It’s time for Pakistan and India to ditch their regressive politics

Pakistan and India have tussled for as long as they have existed. Despite sharing history, culture, and a whole lot more, somehow the two nations have always found a way to remain at odds. As the world moves forward, is there a space left for the regressive politics that keeps the perpetually stagnating animosity between the two countries alive? It is surprising and downright mind boggling why two countries that can progress through regional cooperation continue with this routine.

Only a few days ago, Pakistan threatened India once more with consequences to Indian border shelling. This was in response to Indian politicians highlighting India’s might and ability to deal with Pakistan and its continuous debauchery of the peace treaty. A headcount reveals that nine Pakistanis are dead, and another eight Indians have also succumbed to the shelling. So in essence, what it all boils down to is the two sides harping the same tune like broken records. Kashmir is a hot issue, one that refuses to cool down. Three wars (two specifically for Kashmir) later the countries are older but definitely not wiser. However, times are changing, and these shenanigans will do both countries no good.

Talking about the situation at hand, JK Wali, a political activist from Lahore, feels Pakistan’s leaders are more interested in scoring points with the public than actually serving any of their real interests.

“With Bilawal Bhutto Zardari waging a jingoistic crusade on Twitter and Nawaz Sharif doing the same at the UN vis-à-vis Kashmir, all politicians seem to be going for populist jibes than looking for cooperation with India. The intermittent LoC skirmishes provide the ideal opportunity for political point scoring,” he said.

“However, what we must realise is that the fact that Nawaz taking the Kashmir issue by the horns at the UN – despite being advised otherwise – isn’t just owing to politics of regression or populism. The prime minister’s acrimonious bond with the establishment, which is believed to be one of the primary propellants driving the anti-government campaign since August, also dictated a harsher stance towards India”.

However, India is no longer playing the same game as Pakistan. India has upped a level and entered the international arena as a serious player. Where does that leave Pakistan? Wali believes the country has to sober up.

“With China getting closer to India and getting further away from Pakistan owing to the Uighur militants’ ostensible links to the Pakistani Taliban, we now have to accept that South Asian dynamics are no longer being run on ‘us or them’ relations,” he added. “Beijing and New Delhi are burying old hatchets to ensure regional development, wherein individual progress can also be traced. Islamabad would have to follow a similar policy towards New Delhi, or else risk being dumped into South Asian – and international – isolation”.

Only a few days ago, Pakistan threatened India once more with consequences to Indian border shelling. This was in response to Indian politicians highlighting India’s might and ability to deal with Pakistan and its continuous debauchery of the peace treaty

But the path to cooperation and better relations between the two countries may not be as simple. Sabiha Shaheen, Executive Director Bargad, feels that it will be a rocky road ahead, even if Pakistan was to relent.

“Modi is a centrist Hindu Nationalist. He can be just as regressive for Pakistan as he is for Indian minorities and ethnicities. In the same vein, he has opened space to negotiate with Pakistan as well while being a rightist, which cannot be said about some progressive elements, ironically,” she said.

The two countries do not have much of a choice. Whether they like it or not they will have to put their heads together eventually and fix the mess that they routinely create for each other. As Shaheen further explained, “Eventually both countries will need to focus on development. They will have to take responsibility for regional peace and collective enterprise. India cannot pursue its global aims without regional peace and Pakistan cannot afford being a security risk state. The instability within Pakistan isn’t restricted to its border!”

Badeel Janjua is part of the customer services industry in Islamabad. He’s traced the current problems back to the shared history between the two nations. “When you are a country that coins its existence on fallacies such as the two nation theory then the stakeholders of your nation will also try to thwart any peace initiatives that show up, like Aman Ki Asha for instance,” he said.

“It is against the interests of the establishment to have better relations with our neighbours. This will ultimately isolate us further on the international forum, but unfortunately our leaders never consider this, not do they look at the bigger picture,” he added.

Pakistan’s policies are not linked to the economic and social conditions of the country, they are heavily rooted in defence tactics — that has harmed the country more than it has helped it over the course of its existence.

“Does it matter how Modi’s actions make Pakistan look? Our foreign policy is a disaster in one too many ways,” Janjua said wistfully.

Pakistan also needs to wake up to the reality of its situation. India is speeding towards growth and progress, the same cannot be said for Pakistan. Saadia Ahmed, an educator and blogger from Lahore, talked about the disparities between the two countries.

Pakistan’s policies are not linked to the economic and social conditions of the country, they are heavily rooted in defence tactics — that has harmed the country more than it has helped it over the course of its existence

“Pakistan and India were once United India… the two nations have taken quite an interesting turn over the years. Today we take the two separated parts as enemies thirsty for each other’s blood. Both used to compete with each other over every single thing, be it politics or the infrastructure. Now is the time to realise it is not the same anymore”, she said.

“While India is progressing towards Mars and making its way through United Nation’s veto powers, we are still stuck romanticising the Kashmir issue, which takes up a major chunk of our budget in the name of defence. Sadly, it is costing Pakistan more to do this now. We need to move on! Why can’t we spend that money on education and health instead?”

A shift in priorities is definitely needed. Only when the two can acknowledge that they have bigger and better problems to tackle, problems they can help each other resolve, will they be able to move past their old animosity.

Waseem Arain, an Assistant Professor at IBA, Karachi, feels that the emotional narrative needs to change. “By emotionalising our youth into believing that a war can save us, our leaders have done us a great disservice. Look at China! They had severe border conflicts with India, Thailand and Japan. How did they deal with them? Study and carefully examine: Japanese are said to have mass murdered and mass raped 200,000-300,000 Chinese during 1937 in Nanjing, which was China’s capital at the time. In 2008, trade between them stood at whopping $262.4 billion,” he said.

“Like us China has fought three wars with India over Aksai Chin, Ladakh and Arunchal Perdesh (three distinct territories). Sensing that India cannot have them because of Chinese military might India changed its strategy and resorted to bilateral trade leaving behind the disputed regions. By 2012 the Sino-India trade stood at $73.9 billion and is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2015!”

China has recently pulled back its troops from the Indian border which is a huge feat considering the history that the two emerging super powers share. Pakistan needs to learn a thing or two from this.

“If we do not change the way we think soon we will be reduced to dust. See what happened to us in 1971. Clearly the dominant theme in bilateral relations is economy and trade, NOT border disputes. We need to ensure a continued democratic dispensation to guarantee political stability for economic progress, this should be our first prerequisite. Pay attention to our education and training of youth. Move them away from war mongers like Zaid Hamid and deceptive narratives!” he added.

But it isn’t all about trade and economics, and certainly doesn’t end at border disputes and water treaties. Pakistan and India are currently tackling a large demon, one neither nation can take by the horns on its own. This demon is known as climate change and it strikes without prejudice wreaking havoc as it pleases.

Maria Zahid, a researcher from Karachi lamented, “Without a regional solution Pakistan and India are not going to be able to do much about this problem. Climate change does not exist in a vacuum, it does not occur in one country only to reach the border and say ‘oops, must turn back now’. These two countries are presented with an opportunity to really do something to safeguard their people against future threats. Apparently, no one seems to care,” she said.

Presently, Pakistan and India need to do a serious re-evaluation of their priorities. Scoring points for most shots fired, and then verbal shots taken, has its appeal in the short run — but it can only serve to lay ruin to one, if not both, in the long run.