Peace Watch » Entries tagged with "India and Pakistan"
Setting thaw through ‘Kitty-Party’ Initative
PUNCHLINE ‘Kitty Party’ Initiative Z.G. Muhammad All is not well between India and Pakistan. If the recent statements of Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar and Home Minister Raj Nath Singh during their visit to Srinagar and Jammu are indicators the two countries are on a collision course. The optimisms, for good relation spawned one year back during a meeting between Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif did not last long- it in fact crashed immediately. Sharif had travelled to New Delhi to participate in oath taking ceremony of new Indian Prime Minister. However the flicker of hope persisted. Sharif taking a departure from the stated position of his country had exhibited extraordinary enthusiasm for improving trade links with India. The statement by the two ministers did not stir much of a serious reaction from Pakistan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
India-Pakistan- Kashmir 2013
Z.G. MUHAMMAD Situation on the home turf during 2013 is difficult to predict- if it would be unruffled as all through 2012 or shaking as during 2010. However, there are indications that during the next ten months fulcrum to India and Pakistan diplomacy will be Kashmir. In all likelihood, the clichés like CBMs, Cross LoC trade and MNF status will take a back seat and the diplomatic circles in India and Pakistan will once again be abuzz with phrases like Kashmir ‘nuclear flash point’, ‘peace to Afghanistan passes through gates of Kashmir’ and ‘South-Asian security hinges on Kashmir. There debate over ‘Kashmir being a bilateral issue’ between the two countries or an ‘international disputes’ will become louder. Moreover, as the date for draw down of US troops from Afghanistan draws nearer … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Musharraf’s Formula and Kashmir Leaders
Resurrecting A Dead letter Weave a discourse around the basic framework Punchline Z.G. MUHAMMAD Some days back, I decided not to talk about “them” or their travel to the country that was ‘conjured into statehood by the force of indomitable will’ of a leader – the will that ironically even our towering leadership lacked. I started believing whether, I talk or not, the sweeping winds of politics are there to drift away the vessels with no strong ideological moorings and anchors. Knowing, chronicles are replete with instances, that those suffering from ideological infidelity having been washed away like straws down the streams of history, I started believing that historical forces will throw up a leadership that will ‘significantly alter the course of history and even modify the map of the world’. It was the recent … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Kashmiris Are A Brave Nation
I have come to believe as people we are naïve. Our earlier leadership was naïve. Our contemporary leadership is not a shade better than the old crop. Moreover naivety’ is our “tragic flaw.”It has been but for this ‘tragic flaw’ that despite offering heroic resistance against any kind of colonization – minds or territory, people have been landing in the troubled waters and the morasses of uncertainties. The story of Kashmir- your story and my story has been that of valor and courage. On all-important junctures of our history, we have risen in revolt against the desperadoes and fought battles against the usurpers. Historically, it would be unjust to believe that this nation has been accepting cruelty, intimidation and terror as its destiny. I see some ‘commentators’ singing in sync with … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take
Hina Rabbani Talks Kashmir?
Ostensibly, there is an upswing in India and Pakistan relations.The frequency of visits at ministerial, officials, traders, cultural and journalistic levels between the two countries during past couple of years has multiplied. True, not much an importance is attached to these visits by the satellite channels and the print media in New Delhi. Nevertheless, if one goes by the amount of enthusiasm shown by major Pakistan satellite channels and English press it seems Pakistan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take