
Now the chief minister of Indian-occupied Kashmir has weighed in after the latest set of incidents in Kashmir by saying that war is not an option and dialogue with Pakistan is the only way to end the violence in a valley that retains its beauty despite the bloodshed. Mehbooba Mufti recognised that she might get labelled as ‘anti-national’ by the talking heads on the evening political programmes but claimed it mattered little, and that the only way forward is dialogue with war not being an option.
Coming so soon after an attack on an army base in the held valley that India blames squarely on Pakistan much as it always does; the call by Mehbooba Mufti is something of a cry in the wilderness. The Pakistani position for the duration of the current government has generally been conciliatory but the Indian response to all attempts to move towards dialogue has been dismissive and unconstructive. The current PML-N government is now intensely pre-occupied with the forthcoming election and it is unlikely that there is going to be any significant foreign policy moves or developments before a new government is installed and settled — which will be around a year hence. We commend Mehbooba Mufti for being a voice of reason and we wish that there were others like her.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2018.
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