PAKISTAN and India appeared on the map of the world as independent states in August 1947 after centuries of British colonial rule.
During the run up to independence and in the aftermath of independence the subcontinent descended into anarchy and chaos based on religious hatred rivers f blood flowed on both sides of the border millions were slaughtered on the Altar of religion and nationalism.
Today after seventy eight years of independence most of the generation of that time has passed away and there are very few eyewitnesses to the horrors of the partition story.
The few remaining witnesses and the modern day historians of the freedom movement are now unanimous in expressing regret remorse and horror at the atrocities committed and the untold miseries suffered by the common man of that age.
The cost of war and human conflict is like an immeasurable tremor that knows no borders, its shockwaves reverberating across the world resulting in universal suffering.
Some 75 million people died in World War II, including about 20 million military personnel and 40 million civilians, many of whom died because of deliberate genocide, massacres, mass-bombings, disease, and starvation.
In recent history the enmity between Germany and France was far more toxic and bitter than the present day relationship between India and Pakistan.
The first and second world wars during the 20th century were a cruel lesson for the European nations because it taught them that the cost of hostility and war is too high to be borne by any country.
After WW11 the European made a sincere effort to end war and conflict forever resulting in the treaty of Rome in 1957 culminating in the formation f the European Union an economic and political block of 27 countries.
Today the European Union is an economic giant and all this because the countries of Europe learnt a lesson from the horrors of war and human conflict.
The Second World War was a great lesson for the countries of Western Europe it taught them the lesson that the price of hostilities is paid by many generations.
Immediately after the war they de-cided to end the culture of war and conflict and now Europe is a region of peace and economic prosperity and all those became possible because these countries learnt a lesson from their own history of hostility and violence.
Today if the nations of South Asia that is India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka could learn from the Europeans and form an Asian economic and political block called the Asian Union it will result in peace and prosperity for billions of people living in this region.
Pakistan and India have been daggers drawn since the dawn of independence and there seems to be no end to the bitter enmity and hostility between the two nuclear armed neighbors.
The dream of the founding fathers of Pakistan was to have very friendly and fraternal relations with our neighbor something like the relations between the USA and Canada.
Today if the Asian Union is formed we could have a common currency, common passport and a parliament and such an arrangement will be in the best interest of all the countries in the region because they will be able to reduce their defense budgets and allocate more resources to education, health care, housing and economic development.
We can change our friends and enemies but our neighbors are there forever and we can do nothing about it except to find the means to live peaceably with all our neighbors.
Today the relations between India and Pakistan have broken down completely and the sword of a nuclear Armageddon hangs over us.
India has unilaterally suspended the Indus Water Treaty and Pakistan has threatened to abrogate the Shimla accord because the Pahalgam incident agreement has once again brought both countries to the very brink of a devastating and destructive war War and hostilities, wherever they take place, cause more harm to ordinary people than leaders.
In this case, the first casualty is the people of both the countries.
In a tit for tat move, both countries cancelled visas of each other’s nationals.
The only land border between the two countries has been shut.
India has already launched an aerial assault on some Pakistani cities and Pakistan has destroyed the pride of the Indian air force by shooting down five of their fighter aircraft.
Media houses and TV channels are all geared up for total war and have set up war rooms to telecast a running commentary on the impending war but it goes without saying that these fiery enthusiasts calling for war will regret their decision later on.
The Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler was crushed eighty years ago and all participants in this war learnt their lessons so that history does not repeat itself.
India and Pakistan must also learn the lesson that any future conflict could result in mutual destruction with no winners or losers.
The list of India Pakistan hostility is long and painful.
The first con-lict in Kashmir in 1948, The Run of Katch in 1963, the 65 war, 71 war, Kargil, Siachin and now the present stand off because of Pahalgam.
None of these bloody exchanges have ever yielded any positive results or solved any dispute with India and any possible future war will not be of any benefit to both countries.
The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
