Friends and neighbours

Pakistan would do well to capitalise on the friendly remarks from Singh and find for a place in the regional equation.


Editorial November 02, 2010

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s latest indication that his country seeks peace with Pakistan will be welcomed in Islamabad, where there is a degree of discernible nervousness about President Barack Obama’s forthcoming trip to India. Singh’s sensible observation that India has no choice but to engage with Pakistan – for friends can be chosen but not neighbours – puts out a suggestion that India may want more constructive relationship with Pakistan rather than focus on the terrorist threat alone. But hostilities often break out with neighbours over the most trivial matters, and this is something to be avoided.

It is clear also that India is growing more confident in its relation with the US, as National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon has said. During talks in New Delhi, matters such as India’s inclusion in the UN Security Council as a permanent member, a furthering of defence deals and, inevitably, the issue of militancy in the region will come up. The prospect of stronger US-India ties does not please Islamabad, which is said to have been lobbying for Washington to take up the issue of Kashmir. President Obama, analysts in the US predict, may be reluctant to do so right now.

But Pakistan would also do well to capitalise on the friendly remarks from Prime Minister Singh and find for itself a place in the regional equation. It can best achieve this by developing a stronger relationship with India, committing itself to the battle on terror and using its commitment to demonstrate that it seeks stability and good neighbourliness. A strategy aimed towards this end would also act as a means to pressurise India to move in the same direction, and to build the kind of cooperation between the two nations which is vital to dealing with militancy. Washington is eager to play a part in this and we must hope that the right message is delivered during the dialogues in India.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2010.

COMMENTS (1)

Ali Sina | 14 years ago | Reply Perhaps Singh's comment was directed towards Pakistan to change our lenses and see that Pakistan still has a choice to avoid a national security threat by avoiding a direct border with China. A border with India (along with good relations) is unavoidable. Going into the 21st century, Chins's early arrival on the world stage as a superpower challenging US interests across the globe changes everything. In a US-China collision, to be or not to be in "the line of fire" is totally up to us.
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