Daily Times

Following the speech of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) summit, India has hit back at Pakistan with all guns blazing. Responding to Prime Minister Sharif’s statement at UNGA session, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar refuted Pakistan’s claims of going “the extra mile” in engaging with India. He further added that talks could not be held with guns and blackmail. “Pakistan wants dialogue while holding a terrorist gun in its hand. Talks and guns don’t go together. Our position on a dialogue has been consistent.” Sharif had earlier accused India of putting “unacceptable conditions” for peace talks during his speech. Akbar further added that India has always been ready for dialogue, but will not succumb to the tactics of Islamabad that seem eager to use terrorism as its policy.

The mention of Burhan Wani as a youth leader by Sharif in his speech also angered the authorities in New Delhi. Akbar hit out at Nawaz for glorifying Wani. He said that it was shocking that a leader of a nation can glorify self-declared and self-advertised terrorist at ostensibly the biggest global forum.

Firstly, what are the conditions that are “unacceptable” to Islamabad to initiate dialogue with New Delhi? The conditions outlined by the Indian government had asked for the issue of terrorism to be addressed first. If Pakistan does not support talks on the issue of terrorism, it will not bode well for its already tainted image in the international arena.

Secondly, the issue of Burhan Wani could have been handled more delicately. While commenting on the plight of the Kashmiris, the choice of words by Prime Minister Sharif could have been better. Wani had been declared a terrorist by the Indian government, and there is no denying his links with the militant organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), which has been designated as a banned organisation by the UN. Such description of Wani by Pakistan will give India further leverage to portray the unrest in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed, thus moving world’s attention away from the main issue.

Thirdly, despite Pakistan’s diplomatic offensive to highlight the Kashmir issue at the international level, and a meeting between Prime Minister Sharif and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon where he handed over dossiers of Indian atrocities in Kashmir, the issue did not find space in UN Secretary General’s address to the nations at the UNGA. Many experts had earlier said that it was unlikely that any western powers would take the Kashmir issue with any seriousness at the UNGA meeting. The same happened when Secretary General Ban Ki-moon avoided the issue of Kashmir while talking about other disputes including Syria.

The UNGA session is not over yet. Both Pakistan and India can make amends on the issue. While Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to highlight Pakistan’s involvement in supporting terrorist outfits, Sharif is expected to respond in a similar tone. Despite outcry and blame games from both Pakistan and India, both parties will have to settle all issues bilaterally as the world powers are unlikely to show any eagerness for resolving the outstanding issues between the two nations.

Pakistan should have a clear stance on both terrorism and the Kashmir issue. If Pakistan is sincere in pursuing talks with India, it should make it clear that it does not support any armed struggle in Kashmir nor will it allow its territory to be used by any banned organisation. The policy of compartmentalisation of terrorist groups needs to be done away with. India has not made any such demand that is unacceptable for the initiation of dialogue. Terrorist attacks in recent times have given India the leverage to use the terrorism card, and as a responsible sovereign state focused on domestic and regional stability, it would be in Pakistan’s advantage to address the issue unambiguously to resume the long-stalled dialogue process.

Although Pakistan’s stand on violation of human rights in Kashmir is truly commendable in the backdrop of almost unanimous global apathy regarding the atrocities in Kashmir, Pakistan needs to understand that the effect of its singular focus on Kashmir in a global forum may have reached its saturation point. A newer approach and a more practical one, is imperative to bring Pakistan and India to initiation of dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue. Improvement of relations and resolving of issues would invariably bring more attention to the on-going unrest in Kashmir, benefitting all stakeholders in the short and long run. *