Mohammad Jamil
The US and the west know that Pakistan would need their help for its bailout otherwise it could default because of the debt mountain, which has accumulated so far. Yet, our rulers feel that they can attract the world attention to the barbaric acts of Indian forces in Kashmir. One also wonders about the statement by politicos and analysts that India is flaring up tension on the Line of Control to divert the attention of the world from the recent uprising in Kashmir. In fact, the world knows about brutalities and atrocities committed on the people of Kashmir, and also violations on the LoC. But nobody will censure India, as it is too big with a lot of allurements, attractions and incentives for the international community. Big powers want to sell high-tech and sophisticated weapons to India, which has allocated more than 100 billion dollars for the purpose; thus they in no event would annoy India for the sake of Pakistan. As regards resolution of the Kashmir dispute, many rounds of dialogue were held in the past including Composite Dialogue from 2004 to 2008. At least once, efforts were made to find out an of the box solution during the Musharraf era. In December 2006, the Guardian referring to then-president Pervez Musharraf had reported: “Pakistan could be willing to give up its claim to Kashmir if India agrees to a self-government plan for the disputed Himalayan region.†Then president General Pervez Musharraf had told the Indian Television channel that according to ‘four-point formula’ Islamabad and New Delhi could jointly supervise the region, which included a gradual withdrawal of troops, self-governance, no changes to the region’s borders and a joint supervision mechanism. Around the same time, a political analyst in Indian daily ‘The Asian Age†had suggested that “the Kashmir issue should be resolved on the lines of an agreement reached over Andorra in 1993 between France and Spain.†Andorra is a co-principality situated on the border of Spain and France in the Pyrenees Mountains, and co-princes are Bishop of Urgel (Spain) and the French President. But India neither accepts UNSC resolutions nor third-party mediation nor out of box solution. It did not cooperate with the UN and invariably resorted to subterfuge and foot-dragging to kill all initiatives to resolve the dispute. The question is what could be done that international community takes Pakistan seriously? Pakistan should work hard to put its house in order and set its priorities right. It should focus on building large reservoirs on a war footing to ensure availability of water to the farmers to produce food for the growing population, and electricity for Industries at an affordable price to make them competitive in the world market. Secondly, those politicians and businessmen who have stashed billions of dollars in foreign banks should bring them back and invest in Pakistan. And last but not the least, there should be socio-economic justice in the country to create unity among the people.
