Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called upon India to bury the hatchet and live as a peaceful neighbour, as he joined the nationwide Youm-e-Tashakur celebrations of Pakistan’s decisive victory over India in Marka-e-Haq.
Speaking at a ceremony held at the Pakistan Monument, he said that Pakistan and India should come to the negotiating table and resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir for sustainable peace in the region.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the two countries fought three wars but got nothing and it is time to talk seriously about Kashmir, water, trade and terrorism.
As before, the Prime Minister has once again thrown the ball in the Indian court as far as prospects for a peaceful neighbourhood are considered.
Pakistan always emphasized the need for structured dialogue to resolve disputes and normalize bilateral relations but unfortunately received no reciprocity from the other side, which was not ready to treat Pakistan as a sovereign equal as per its agenda of establishing its regional hegemony.
The Prime Minister has made a sincere offer to discuss major irritants and explore ways and means to begin meaningful trade, moves that will benefit people of the two countries as continued tension in the region deprives them of the opportunity to get rid of their economic challenges and move towards the path of development and prosperity on an accelerated pace.
The offer of the PM clearly shows Pakistan’s preference for peaceful co-existence as it believes in dialogue and diplomacy instead of conflict and confrontation.
However, there are no signs as yet that India is ready for meaningful and result-oriented dialogue that could become the basis for burying the hatchet.
No doubt, the announcement of the Foreign Office spokesperson that the Directors General of Military Operations of Pakistan and India maintained periodic contact since 10 May and they have agreed on a structured mechanism for phased de-escalation augurs well in the backdrop of jingoistic posture by leaders in New Delhi.
The short war has proved beyond any doubt that India cannot dictate its terms on Pakistan and Pakistan has the capability and commitment to defend itself against any threat but, perhaps, it will take some time for the Indian leadership to learn a lesson in view of anti-Pakistan hype they created in India.
History shows India has only one major grievance against Pakistan – alleged support for terrorism, which has remained an accusation in the absence of any tangible evidence.
As pointed out by Prime Minister Sharif, Pakistan lost 70,000 lives in the war against terror besides enduring economic losses worth $150 billion and therefore, it was beyond imagination that it would support terrorism in any form or manifestation.
In fact, India is using this bogie to malign the legitimate freedom struggle of Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination, which is also guaranteed to them by the relevant UN resolutions.
Indian accusations against Pakistan are crude attempts to pressurize it not to extend political, moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris, who are facing state-terrorism.
As against this, it is a universal truth that India dismembered Pakistan, illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, indulged in repeated violations of Indus Water Treaty, sponsored terrorist activities and hatched conspiracies against purely economic projects like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and water reservoirs.
It is still pursuing the same path of conflict by suspending the water accord and planning a number of projects to stop Pakistan’s share of water as already threatened publicly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In this backdrop, Pakistan must not entertain any illusion about Indian designs and remain constantly alert to defend itself and the core interests of the country.
Apart from defence preparedness, which is a necessity, it must prioritize tangible movement towards economic and financial sovereignty.
