After reading Imran Khan’s response to Prime Minister Modi’s Message of peace, One can find the usage of same words, same statements, same approach to the problem that is troubling Indian subcontinent for the last 70 years. The Kashmir Core issue rhetoric repeated million times will not change the current stalemate that is affecting both countries. The Pakistan, being a small country, suffered a lot more than its adversary India which is 7 to 8 times bigger than Pakistan.
India and Pakistan have tried this route of engaging each other whether in the form of summit meetings, confidence building measures, comprehensive dialogue mechanism, foreign secretary level talks, SAARC, Cricket diplomacy for the last five decades. India has tried having a settlement during Jawaharlal Nehru time with Bhutto – Sardar Swaran Singh talks post China war,No war Pact proposals during Ayub Khan (1959)and Indira Gandhi times(1980), Jaswant Singh and Saraz Aziz, Lahore declaration and most recently Modi-Nawaz meetings in Delhi and Lahore.
To get the correct picture, The India Pakistan problems should be looked from the perspective of Hindu Muslim relations rather than from political angle to as these had origins in Partition which was done on sectarian basis. As Gen Pervez Musharraf commented, Even after the resolution of Kashmir there will be low intensity conflict that will continue with India as Pakistan’s existence as separate state rests on relevance of two nation theory.
The creation of Pakistan was essentially a temporary political goal for Indian Muslim aristocracy Which was dreaming of recapturing India From British to which they lost in 1857.They felt that they cannot coexist with timid and ugly Hindus Post independence under Congress which according to them is predominantly a Hindu party. Until some social contract is established between Hindus and Muslims of Northern plains of India the peace in the subcontinent will remain elusive as ever in my opinion.
It’s significant that the private communications between both the Prime Minister’s which are supposed to be kept secret were leaked to social media kby Some whose political power and fortunes depend on enmity between both countries and have vested interest in the status quo.
Everyone knows that the “Kashmir Core issue” is just a rhetorical slogan for Pakistani politicians to divert attention or to get political capital whenever they are in trouble but it’s surprising that Pakistani politicians haven’t realized it even now. Last time The Kashmir was on table in Indo Pak dialogue was in 1999 2000. Thereafter India never bothered to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan without clubbing it with terrorism. Likewise, the world also lost interest in rhetoric coming out of Pakistan as it’s fed up with its double talk on terrorism. It’s no wonder that the majority of people listed on the UN terrorist list are from Pakistan like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. The political Islam which was bred by US during Afghan Jihad is no longer subject of discussion in any of the western capitals these days.
Invoking Kashmir again and again in correspondence with India doesn’t make any sense anymore for Pakistan when India is evolving into a regional power and it’s security apparatus is required for the global system in its fight against China.
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