Daily Times

The Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, in his UN address, once again extended a gesture of friendship to India by proposing a four-pronged strategy to resolve regional issues and settle outstanding disputes, including Kashmir. India’s negative media propaganda and disinclination to reciprocate are indications that peace promotion is not one of the top priorities of Modi’s government. The display of hostility, which involves casualties and property damage along with the migration of people, by India on our eastern border and the recent killing of an individual in India over the issue of consuming cow meat clearly depict nefarious agendas and a provocative mindset of the Indian regime. A recent report by the BBC, which reveals that India is toying with the idea of waging a war against Pakistan, also supports this argument. India and Pakistan are in an excellent position to benefit from each other’s resources and their production. The PM of Pakistan, despite heavy criticism from almost everyone, has continued to extend friendship gestures to India just to bring the relationship to a frequency where the two neighbours can end the hostility between them and become productive neighbours, a long standing desire of the people on both sides.

Unfortunately, the Indian government has decided to latch onto the tragedy of 26/11. The demands made by the Indian government in connection with 26/11 are so unrealistic that Pakistan, inclined to resolve the issue, could not do anything because no concrete evidence was ever given by India. These facts can be better appreciated in the light of expert opinion from some quarters on how the Mumbai attacks were a job to elevate an Everest between India and Pakistan so that they can never be at peace with each other. This argument is further substantiated by the recent developments in Pakistan taking place as a result of the operation against terrorism and terror financing. Some reports suggest that Indian intelligence agency RAW is trying to harm Pakistan through a multi-channel strategy that stretches from investing in media institutions to financing a suicide squad operative in the areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are just allegations so far.

Not very different from the past, India, this year as well, has used water terrorism as a method to inconvenience Pakistan. The illegal construction of water reservoirs and opening the spillways of reservoirs during flood season are an indication that India does not want peace. This Indian attitude towards Pakistan is probably the reason why we looked for independence in the first place. The political history of joint India tells us that the British were always ready to give separate electorates to the Muslims but the Hindus always opposed this. After decades of independence and a series of peace efforts, how far have neighbours India and Pakistan moved towards peace? The answer is that we are still stuck at square one.

This love-hate relationship is a recipe for disaster. Pakistan’s weak point up till now has been corrupt rulers; because of their malpractices they have lacked the moral courage and the required strength to settle issues with India. Secondly, stability in Pakistan has never been, and can never be, the priority of corrupt rulers. The panacea for peace between India and Pakistan lies in resolving the issue of Kashmir. It is just not comprehensible that India maintain its present stance on Kashmir and peace prevails in the region. India has very successfully, so far, marketed the story of Pakistan’s pro-jihad organisations infiltrating into Kashmir in the presence of almost a million troops in the region. In fact, India has indirectly contributed by making them heroes in the eyes of the common Pakistani citizenry for their fund raising and popularity. The situation demands that a diplomatic emergency should be imposed in the region where members of the UN play a role to resolve the issue of Kashmir according to its own resolutions.

Pakistan is now gaining strength as the corruption germs are being eliminated from the system. Some pertinent advice would be to realise the fact that a strong Pakistan is in the favour of India. Allama Iqbal raised this point in his famous Allahabad address in 1930. But still, if India wants to embark on a suicidal mission by continuing with intelligence operations in Pakistan and feeble attempts to disturb the borders of Pakistan, its consequences and repercussions are not going to be favourable for it. Pakistan too should play its part in peaceful settlement of all disputes.

The author is a director PID