Come to senses neighbour

It seems that India is hell-bent on deteriorating already dismal relations with Pakistan to the point of no return. It is true that Pakistan and India are traditional hostile enemies, but the dynamics of today’s globalised world demands greater cooperation and lesser hostilities in order to work together to counter global threats. The world has changed a lot since the last couple of decades and today the world powers which used to be hostile to each other are creating more close bilateral ties. Unfortunately it seems that our extremist neighbour, India, doesn’t seem to acknowledge the fact that this is a nuclear era and any type of war or aggression can lead to a regional, possibly global catastrophe. The consequences of India’s adventurism can be quite disastrous as India seems to be ignoring the fact that both countries are nuclear weapon states with a second strike and in search of a first strike capability against each other.

Since Modi came to power, India has amped up its war hysteria and the aggression on the Kashmiris who are under its illegal and unlawful occupation. The border firing and cease-fire violations have increased manifold, just to divert the attention of the world community from its atrocities in Occupied Kashmir. It is also part of Modi’s policy to isolate Pakistan internationally, which was quite evident at the Heart of Asia conference, which focused more on undue bashing and criticism of Pakistan. It seems India has totally forgotten the basic diplomatic norms. By mistreating Pakistan’s representative at Amritsar, India is sending all the negative signals which can lead to disaster. Thankfully, Pakistan till now is showing great maturity and patience against India’s much awaited wish of a limited war.

Just like the SAARC conference which was to be held at Islamabad, the Heart of Asia conference also became a victim of India’s irresponsible and hegemonic attitude. In Afghanistan, India found a great ally in totally cornering Pakistan at a forum which was established to encourage security, political and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and the surrounding states. India has countless times turned such regional as well as international forums a source to vent out its obsession against Pakistan showing its desperate aspirations of becoming the regional hegemon. Today’s Pakistan is on a road to economic recovery and it should be kept in mind that it is no longer the Pakistan of 1965 and 1971. Any kind of misadventures on the part of India can be equally responded by Pakistan at all levels.

The major points which added to India’s frustrated behavior and the immature actions of its extremist leader are the international community’s concern over atrocities in Kashmir and CPEC. Since the staged Uri attack, which fell flat on its face, India has desperately been trying to accuse Pakistan of one thing or the other. Secondly, India tried everything in its power to sabotage the CPEC project which is a threat to India, as Pakistan will emerge as an economic power due to the fruits of this project. States like Russia and Iran have already shown interest to be included into the project because everyone is aware of the vitality and magnitude of the CPEC which will transform the region into an economic and trade hub. India feels threatened because the Chinese presence at Gwadar will be a danger to its own trade route and of course it doesn’t want to see Pakistan prosper economically and come at par with other states in the region.

As far as Afghanistan is concerned, President Ghani should not have rejected Pakistan’s aid and cooperation as this will further widen the gap between the two countries which can create instability in the region. Afghanistan is widening the gap with Pakistan at the behest of India, and at this point we also need to review our foreign policies towards Afghanistan. The issue of Pakistani Taliban taking safe havens in Afghanistan has further widened the gap. We should review our policy of looking at Afghanistan with an Indian policy prism. Pakistan should work more seriously on improving relations with Afghanistan at least, as there is no hope of de-escalation of hostilities with India any time sooner.

Lastly, Kashmir is the core outstanding issue between India and Pakistan and a positive movement on it is essential. It is high time that better sense should prevail in Delhi as the Modi government seems to be on a destructive course of action with Pakistan. It should be kept in mind that building bridges and improving relations is not the sole responsibility of Pakistan; India has also a greater role to play to end the hostilities. For that to happen, all the core issues need to be discussed and resolved. India should quit the destructive war path which can lead to a much dreaded nuclear conflict in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2016.

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