historian and writer William Dalrymple titled ‘Pakistan at 70’ at the Lahore Literary Festival 2017. The two historians discussed the struggle of Pakistan since the partition.

During the session, Jalal said that the struggle of Pakistan is a mental one. The confused ideology and constant hardships have led to a state depression among the masses, which makes unity difficult. Hence, Pakistanis find it difficult to come together and solve these problems, she added.

While answering to a question related to democracy, the author said, “It’s in democracy’s nature to create conflict; the real issue is failure of our institutions. We were not able to create such intuitions that could mediate the conflict created. Later, when asked about the education system in Pakistan she said that there is a dire need of reinvigoration in it. “We should teach children to think,” she stressed.

Sharing her views on the Indo-Pak relations she said that there is a little light of hope in current Indian government’s tenure. Pakistan would get very little opportunities to improve relations with India. The dispute of Kashmir was a tragedy and should reach to a logical conclusion, she added.

Moreover, she discussed about her recent book ‘The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics’ and what inspired her to write the book. “The human dimensions of the partition always intrigued me and I wanted to uncover the factors that lead to the partition,” she said. Jalal also mentioned the work of his great uncle SaadatHassan Manto’s to illustrate both the cause and consequence of partition.

Lastly, a question and answer session was held in which she interacted with the audience. During the interaction, she was asked about her opinion on Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad. She said that it was necessary and she supported it, but it is not the only thing needed to eradicate terrorism.

The audience was spell bounded by the talk and was left craving for more.