Let’s Make Peace
Aamir Saeed has a master's degree in mass communications and he freelances for several publications.
Neighbouring countries, Pakistan and India, have had strained relations since the partition in 1947 and gone to war thrice over different disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir. Now, more than ever, there is a desperate need for both countries to hold talks on various long-standing issues and resolve them amicably. Unfortunately, India has always adopted an inflexible attitude towards any such demands made by Pakistan.
But it is heartening for every peace-loving Pakistani and Indian to see the resumption of talks between the two nuclear-armed states after a considerable length of time. A ray of hope for the resumption of composite dialogue was rekindled when Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani met on the sidelines of the Sharm el Sheikh conference in Egypt. A joint communiqué was also issued at the time stating that the issue of terrorism would not hamper the dialogue process. Unfortunately, the Indian prime minister backed out of his statement after reaching New Delhi where he faced a hostile barrage of questions from the media. Pakistan continued its efforts to resume the dialogue process and now, finally, India has agreed to it.
In the latest development, India’s External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, in a telephone call to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has agreed to visit Pakistan on July 15 for talks on core issues bedevilling Indo-Pak relations. This, in itself, is a big achievement. The agenda of this meeting has also been hammered out at a foreign secretary-level meeting in Islamabad. Can we safely assume that this dialogue process will prove fruitful in resolving all contentious issues between us?
Some circles in Pakistan have been critical of our government for imploring India to hold a dialogue with them. They argue that this show of desperation would only harden India’s stance on all issues, be it water, Sir Creek, Kashmir or India’s interference in Balochistan. But do we have any other option? If we do not persuade India to come to the negotiating table, then how can we move forward towards resolving our long-standing issues? We can only make a difference if we remain committed and steadfast in our goal to settle all core issues with India through a composite dialogue. Both are nuclear-armed countries now and we cannot afford to wage a war against each other. We have to behave responsibly and prove that we are civilised before the comity of nations.
There exists a trust deficit between Pakistan and India. One can bridge that gap though confidence-building measures. People-to-people exchanges should be enhanced and encouraged by making the cumbersome procedure of getting visas easy and hassle-free. This will eventually go a long way in promoting healthy relations between the people of both countries.
India also needs to revisit its stance that Pakistan should first do more to tackle the terrorists and the menace of terrorism before resuming the composite dialogue. Being a victim of terrorism, Pakistan is doing all that is possible to exterminate terrorists and miscreants from its soil. India should keep in mind that terrorism and terrorists have no nationality and we can only flush them out by assisting each other. Our strained relations would prove beneficial only to the terrorists.
The international community should also play its role in persuading India to adopt a serious approach towards Pakistan’s repeated calls for a dialogue. Incidentally, whatever happened to the US special envoy on Kashmir, who was assigned the task of presenting a comprehensive report to the Obama administration on Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and the plight of Kashmiri people? If America and other developed countries really wish to see this region become stable and peaceful, they should play their role in resolving all outstanding disputes between India and Pakistan because this is the only way forward.
Resolution of all the core issues demands consistency, determination and a sense of responsibility on the part of both nuclear-armed states. Here’s hoping that the much-awaited July 15 dialogue at the foreign ministers level proceeds without any hindrance and augurs well for both the neighbouring countries.
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Am from India, Bangalore.
In my analysis, i feel the reason for so much wide spread poverty in
Pakistan is due to the old Zamindari system still prevalent in
Pakistan, don’t you think you can write this on your blog that the it
is time there is a revolution, as in Egypt, Libya etc…..
India got rid of this system and the people’s land was returned to
them, this is the way to go forward, as of now 20 families control
Pakistan, this system does not work.
Thx
Arvind Pereira
India got rid of this system which the English had introduced, that way it was easier for them to collect taxes, in then the undivided India,
Moving on, Indira Gandhi one of the Prime Ministers, quite a visionary moved it the land back to the people who originally owned it by a movement called tiller will become the owner
of the land in a 20 point program which had other changes too, the best thing started then on, most citizens which had reduced to a almost beggar like status now had land, no more poverty, they could now sell some of it and start investing in educating the next few generations, education sprang up great new jobs like insurance, banking, stock markets, electronics, automobile, there were immediate hiccups, as to who will claim what? eventually there was a system which was put in place and everything settled down, there was opposition and danger to the Prime Minister as well, that’s why Pakistan is unable to come up with such measures of reform, as the families that back the political parties are Zamindars themselves, the system does not favor the rich who right now have all the power concentrated in their hands, People were trying to assassinate the then PM, so the regular leaders will not help, one with zeal for change and good intention in heart will be the only person who can drive this change, being in an democratic setup myself, I have realized that elections means, spending big money, and then after coming to power you focus on returns, plus funding for the next election, RTI which is right to information is another such measure that the Pakistan system lacks, disembarking the army into Navy, Air force and Infantry will be another way to ensure there are no dictators rising in future, what the old dictators could have done, was to remove the Zamindari system, any way the dictator is not a popular choice and is well guarded, this could have well paved the way to change, however, the generals seemed more interested in power play, Abolishing and bringing in the new order this is the way to go forward, as of now 20 families control
Pakistan, this system does not work in favor of the majority. there needs to be constitutional amendments which need to allow multiparty options, for different opinions, the abolishing of the Zamindari system will bring about riots, chaos but this is a necessary evil to move into the next century, the opposition party will not support it, so there will be a deadlock in parliament, the best approach would be to get this done from the hands to the citizens themselves, 70% of the Irish economy is from the tertiary and service sector, agriculture and manufacturing must be handled by few individuals with mechanized implements, rivers need to be networked, so that excess flow from one can feed the other, Dr. Abdul Kalam mooted this great idea, India right now is making hay, as they speak English, translating into jobs, such as call centers, medical transcription and IT, it is time for Pakistan too to start engineering colleges, start skilling their folks to take on the competition, a vision and a mission must be established by the state sooner, a tactical plan must be embarked upon, what will we do 3 years from now? What will do 5 years from now, what must be done right away? In a state where skills are general, agrarian, removing Zamindari would be step one.
thx
Arvind Pereira
http://www.ArvindLeoPereira.co.nr
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