Will the relationship between India and Pakistan will ever improve
India and Pakistan, the two most important nations of the great Indian subcontinent, which is so called due to a large uniqueness and similarity in the morphological structures of the people living here, born out of animosity of furnace, the twin brothers, have a history of unique relations.
The Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan got independence on the same day from the British rule of almost 200 years, and the same day the snap of independent Pakistan appeared on the world map. 15 August, 1947 witnessed the transfer of power of a country occupying 16% of world's total area, from the mighty British Empire to the hands of poverty stricken, uneducated, so called ignorant people.
The diplomatic relations developed soon after independence but these relations did not ensure good friendship. The blaming process started soon after the inception of Pakistan when, during the world's biggest mass migration, both states were unable to provide security to minorities which include their own people.
In 1997, high level talks were resumed after 3 years. Prime Minister of India and Pakistan met twice and foreign secretaries conducted 3 rounds of talks in which they identified 7 outstanding issues to focus. These 7 issues were
- Kashmir issue.
- Water crisis.
- State sponsored terrorism.
- Rann of Kutch.
- Siachen glacier issue.
- Nuclear deterrence.
- MFN status.
Starting with the age old Kashmir, this is the main reason of dissonance between the two nations. Neither country wants to appear as if it ceded ground to the other. History says that its former ruler, Hari Singh, acceded with India, but Pakistan attacked and occupied a considerable northern part and named it as Azad Kashmir. Since then, both the parts (Azad Kashmir and state of Jammu and Kashmir) are being held by the same countries which occupied these states forcefully.
A recent census in the state showed that of Kashmir's 10 million people, approximately 60% were Sunni Muslims, 35% were Hindu, and the rest were Sikhs, Buddhists, Shia Muslims, and Christians. Jammu is predominately Hindu, Ladakh mostly Buddhist and Shia Muslim, and the Kashmir Valley mainly Sunni Muslim. In 1989, after the Soviets retreated from Afghanistan, Islamist militants sought a new area to wage their jihad, and thus the Kashmir conflict came into full force. Thousands of civilians and Indian security officials have died during this insurgency. Although Pakistan denies any involvement and claims the uprising is solely indigenous, many Indian government officials point to training camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, indoctrination in religious schools known as madrassas, and continued fundraising by extremist groups in Pakistan as obstacles to peace in Kashmir.
Terrorists in Kashmir target Hindus, pro-India politicians, and Kashmiri Muslims who do not support their separatist cause. Militants also target local elections to disrupt the renewed democratic process in Kashmir. The umbrella organization in Kashmir known as the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is an alliance of 23 separatist groups that claims to represent the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
A bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan, which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people, as well as the desires of both the countries, need to be worked out between the two countries. Both nations need a face-saving peace plan where the governments of each country can equally take credit for resolving the Kashmir dispute. Most believe the reasonable solution to the Kashmir dispute is to make the line of control separating the two Kashmir sections the border between India and Pakistan.
Muslims from both portions of Kashmir should have the freedom to choose on which side of the Kashmir border they want to settle. Moreover, it is often said that small initiatives can be very effective in promoting peace between both the countries. Both the governments should commence new road, rail, and air links to different towns on the two sides of the border. Arts and sports can act as extremely beneficial adhesives. Cricket and hockey as well as the common music tastes like gazals, qawwalis, etc. in addition to painting exhibitions and histrionic abilities of the people should be encouraged and shared.
Pakistan is at a crucial point of history. It has the opportunity to serve as a role model for other Muslim countries. Thus, Pakistan is at a crossroads. Down one path, are madrassas teaching the Wahabbi faith, extremists and terrorist organizations fighting police forces, the army, and the government, and a declining economy. Down the other path, is a return to democracy, a vibrant economy, a rejection of religious fanatics, new schools, and secure control of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.
Water dispute is another very important issue of discord between the two countries. The Indus River, 1975 miles in length originates in western Tibet, flows through China and Kashmir and then turns south into Pakistan and falls into the Arabian Sea. The partition of the Punjab province had severely affected the water system of the Indus River and so also the five rivers (Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) of the Punjab province. In 1960, Indus Water Treaty was brokered by World Bank which stipulated that Pakistan would receive unrestricted use of the waters of western rivers, namely Indus, Jhelum and Chenab and would be allowed, among others, to construct three dams and three barrages in Pakistan. A Permanent Indus Commission would be set up consisting of one commissioner from each country. The Commission would meet annually to promote smooth implementation of the 1960 Treaty. Both sides were satisfied with provisions of the treaty.
At present it appears that dispute of water rights on the Indus River between the two countries has re-surfaced. In December 2001, following the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament, India openly raised the possibility of revoking the 1960 Treaty, as part of a strategy of coercive diplomacy with Pakistan. It was reported that the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security identified the cutting of a major water supply as a threat to use against Pakistan.
If the water-sharing dispute is allowed to fester between the two nations over the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, it could fundamentally transform the Kashmir conflict as the Indus River flows through the Indian Kashmir. As all of us know that water is the elixir of life and thus, it should not be a weapon to be used as a means of vengeance. In India, we say that offering water to the thirsty is a saintly deed, then how can we even think of using water as the weapon. We hope that commonsense may prevail and the potential water dispute may be settled amicably between the two nations.
Next important issue is the increasing arms race among the countries of the subcontinent. Both the nations are piling up internecine weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons. None of us can ever forget the ruins caused by the atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Nuclear weapons are even more destructive. They can complete destroy in seconds all that man has gained in millions of years. Moreover, the security of these weapons is also a worth cogitating issue. All of us know about Dr. Abdur Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapon program me, who illicitly sold nuclear technology to North Korea, Libya, and Iran. He is also said to have made unsuccessful attempts to sell nuclear secrets to Saddam Hussein in 1992. Thus, no one can gainsay that there is a considerable probability of reaching the nuclear technology in the hands of terrorists.
Though we are living in an era where the differences between India and Pakistan are numerous but we should also acknowledge the fact that the hope of peace, prevailing in both the countries, is now taking a concrete form. In Dec 1988 Benazir Bhutto and Rajiv Gandhi resumed talks on different issues melding cultured exchange, civil aviation and not to attack each other nuclear facilities. At that time Mrs. Bhutto said, "Bury the Hatchet; we have had enough of it. Let's start a new chapter. India has a new generation leadership. Rajiv & I belong to a new generation. We have same kinship. He father was assassinated and so was my father. He lost his brother and so have I, thus, we both can start from clean state." Thus we can hope that the day of love and prosperity between the two brother nations is not very far, though we do have to work towards this direction.
Conclusion:
We can be optimistic about the potential for peace between India and Pakistan. Both governments have displayed maturity in approaching the peace process. Both countries are nuclear powers and share a common border, a unique situation in the world today. The Composite Dialogue seeks to resolve numerous bilateral issues between the countries, including Kashmir. People to people ties have increased, which will surely undo years of hostility, although this will take time. Perhaps there is no other place in the world where people share common cultural bonds, than between Pakistan and India. There should be an open border policy to reunite families and to increase trade in the region. Both New Delhi and Islamabad have to accept that that there is no go from a wider people-to-people contact to remove the mistrust which has got ingrained because of acts of omission and commission of the two governments. It is truly said: -
"It's strange how People get time to Hate, when Life is too short to Love…"
By
Akshay Gar
