In the latest incident, Indian troops opened fire across the working boundary at Sialkot, killing two civilians, including a woman, and injuring six others. A similar incident had taken place about a week ago. Pakistan had protested that incident, but clearly this has had no impact. We should keep in mind that repeated cross-border firing had created heightened tensions between both nations last year as well, adding to the difficulties in putting bilateral talks back on track and building the kind of trust we badly need to move forward.
Right now, the hopes of setting up this trust is more distant than ever before. The cancellation of foreign secretary level talks a few days ago is a factor in this. The cross-border firing only makes things worse. It also puts citizens who live close to the boundary defining the disputed territory of Kashmir at peril, and reminds us of the risks involved in continuing with a dispute that has not been sorted out now for the past 67 years. It should be possible to make progress in this direction as a means to sorting out the unfinished business of the partition. But when no respect is shown for the working boundary and there is firing across it, this becomes harder and harder to achieve. India, it appears, is clearly not interested in a solution. Its lack of willingness to talk or act reflects this. Foreign policy vis-à-vis our neighbour to the east will need to be though out very carefully by the Nawaz Sharif government. The prime minister had made it quite clear he wished to establish closer relations with India. This task now seems to be becoming somewhat of a distant dream. Once again, the hawks prevail and the soft sound of the wings of doves can barely be heard at all amidst the sound of bullets.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (15)
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@Gp65:
Thank you Gp65 >>>>>> I am Indian; and more than that I am South Asian
ET mods - this mindset that all Muslims automatically agree with Pakistan's point of view and if someone doesn't that they are Hindus misrepresenting their identity is just very flawed. Please allow a rebuttal.
@Motiwala: First of all you are assuming that all Indians are Hindus or that Indian Muslims would automatically sympathize with the Pakistani view and not the Indian viewpoint. You should be aware that India has 200 million Muslims. Did you consider the possibility that @Ahmed41 may be an Indian Muslim?
Secondly, Feroz is Parsi ( I think), neither a Hindu nor a Muslim. But regardless of his religion he has made it very clear that he is an Indian and so his viewpoint is not surprising. Fyi: Some names example Feroz, Parvez, Yasmin etc. are common between Parsis and Muslims.
@Motiwala:
Everybody uses a fake name in the cyberspace. Why make a big fuss about that practice?
@ahmed41: @Feroz: What is bad is Hindu trolls writing under Muslim names.
@ahmed41: @Feroz: What is bad is Hindu trolls writing under Muslim names.
@Toticalling, giving up lands to Muslims is never a good idea, it sets bad precedent and allows genocide of minorities. I can give you million examples but you can do research your self.
Today's news: India has declared its intention not to have any talks with Pakistan until 26/11 case is concluded in Pakistan. Mr. Modi had mentioned the importance of doing that in particular when he met with Nawaaz Sharief yet that case was adjourned for the umpteenth time just two days after that meeting. We all know that is quite open-ended because probably even Pakistan finds it impossible to conclude that its own agencies were responsible for that atrocity. Writing such editorials is an exercise in disingenuousness!
Nobody has claimed that talking to India will be easy. But that is the only path Pakistan has to tread. In my view India is not going to show flexibility on Kashmir, even at the expense of unlimited deaths of Kashmiris and a bad name it gets from the world press. But if India follows democratic path, it will realise that Kashmir solution will help India in the end. USSR also gave in free many parts and it was a major power. It is important to analyse Sialkot incidents locally and try to find what exactly happened. But that should not stop Pakistan to carry on trying to offer a hand of friendship to India.
ET, Can you link your comment section with disqus? It appears so in the ET blogs section.
The main point is that the Hurriyat leaders are not worth talk to.
They are not the elected or selected representatives of anybody in Kashmir
Attempts at infiltrating terrorists across the LOC with supporting fire may not be allowed any more. The new dispensation in Delhi is unlikely to allow this practice to continue. If it continues India may fire back with heavier Artillery equipment and spread the firing across not just the LOC but also the settled border. The editorial skirts serious issues on who wants to infiltrate and the need to provide covering fire. India does not infiltrate terrorists across the border and the responsibility for maintaining ceasefire cannot be placed on it. The Pakistani Military with unbridled powers of provocation may be taught a few lessons because the Indian Army has been empowered by PM Modi to respond to border provocations and incidents as they see fit, without bringing the civilian government into the picture. On a level playing field Pakistani Military will find out the real capabilities of the Indian Army, no longer hobbled by civilian oversight. Digging tunnels to infiltrate terrorists like the one just discovered, is akin to digging ones own grave. India will use all the tools in its toolbox to foil mischief and may even switch to being proactive, rather than adopting the reactive and defensive posture of the past. If the Pakistani Military does not give up its addiction to provocative violence, they will be kept very busy. Change your ways is the only message PM Modi is sending, business as usual will not be allowed.
" ... An unyielding Delhi ... "
Yield ? Why ? We have the upper hand.
Mr Nawaz is in no position to negotiate with New Delhi. The Foreign Policy on India rests with the Army in Pakistan. Every one in the world knows about it. The tamasha staged by opposition politicians are not helping in the cause. Mr Nawaz should have taken the lead sooner. Even the simpler aspects of normalization such as trade could have been initiated by Mr Nawaz with the Congress govt. in India. Lay the blame on Pak Army!!!
Sir, the story in the Indian media with video footage of the villages near the border area shows the intensity of the Pakistan firing. There has been a tunnel discovered and more over our soldiers and civilians are dead. Remember that, India does not have any interest in firing at Pakistan, but Pakistan does have Interest and that is to push terrorists into India around this time of the year? The firing serves as a cover and a distraction for the Indian army. The firing almost invariably is initiated by Pakistan army all the time and India retaliates.
On the secretary level talks, let's think objectively. Jus because the hurriyat comic characters talked with visitors from Pakitan for 2 decades does not mean that it was right and it should be continued to resolve the Kashmir issue. Look at it the other way, has Pakistan talking with them, resolved anything at all.
Requesting you to pls. Publish.