“We are running out of time to make peace a possible solution,” said former ambassador B A Malik in Islamabad on Thursday. He was the main speaker at a roundtable organised by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on “Building Bridges of Peace in South Asia and Beyond”.
He said that there are several internal, regional and international factors that have halted the peace process in South Asia; however until and unless Pakistan resolves its internal issues it will not be at peace with other South Asian players.
Malik emphasised on the need to look for commonalities between different players, particularly arch-enemies India and Pakistan to build a bridge of friendship and tolerance.
He argued that it is time to promote common threats the region faces today instead of pivoting one nation against the other. He further said that Pakistan needs to “develop its own height” by strengthening relations with its neighbours as foreign governments are not interested in solving our problems.
He concluded on a positive note, “Peace in the region is not only possible it is indispensable.” However, he warned, “If we do not follow the peace route, a time will come when peace will no longer be possible.”
Others participants at the roundtable included Lt Gen. (retd.) Saleem Haider and senior fallow Brig. (retd) Bashir Ahmad.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 19th, 2012.
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