Peace should have fair chance in South Asia
By Riaz Missen
After the colonial masters left South Asia, they assigned Pakistan their traditional role to defend the western borders of the region. Pakistan did it all alone; rest of regional states just prospered in its backyard. When the testing times are over, Pakistan hopes to enjoy the benefits of peace, as well.
The Afghan government did not accept the Durand Line as a legal border with Pakistan; when Soviets came riding on tanks, India was nowhere to help its neighbour out - the Congress leadership just forgot Pakistan's reaction towards the Sino-Indian war (1962). From Kashmir to the Arabian Sea, the people of Indus Valley stood against the looming disaster; they could not afford to get history repeated: the invaders have so frequently crossed its territory to establish empires in the Ganges valley.
The Congress leadership did understand the security concerns of Pakistan but it chose to play the waiting game. It never showed sympathy towards the woes of Pakistani nation when the Red Army was knocking on its door. For half a century, India joined the rival camp; it had to fight three wars with the neighbour - the last one was deadly as it left Pakistan half-limbed.
Now when the Soviets are a history, America makes the neighbourhood of Pakistan through staying its forces in Afghanistan. Have realities changed for South Asia? Is it now more secure than in the past? Has Congress, now ruling India, changed its mind as it is up to befriending Pakistan? Has it softened its heart for the neighbour?Whatever is the answer to these questions may be, one fact remains constant in the history of nations: every state in the world has got its own interest to pursue.
True, it is important who stands with whom at a particular moment of history, though.Did Pakistan serve the Indian interest while defending its western borders? What was the cost to keep order unchanged? Pakistani nation braved the hostile Afghan governments, confronted the Red Army, lost three eastern rivers to India and suffered humiliation through the loss of its eastern wing.
The Land of the Pure, where Sufis have preached love for humanity, was infested with violence and anarchy as the country militarised itself to combat the danger. Pakistani leadership must bear these facts in mind while getting forward; it needs to be diplomatic while negotiating peace with the neighbour and beyond. Maximum care should be taken while setting conditions of peace.
Who knows better than this nation what war and strife means? What if it persists for long? Pakistan should not have tensions on its borders again. It should welcome India if it does not want hostile relationship with Pakistan and is ready to share its natural and technical resources to combat the problem of poverty and disease in the region.
"Pakistan needs gas more than India; we should stand together to face the world," was a catching phrase of the Indian minister of petroleum who recently visited Pakistan. The elderly Advani appeared in Karachi tracing back his roots. And, Kashmiri leaders visited Pakistan to insist they should be consulted before it signs treaty of friendship with India.
Pakistan, not strangely enough, welcomed all these people for all of them were in favour of giving peace a fair chance.Indian government is also ready to finance gaslines from the adjoining regions of Pakistan for the economic benefit of the people of both countries; Indian traders want to tread the historical trade routes leading to Europe (through Central Asia and Middle East). Their interests are concrete and genuine; there is no reason why Pakistan should not prosper through trade among the neighbouring regions.
It is an ideal situation for Pakistan that the neighbouring nations look at it as a hub of regional trade. China has signed a treaty of friendship with Pakistan in exchange of utilising the Gwadar Port; there is hardly any sector of country's economy that is not benefiting this friendly arrangement with the neighbour. The US is also friendly towards Pakistan. Since it is patronising Karzi regime in Afghanistan, Pakistan has to be receptive to its concerns as far the import of energy from Central Asia is concerned. Meanwhile, the US is grateful to Pakistan for extending support in its war on terror against the Taliban regime; the resistance is still there and the two countries are cooperating with each other to uproot extremism on both sides of the Durand Line.
Pakistan is getting crucial help from the US vis-à-vis its efforts 'to bring back its society on the normal course'. The jihadis are being debriefed and their network is being dismantled. Pakistan now is that ready to have dialogue with India and spell the conditions of peace. The Muslim League is confronting Congress now; history happens to repeat itself. However, contrary to the partition times, the Congress is in a friendly mood; Manmohan Singh, the Indian premier, wants to soften borders through relaxing visa rules and has expressed a desire to make the highest battle ground in the world, Siachin, the Mountain of Peace; Congress now admits that Kashmiris do need peace in the global age.
The Pakistan Muslim League should hurry to develop political consensus in the country to fulfil the promises it made to the people of Pakistan; it has now a supporting economy to translate Pakistan into a welfare entity as per its promise. The party should take initiative to pass the benefits of reforms on to the masses; the technocrats have done their job very well. The institutional reforms package needs to be implemented through an unparallel political will, for the resulting situation will bring funds from the friendly nations for poverty alleviation besides restoring the dignity of citizens.
The Opposition parties, too, have a reason to act on behalf of the people; they too need to realise that a functional parliament is more important than a full-fledged martial law. More they will take interest in legislation process, the more the sovereignty of the people will be ensured. Of course, they need extra efforts to wear a democratic look after living under the umbrella of military regimes for long.When the armed forces see no benefit in performing extra-professional responsibilities, the politicians need to change their habits as well. Pakistan's international standing will only improves, if the political parties develop a vision of a democratic and forward-looking state.
Pakistan should work with India to have common human rights standards for the region. Let the two neighbours bless the South Asian diversity with a commitment to adopt high standards of tolerance. Peace should not be wished away when there becomes the question of the people who have yet to find a proper place under the sun. The free movement of people across the subcontinent has the key to alleviate poverty: the best wealth is produced when people interact with each other with good intentions.
After the colonial masters left South Asia, they assigned Pakistan their traditional role to defend the western borders of the region. Pakistan did it all alone; rest of regional states just prospered in its backyard. When the testing times are over, Pakistan hopes to enjoy the benefits of peace, as well.
The Afghan government did not accept the Durand Line as a legal border with Pakistan; when Soviets came riding on tanks, India was nowhere to help its neighbour out - the Congress leadership just forgot Pakistan's reaction towards the Sino-Indian war (1962). From Kashmir to the Arabian Sea, the people of Indus Valley stood against the looming disaster; they could not afford to get history repeated: the invaders have so frequently crossed its territory to establish empires in the Ganges valley.
The Congress leadership did understand the security concerns of Pakistan but it chose to play the waiting game. It never showed sympathy towards the woes of Pakistani nation when the Red Army was knocking on its door. For half a century, India joined the rival camp; it had to fight three wars with the neighbour - the last one was deadly as it left Pakistan half-limbed.
Now when the Soviets are a history, America makes the neighbourhood of Pakistan through staying its forces in Afghanistan. Have realities changed for South Asia? Is it now more secure than in the past? Has Congress, now ruling India, changed its mind as it is up to befriending Pakistan? Has it softened its heart for the neighbour?Whatever is the answer to these questions may be, one fact remains constant in the history of nations: every state in the world has got its own interest to pursue.
True, it is important who stands with whom at a particular moment of history, though.Did Pakistan serve the Indian interest while defending its western borders? What was the cost to keep order unchanged? Pakistani nation braved the hostile Afghan governments, confronted the Red Army, lost three eastern rivers to India and suffered humiliation through the loss of its eastern wing.
The Land of the Pure, where Sufis have preached love for humanity, was infested with violence and anarchy as the country militarised itself to combat the danger. Pakistani leadership must bear these facts in mind while getting forward; it needs to be diplomatic while negotiating peace with the neighbour and beyond. Maximum care should be taken while setting conditions of peace.
Who knows better than this nation what war and strife means? What if it persists for long? Pakistan should not have tensions on its borders again. It should welcome India if it does not want hostile relationship with Pakistan and is ready to share its natural and technical resources to combat the problem of poverty and disease in the region.
"Pakistan needs gas more than India; we should stand together to face the world," was a catching phrase of the Indian minister of petroleum who recently visited Pakistan. The elderly Advani appeared in Karachi tracing back his roots. And, Kashmiri leaders visited Pakistan to insist they should be consulted before it signs treaty of friendship with India.
Pakistan, not strangely enough, welcomed all these people for all of them were in favour of giving peace a fair chance.Indian government is also ready to finance gaslines from the adjoining regions of Pakistan for the economic benefit of the people of both countries; Indian traders want to tread the historical trade routes leading to Europe (through Central Asia and Middle East). Their interests are concrete and genuine; there is no reason why Pakistan should not prosper through trade among the neighbouring regions.
It is an ideal situation for Pakistan that the neighbouring nations look at it as a hub of regional trade. China has signed a treaty of friendship with Pakistan in exchange of utilising the Gwadar Port; there is hardly any sector of country's economy that is not benefiting this friendly arrangement with the neighbour. The US is also friendly towards Pakistan. Since it is patronising Karzi regime in Afghanistan, Pakistan has to be receptive to its concerns as far the import of energy from Central Asia is concerned. Meanwhile, the US is grateful to Pakistan for extending support in its war on terror against the Taliban regime; the resistance is still there and the two countries are cooperating with each other to uproot extremism on both sides of the Durand Line.
Pakistan is getting crucial help from the US vis-à-vis its efforts 'to bring back its society on the normal course'. The jihadis are being debriefed and their network is being dismantled. Pakistan now is that ready to have dialogue with India and spell the conditions of peace. The Muslim League is confronting Congress now; history happens to repeat itself. However, contrary to the partition times, the Congress is in a friendly mood; Manmohan Singh, the Indian premier, wants to soften borders through relaxing visa rules and has expressed a desire to make the highest battle ground in the world, Siachin, the Mountain of Peace; Congress now admits that Kashmiris do need peace in the global age.
The Pakistan Muslim League should hurry to develop political consensus in the country to fulfil the promises it made to the people of Pakistan; it has now a supporting economy to translate Pakistan into a welfare entity as per its promise. The party should take initiative to pass the benefits of reforms on to the masses; the technocrats have done their job very well. The institutional reforms package needs to be implemented through an unparallel political will, for the resulting situation will bring funds from the friendly nations for poverty alleviation besides restoring the dignity of citizens.
The Opposition parties, too, have a reason to act on behalf of the people; they too need to realise that a functional parliament is more important than a full-fledged martial law. More they will take interest in legislation process, the more the sovereignty of the people will be ensured. Of course, they need extra efforts to wear a democratic look after living under the umbrella of military regimes for long.When the armed forces see no benefit in performing extra-professional responsibilities, the politicians need to change their habits as well. Pakistan's international standing will only improves, if the political parties develop a vision of a democratic and forward-looking state.
Pakistan should work with India to have common human rights standards for the region. Let the two neighbours bless the South Asian diversity with a commitment to adopt high standards of tolerance. Peace should not be wished away when there becomes the question of the people who have yet to find a proper place under the sun. The free movement of people across the subcontinent has the key to alleviate poverty: the best wealth is produced when people interact with each other with good intentions.
posted by zaicha | Wednesday, September 28, 2005
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