India, Pakistan need citizen-to-citizen contact
Speakers at KLF say peace can be achieved ‘in weeks’ if both sides show courage
PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
The unusually abrasive and often testy relationship between South Asia’s nuclear behemoths took centrestage on the last day of the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) with the illustrious panel of speakers asserting that peace between India and Pakistan could be achieved ‘within weeks’ if statesmanship, citizen-to-citizen contact, coupled with political courage, were given a chance.
Hearty laughter rang across the marquee, punctuating the discussion several times as the panellists, comprising former foreign ministers Khurshid Kasuri, Hina Rabbani Khar, former Indian external affairs minister Salman Khurshid and one of Pakistan’s most seasoned former ambassadors Jamshed Marker, quipped about the perennial relationship between the hyphenated neighbours.
Pakistan Army helped revive talks with India
The session on “What keeps us apart? India-Pakistan relations” was kicked off by moderator FS Aijazuddin with French statesman Clemenceau’s oft repeated quote that “war is too important a matter to be left to generals.”
Dishing out his recipe for peaceful coexistence, Jamshed Marker gave a simple, yet significant advice – “Keep your head down”. The veteran diplomat noted that breaking relations with any country takes five minutes, but maintaining a relationship is a long and arduous process.
Khurshid Kasuri struck a realist tone by suggesting that “if you’re weak, there is no peace”. He said Pakistan’s ability to maintain strategic balance had allowed space to both countries to continue to seek dialogue and suggested that Pakistan must empathise with India's concerns while continuing to talk about its own concerns.
Salman Khurshid noted that in his experience, personal chemistry between leaderships played the most significant role in building trust.
I'm an Indian. I don't hate Pakistan. I am not alone.
When Aijazuddin tactfully drew an analogy between the India-Pakistan relationship and the Diana-Charles marriage by noting that there are three of us – India, Pakistan and the military, Hina Rabbani Khar explained that institutional imbalance created by one institution overpowering another can never lead to sound policy decisions.
Veteran ambassador Marker, on the other hand, suggested that while foreign policy decisions which contain a security dimension may have military input, the Pakistan’s Foreign Office was still leading its foreign policy domain. This was echoed by Kasuri who reminisced his time in office by recalling that despite being a military strongman, General Musharraf had given him – a civilian – complete freedom in running the FO.
Recounting his experience of visiting Pakistan, Salman said that he was hopeful that peace would be achieved one day. He said that if both countries had people like the audience, then it was the ‘aam admi’ or the common man that will drive the movement for peaceful coexistence.
Long-term strategy for Pakistan-India relations
Talking about the institutionalisation of ignorance on both sides of the border, the panellists highlighted the need for a deep change in the narrative between the two countries. Khar noted that both countries taught history in silos and in order to break the straitjacket, we needed to instill historical inquiry amongst our young. Salman noted that extensive student exchanges were one way to foster a more tolerant and progressive image on both sides of the historical divide.
The session ended with all panelists cautiously optimistic about the future of India-Pakistan relations and calling on visa liberalisation, exchange of ideas and people-to-people contact, along with politicians rising above domestic concerns to embrace statesmanship.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2016.
The unusually abrasive and often testy relationship between South Asia’s nuclear behemoths took centrestage on the last day of the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) with the illustrious panel of speakers asserting that peace between India and Pakistan could be achieved ‘within weeks’ if statesmanship, citizen-to-citizen contact, coupled with political courage, were given a chance.
Hearty laughter rang across the marquee, punctuating the discussion several times as the panellists, comprising former foreign ministers Khurshid Kasuri, Hina Rabbani Khar, former Indian external affairs minister Salman Khurshid and one of Pakistan’s most seasoned former ambassadors Jamshed Marker, quipped about the perennial relationship between the hyphenated neighbours.
Pakistan Army helped revive talks with India
The session on “What keeps us apart? India-Pakistan relations” was kicked off by moderator FS Aijazuddin with French statesman Clemenceau’s oft repeated quote that “war is too important a matter to be left to generals.”
Dishing out his recipe for peaceful coexistence, Jamshed Marker gave a simple, yet significant advice – “Keep your head down”. The veteran diplomat noted that breaking relations with any country takes five minutes, but maintaining a relationship is a long and arduous process.
Khurshid Kasuri struck a realist tone by suggesting that “if you’re weak, there is no peace”. He said Pakistan’s ability to maintain strategic balance had allowed space to both countries to continue to seek dialogue and suggested that Pakistan must empathise with India's concerns while continuing to talk about its own concerns.
Salman Khurshid noted that in his experience, personal chemistry between leaderships played the most significant role in building trust.
I'm an Indian. I don't hate Pakistan. I am not alone.
When Aijazuddin tactfully drew an analogy between the India-Pakistan relationship and the Diana-Charles marriage by noting that there are three of us – India, Pakistan and the military, Hina Rabbani Khar explained that institutional imbalance created by one institution overpowering another can never lead to sound policy decisions.
Veteran ambassador Marker, on the other hand, suggested that while foreign policy decisions which contain a security dimension may have military input, the Pakistan’s Foreign Office was still leading its foreign policy domain. This was echoed by Kasuri who reminisced his time in office by recalling that despite being a military strongman, General Musharraf had given him – a civilian – complete freedom in running the FO.
Recounting his experience of visiting Pakistan, Salman said that he was hopeful that peace would be achieved one day. He said that if both countries had people like the audience, then it was the ‘aam admi’ or the common man that will drive the movement for peaceful coexistence.
Long-term strategy for Pakistan-India relations
Talking about the institutionalisation of ignorance on both sides of the border, the panellists highlighted the need for a deep change in the narrative between the two countries. Khar noted that both countries taught history in silos and in order to break the straitjacket, we needed to instill historical inquiry amongst our young. Salman noted that extensive student exchanges were one way to foster a more tolerant and progressive image on both sides of the historical divide.
The session ended with all panelists cautiously optimistic about the future of India-Pakistan relations and calling on visa liberalisation, exchange of ideas and people-to-people contact, along with politicians rising above domestic concerns to embrace statesmanship.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2016.