EDITORIAL: One must agree with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar that India, now under a third consecutive Modi dispensation, ought to do a “sober reflection” on the future of Pak-India ties.
It was not possible to realistically float such ideas before the Indian election, of course, since inflating and exploiting anti-Pakistan, along with anti-Muslim, sentiment was one of the top aces up BJP’s sleeve.
But, as is so often the case in the politics of the subcontinent, new ideas can manage to find their way to the table once the weather changes.
Yet that’s not exactly been happening in Delhi so far. Pakistani leaders were not invited for the inauguration – which was very telling – and otherwise, too, there’s little to suggest that Modi’s humbling in the election, so to speak, is going to change his authoritarian, xenophobic style of politics and governance.
He may have to balance his internal politics differently, given that he now heads a coalition government where others will also have to be taken care of, but it is beginning to seem as if hopes of a regional thaw were overblown.
This is very unfortunate. Pakistan and India are two of the world’s youngest countries, which means that a vast majority of populations in both are below 30-35 years old.
That of course implies that most people on both sides of the divide do not even understand some of the most contentious “outstanding issues” between the two capitals.
Which is why it was very irresponsible and unfair of the BJP to invoke the Hindutva card and radicalise a whole generation of Indians on issues from a bygone era.
Being a much bigger country, India should in fact take the lead in de-escalation. Yet under Modi it’s got used to using its size and economic might to diminish Pakistan’s status in the international community.
The argument that India has moved into another orbit and Pakistan no longer matters is not true, because despite its phenomenal growth India is still one of the poorest countries in the world, just like Pakistan. And no matter which way you spin it, there’s no denying that peace will promote commerce, which will improve living standards in the whole region.
History will remember that Islamabad has made several attempts to bury the hatchet, yet each one of them was sabotaged by India. Even with a sitting army chief as president – which ruled out any unwarranted interference from the military – Pakistan presented a four-point solution to the Kashmir problem to make way for wider reconciliation.
And even that was not acceptable to India. Delhi always rules out foreign mediation, and never agrees to sit bilaterally, which is why we have been going round in circles with no solution to any of the problems.
Once again it is Pakistan that offers the hand of friendship. For the sake of the billions of people that inhabit the subcontinent, India should take it so the two can then sit down and work out all the details. Otherwise, we’ll just have more of the same to look forward to.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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