seesaw

FOES OF PEACE ( Editorial from Telegraph, Calcutta, India)

Friendship, almost by definition, is a two-way process. Unrequited friendship is as empty a concept as a relationship without trust. Thus the prime minister’s announcement in Kashmir that India would not be wanting in friendship towards Pakistan if the latter sincerely addresses the problem of terrorism. The condition stated by the prime minister somewhat negates the expectation of reciprocity embedded in the statement of Manmohan Singh. As is evident, the people and the government of Pakistan are also victims of terrorism. Islamabad, at one time, sponsored terrorist attacks on India, but it has now become the target of the monster that it created and unleashed. What is even more dangerous for the region is that no one in Pakistan seems to be in any position to suppress and eradicate terrorism. This means that the hand of friendship that Mr Singh has extended towards Pakistan on behalf of the people of India will be hanging in mid-air without another hand to shake it on the other side. This is a surreal situation. What is important to appreciate in this situation is the position of the Indian prime minister — not just of Mr Singh but even of most of his predecessors. Mr Singh is committed to the development of India. He knows that this is not possible — or at least it is not possible at the rate at which Mr Singh wants India to develop — unless there is peace in the region and with Pakistan in particular. It is with this perspective in mind that the prime minister has repeatedly spoken about India’s desire to establish a durable peace with Pakistan. But this noble desire cannot be divorced from the political reality, however mundane it might be. India cannot sacrifice its interests and allow foreign nationals to carry out acts of violence on Indian territory. At the intersection of India’s intentions to establish friendship and the hard reality falls the shadow of political uncertainty in Pakistan. Whatever might be the sentiments of the political leadership in Islamabad, it is in no position to guarantee that terrorism will be brought to an end. There is no doubt that there are strong and entrenched vested interests within the Pakistan establishment that do not want peace with India. India cannot ignore those interests and the policies they push for and often perpetrate. The fissures in the Pakistan polity help the terrorist and undermine sincere efforts to actualize the promise of peace. "India cannot sacrifice its interests and allow foreign nationals to carry out acts of violence on Indian territory." Indeed, India won't bend its own interests to border violence, but it can carry out endless border harassment to harm others' national security. India hates terrorists sponsored by foreign powers, but it in the meantime harbors the separatist like the Dalai Lama and allows him to use its soil instigating activities to hurt the neighbor's core interests and sabotage the neighbor's traditional unity as one nation. On the other hand, India has kept oversensitive to its own wholeness and dreadful of any splitting attempts popping up within its territory.

stephanie

India cannot sacrifice its interests and allow foreign nationals to carry out acts of violence on Indian territory." Indeed, India won't bend its own interests to border violence, but it can carry out endless border harassment to harm others' national security. India hates terrorists sponsored by foreign powers, but it in the meantime harbors the separatist like the Dalai Lama and allows him to use its soil instigating activities to hurt the neighbor's core interests and sabotage the neighbor's traditional unity as one nation. On the other hand, India has kept oversensitive to its own wholeness and dreadful of any splitting attempts popping up within its territory.