Not Committing Another Mistake

Not Committing Another Mistake Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, made a statement in Islamabad on February 6, 2012, to the effect that ‘Kashmir can no longer afford any other war with India for Pakistan. He said that he had fought four wars with India for Kashmir (1948, 1965, 1971, 1999) but that had yielded no gain, and that the issue of Kashmir can be settled only through negotiation. This statement made by Prime Minister of Pakistan, reported by both the print and electronic media is adding one mistake to another. Going to war was Pakistan’s first mistake. The second mistake is that of offering to enter into negotiations after vitiating the relationship of mutual trust to the ultimate extent. War is not a simple event. War is a step of the utmost negativity, almost always resulting in an increase in feelings of hatred and a widening of the distance between the two sides. Furthermore, a region which had earlier been of purely geographical significance, now becomes a prestige issue. And when the result of war takes the form of unilateral defeat, it only adds greater conviction to the stand adopted by the victor. The results of these futile wars of the past have now become a stark reality: the normal atmosphere that prevailed between the two countries prior to the wars has now been totally destroyed. In such a situation there is no further possibility of negotiations bringing about any fruitful result. A normal atmosphere is a must for negotiation; but such an environment no longer exists. The truth is that, owing to the unwise policies adopted by Pakistan, the path of negotiation is no longer an option. Now what Pakistan must do is to cast the issue of Kashmir into oblivion. It should plan the building of Pakistan without Kashmir. It should erect the edifice of Pakistan’s progress on what it already has in its possession. This is the only wise course for Pakistan to follow. Peace and Progress A religious scholar of repute who lives in Islamabad (Pakistan) came to India in February 2012, at which time he visited many Indian cities. In the course of his travels, he had the opportunity to observe Indian Muslims from close quarters. When he met me on February 7, 2012,