Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
A peace is of the nature of a conquest; for then both parties nobly are subdued, and neither party loser.
William Shakespeare
Almost seven decades have lapsed since the creation of Pakistan and India as two sovereign states, yet their bilateral relations till today had been topsy-turvy; marked with all sorts of ups and downs, highs and lows. A long, unending feud and hostility have stymied the region’s progress and development. Both countries, despite having enormous potential, have failed their peoples’ aspirations and today more than eight hundred million inhabitants of this region are living below the poverty line.
However, quite encouraging is the fact that new faces are at the helm in both countries. India’s new Prime Minister, Nirendra Modi, accorded invitation to Pakistani premier Mian Nawaz Sharif to his oath-taking ceremony which was graciously accepted. This was a welcome move as Mr Modi thought it becoming to engage Pakistan before stepping into the 7-Racecourse Road.
On the very first day in office, Mr Modi held a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart. During the 44-minute-long meeting, both leaders agreed to enhance efforts to normalise trade and economic relations. But, there was no talk on the sensitive issues. Diplomatic circles and opposition parties are censuring Mr Sharif for not presenting before Modi the burning issues of Kashmir, Balochistan, and other RAW activities to destabilize Pakistan especially when Mr Modi clung to India’s decades-old ‘Atoot Ang’ mantra, and the 26/11 Mumbai incident that still rides India’s nerves.
All apprehensions aside, both leaders have, at the very least, evinced some courage to address the contentious issues. Notwithstanding that Mr Modi had been persistently dogging Pakistan during his ‘no-holds-barred’ election campaign, after this meeting, both nations can expect a fast-paced improvement in relations. It would definitely have been naive to expect some breakthrough in the very first interaction between both premiers, nevertheless, the biggest success of this rendezvous is the agreement that enunciates the meeting of foreign secretaries to carry forward the bilateral agenda.
This is, no doubt, a whiff of fresh air. We have no option but to set our enmity aside for the sake of millions of poor people. No one would deny that good relations between India and Pakistan will not only be beneficial for both countries but also for the entire South Asia; a subcontinent that has every potential to become the breadbasket of the world. South Asia is the world’s biggest labour market and it also provides a major chunk of raw material for almost all industrial products. With robust bilateral ties, there is no reason why we would fail our goals for development. But, while doing so, we must be very clear that these relations should be on equal terms. We have to move forward but cautiously for one-sided longing for peace won’t be utile at all.
Today is the age of economy. Only the countries with robust economies have their sway over the world politics. Regional alliances ‘European Union, G-8, African Union, to name some’ mostly influence the world order on the basis of their strong economies.
It is high time that both the governments strengthened their relations and solved the pastiche of problems as these have long hampered our growth and development. It is also true that the wroth yet vulpine Modi has to transform his devilish image into a true representative of secular democracy that India boasts to be. We have to move sagaciously and play our cards wisely. That’s the only way to better the India-Pakistan bilateral ties that would surely effectuate the development of the region as a whole.
