Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while addressing the UN General Assembly’s 70th session in New York, proposed a four point agenda to diffuse tension between Pakistan and India.“Cooperation, not confrontation, should define our relationship with India,” said Nawaz.Yet today ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary are intensifying, causing civilian deaths including women and children, he added.“I want to use the opportunity today to propose a new peace initiative with India, starting with measures that are the simplest to implement.”Nawaz suggested that Pakistan and India should formalise and respect the 2003 understanding for a complete ceasefire on the Line of Control in Kashmir. Sharif’s address was certainly high on rhetoric, but contained a possible solution to the increasingly tense relationship between the two neighbours. Generally speaking, the PM put across his arguments well – emphasising also that Pakistan as the main victim of terrorism wished to end militancy of all kinds as swiftly as possible. The key message that the prime minister hammered in was that Pakistan was willing to talk and able to articulate a coherent agenda to help deescalate growing tensions with India and Afghanistan. On the India front, Nawaz confirmed that cooperation, not confrontation, should define Pakistan’s relationship with India. His key message: a new peace initiative with India that would start with the simplest measures that can be implemented. While it can be argued that Nawaz Sharif’s proposals are quite rational, reason often takes a back seat when it comes to the pursuit of national interests as perceived by those at the helm of the affairs. Sharif has made a suggestion which is in contradiction with the conventional Indian stand by seeking an increased role for the UN Military Observers Group to monitor the observance of the ceasefire. Two of the suggestions have met with strong opposition from the Indian side in the past, the one seeking the demilitarisation of the Indian controlled Kashmir and the other an unconditional mutual withdrawal from Siachen Glacier.Politics being the art of the possible, there is a need on both sides to revive the dialogue to find out what give and take is possible to break a stalemate which suits neither India nor Pakistan. So far the Indian Foreign Minister has remained busy lobbying for India’s seat in the UN Security Council. Sartaj Aziz on the other hand has been holding meetings with counterparts from other countries to enlist their support for Pakistan’s position on Kashmir and its regional policy and to seek enhanced economic cooperation. While both were present at the SAARC foreign ministers informal meeting on Thursday, there was no attempt by either side to break the ice. Both the Prime Ministers have returned from the US. A chance to improve relations has been lost. One can only hope that in days to come they give diplomacy a chance. Even if there can’t be a consensus at present on some of the peace initiatives, can’t both sides agree on the less controversial suggestion reaffirming that they will not resort to the use or the threat of use of force under any circumstances?
pk.shafaqna.com
