Give up aggressive doctrine: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday called for New Delhi to dismiss its military’s Cold-Start Doctrine and increase cooperation with Pakistan in the interests of regional peace.

Speaking at a seminar, the foreign minister said that India must establish peace with Pakistan for the betterment of the people of both countries, stressing that the region would face economic difficulties if relations between the two neighbours took a turn for the worse.

The Cold-Start Doctrine is an approach adopted by the Indian military in 2004. Among other things, it is reported to focus on decreasing the mobilization time of the Indian army and increasing coordination between the army, navy and air force.

During his lecture, Qureshi said he had told his India counterpart during a recent visit that Pakistan wanted economic cooperation, resolution of the Kashmir issue, nuclear deterrence and a balance in the traditional armed forces.

He said that being an atomic state, Pakistan was aware of its responsibilities, and added that to restore peace in the region all neighboring countries should avoid military adventurism against each other. Pakistan has been facing episodes like the Mumbai attacks daily, and Pakistan wanted to expose all terrorist elements, Qureshi said. Qureshi also touched on other pressing issues, stressing that the rise in temperatures globally would cause the glaciers in the Himalayan Range to melt, spawning a  water crisis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2010.