Daily Times

The recent spate of events between Pakistan and India of verbally assaulting each other and levying preposterous charges, i.e. the terror boat drama, a spy pigeon and shooting down a surveillance drone, is reminiscent of the Cold War era between the US and erstwhile USSR. A famous, amusing metaphor for that era is the cartoon strip Spy vs Spy, created by Cuban expatriate cartoonist Antonio Prohias. The wordless comic strip, published in Mad magazine, features two agents involved in espionage activities, who are completely identical but one is dressed in white while the other’s attire is all black. The duo is constantly sparring with each other employing different devices to trap the other.
The Cold War was over with the breakup of the USSR. The last vestige of the Cold War era was removed when Cuba and the US established diplomatic ties on July 1, 2015. It is time that India and Pakistan too aspire to sink their differences and combine their resources to combat common challenges. Both countries are faced with a vast multitude of challenges that range from energy shortage to terror attacks, unemployment, hunger, disease and drought. Most other sensible nations have resolved their disputes of border demarcation, water sharing and other issues to enter into trade, commerce and other agreements to mutually benefit each other.
The people of Pakistan and India are among the poorest in the world but illiteracy, deprivation and disease hamper their growth. To add insult to injury, the two nuclear weapons equipped neighbours at times indulge in such sabre rattling that the rest of the world shudders at the prospects of a conflict, which could wipe out a sizable part of their populations.
If Pakistan and India continue with their hostile stance, their dreams may not materialise. India has ambitions of becoming a regional power; it aspires to gain a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. Pakistan, on the other hand, is faced with numerous internal challenges and cannot afford to engage in another external conflict. Both nations have ample potential but the millstone of distrust around their necks is a major impediment to the fruition of their ambitions and rising to their true potential. Instead of competing with each other, they should become each other’s strengths. If the EU, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a number of other regional alliances have been able to achieve this phenomenon of sharing and cooperating for growth, it is high time that Indo-Pak leaders too should seriously consider adopting this approach.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was a great idea but its progress is hampered by the rivalry between the two bigger members, Pakistan and India. On July 10, 2015, both Pakistan and India were admitted as full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) while on the sidelines of the summit Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mian Nawaz Sharif, in their first bilateral talks in over a year, met for nearly one hour and discussed various bilateral issues.
Joining the SCO simultaneously offers both neighbours a unique opportunity to emulate China and Russia in working for the betterment of their partner members. Both new entrants to the select SCO club must remember that the senior partners of this august forum were reluctant to provide admittance to Pakistan and India because of the encumbrance of their rivalry, which could derail the success of the prestigious forum. They have been granted full membership with the understanding that they will add strength to the SCO, not hamper its growth.
Vladimir Putin, the current president of the SCO, while welcoming the new members reiterated that together the members of the forum could more effectively resist crisis events in the world economy and finance, as well as easily overcome restrictions and barriers of various kinds. Highlighting the plans to deepen economic and trade ties, Putin declared that the SCO is building a “harmonious region” in keeping with the Shanghai spirit that promotes mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilisations and pursuit of common development. He expressed hope that after the current tranche of expansion, this organisation would be poised to play a constructive role in South Asia as well.
History has provided a grand opportunity to both Narendra Modi and Mian Nawaz Sharif to prove themselves as true statesmen and lead their respective nations to the bright future envisaged by the founding fathers of the two nations. Both Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi as well as Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru had desired that the two nations coexist amicably but the Kashmir issue, which forced the neighbours to engage in two major wars and a number of limited skirmishes, has continued to plague the prospects of lasting peace. Modi and Mian sahib have their roles cut out to rise above the rhetoric and mutually work towards achieving lasting peace by resolving the core issues between India and Pakistan.

The writer is a former group captain of PAF, who also served as air and naval attaché at Riyadh. Currently, he is a columnist, analyst and a television show host