An initiative needed
Relations between India and Pakistan are witnessing a further downslide with every passing day. On Friday India did not send any representative at the event organized on Pakistan National Day reception at the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi.
The reason behind not sending its representative is that the High Commission has invited Hurriyat representatives to the reception, irking New Delhi. Pakistani national day is marked on March 23 every year.
The development comes in the backdrop of Pulwama attack on February 14 whose responsibility was claimed by Pakistan based United Nations listed Jaish-e-Mohammad. The attack, the worst on Indian security personnel in two decades, killed more than 40 Indian CRPF personnel.
The event always witnessed participation by India as a senior minister used to attend the ceremony. In the last few years, India has sent Minister of state in the ministry of external affairs Gen VK Singh, former minister of state in the ministry of external affairs MJ Akbar and minister of state in agriculture ministry Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as its representatives to the national day.
To maintain a diplomatic tradition a host country is invited to importation national events by any embassy or high commission and the host country deputes a political representative according to the nature of relationship it has.
However, India has been taking a strong stance when it comes to Pakistan’s outreach to Hurriyat. In January this year, India summoned the Pakistani high commissioner SohailMahmood after Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi spoke to Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Today’s event marked an important day for Pakistan as Pakistan national day is the day when the Muslim League passed the Lahore resolution calling for the formation of Pakistan on March 23, 1940. Pakistan on March 23, 1956, also adopted its first constitution.
The strained relationship between India and Pakistan is not playing any good for the two nations. Both have to understand that hostility is no solution to disputes or issues which the two nations have been facing since the two were carved out of a single entity.
India and Pakistan have been acting very harsh over the past three decades on their long pending dispute of Kashmir and other related issues. The posture is in no way helping the cause of these two nations and the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, who have been bearing a brunt of these hostilities.
The past few months have been miserable for the border residents in both the divided parts of Kashmir. The armies of India and Pakistan have been pounding each other’s territory with massive gunfire and rockets leaving almost 60 people dead and injuries to dozens others.
This has been going on for quite some time now and the world is watching the miseries and the ills the conflict is piling on the people living on both sides of the divide. The international opinion vis-à-vis the hostilities adopted by the two nations is not reflecting any action on ground so that some meltdown could have been expected.
What we are witnessing is that the world is not moving forward to help the two nations to sit together and resolve the issues that sprung up between the two and leading to strain in relations.
The need for initiating confidence-building measures between India and Pakistan should be pursued by some external forces like the United Nations. Though the external forces like the UN could have helped but as of now they seem to be least interested. The world bodies need to initiate so that the atmosphere of hate and mistrust is replaced by hope and positivity.
KV Network
