We have a searing wound that has not healed for 78 years, that festers from time to time, makes us lose our minds, attack each other, and put the region and the world at risk. We owe it to ourselves and the world to heal this wound once in for all, liberate ourselves from this paranoia and live a full life.
So what if we have to get assistance to do this? We are not all powerful. We cannot do everything fully ourselves. We are human, and have limitations.
It is arrogant not to seek help, when it is clear that we need it. This arrogance is costing us lives, soaking up our precious resources, and keeping us from doing important work such as ending poverty and nurturing prosperity. We have held not only our two countries, but the region hostage to our hubris.
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Some problems need a fresh perspective to solve them. We have been wedded to the Kashmir conflict day and night, living and breathing it. We are fed with a comprehensive diet of hatred ever since we are born, through our curriculums, anecdotes that our families tell us, and our media, co-opted by our states in service of the Kashmir cause.
This is the 21st century. Surely humans should have learnt by now, that more than land, it is human relations and the quality of our lives that matter. People deserve to be safe, have social and economic opportunities, and live fulfilling lives. If we think that the Kashmir conflict is an intractable problem that can never be solved, we are being arrogant again. We are people, just like people in other parts of the world. If European wars can end and the Northern Ireland question solved, why cannot the Kashmir conundrum be addressed? We need mediation because without it, we will simply get locked in the same arguments that we repeatedly have, every time the two countries discuss the conflict directly.
Our Kashmir neural pathways have solidified and fire in the same way, every time they are stimulated. We need mediation through a party whose neural pathways are wide open. Big countries often don’t solve their own problems, because the bigger a country, the less deft and flexible it is. Just like an aircraft carrier that takes a long time to turn, a big country needs help, to think outside the box, and to explore different options. The US offer to help mediate for the resolution of the Kashmir conflict is helpful. The US has good relations with both countries, and a pragmatic, practical approach, which looks at the conflict in a new light. But first, much has to be done. India and Pakistan do need to talk. As suggested by the USA, the countries need to meet at a neutral site and converse.
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Each country needs to be more than a target, an enemy for each other. A person-to-person connection, a conversation, is the best way to make this happen. To make a change in national policy, domestic grounds need to be prepared first in both Pakistan and India. In Pakistan, we feel relieved and proud at having defended our country against a much bigger, economically stronger and militarily larger one. PAF has once again demonstrated its mastery of the skies, and comprehensively dominated the IAF.
Our overall military has coordinated, strategized and fought well. Our political parties have united and fully backed our armed forces at the critical moment when it mattered. We have been so beset by multiple crises that it is understandable that we want to linger in this proud moment and savor it. Yet, we must move on, and seize the rare opportunity that it provides. Yes we have defended well, but the conflict remains a huge issue, a dangerous global flashpoint, and must be solved. We need to build upon the renewal of our deterrence and the well wishes and support of our friends to convince our citizens that we must talk to our neighbor, and be humble about the rare opportunity that events and our own clarity, restraint and level headedness has provided.
In India, the government must convince its people that the policy of demonizing Pakistan, acting unilaterally, not talking and assuming that its larger size and economic might will enable it to simply force its own solution upon Pakistan and Kashmir has failed. Something new has to be tried. While India may refer to a timeline of incidents to make its case that it simply cannot trust Pakistan, eventually, both countries must trust each other. This will not happen overnight, but baby steps that serve as confidence building measures must be taken. Tit for tat ousting of each other’s diplomats is certainly not the direction we need to go in, but we need to do the opposite. Back channel diplomacy must kick in.
Each country must give the confidence to its artists, actors, film makers, writers and v-loggers that reaching out to their neighbor and developing the initial tentative bonds will not be punished by the state. Expressing fury and rage, and grand standing must stop. Let us be sober and admit that our inability to solve this conflict for 78 years is a serious failure, and the creation of a nuclear flashpoint is a massive headache for the world. Only through solving the conflict will we unlock the true economic potential of the South Asian region.
The most recent instance that a pragmatic solution was actually being discussed was during the time of President Musharraf. Let us go back to that, see what we can learn from that experience, and build upon it. Terrorism has racked both countries, and each country has alleged the support of its neighbor in sponsoring terrorism. Provided that each country can build credibility in the eyes of its neighbor that it will desist from any such support, then there must be a robust and hardy agreement that any incident of terrorism will not immediately make the peace process collapse. This is a sober reality to face up to, but it must be done.
The unfortunate truth is that all it takes is one individual to conduct a terrorist act. Can the lives and future of 1.5 billion people be held hostage to the actions of one individual? That said, the practice of using terrorism as a way of fighting a proxy war must be completely and resoundingly stopped by both countries, and declarations and actions must reinforce this change. This is a sick practice, and belongs in the dustbin of history. Talks must begin at a neutral venue as soon as possible. They must have no preconditions, but establishing some ground rules would be useful.
For example, it must be agreed by both neighbors that accusations and counter accusations by both parties must not be dwelled upon. Perhaps a good way to make a cautious start would be to jointly come up with a vision of how the neighbors would like the lives and society of Kashmir to be, in the future. And since this is about Kashmir, how do we hear and incorporate the voice of the Kashmiri people into whatever solution is devised? It would be best if the talks can commence in the presence of a mediator.
Just like how solving disputes between individuals sometimes requires the presence of an independent counselor, so that conversation does not degenerate into the chronic argumentative dynamics, so too a mediator will ensure a positive, productive and forward-looking conversation.
Improved democratic health of each country increases the chances that India and Pakistan will be able to achieve peace. Here, Pakistan has more work to do than India. Only an internally strengthened polity can ensure deliberate and sustainable movement down the road to peace. There is simply no other way. An existential threat is certainly not a confidence building measure, and that is what the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty is. The countries share water resources; that is a reality of our geography, and we must do so responsibly and fairly. To prepare a good atmosphere for talks, it would be very helpful if India can signal stepping back from this treaty suspension.
On Pakistan’s side, goodwill can be signaled by clear progress in outstanding cases or investigations of previous terrorism incidents. It is up to both countries to take genuine steps to build confidence in each other, which presently lies shattered. Will India and Pakistan seize the opportunity?
Will its citizens pressurize their governments to seize the opportunity? Will we unlearn aggressive, attacking ways to communicate, and learn progressive and positive ways of dealing with each other? Will we succeed in solving the Kashmir dispute, and hence remove the shackles to South Asian prosperity, or will we remain trapped in a never ending cycle of enmity? We have shown the world how we can de-escalate responsibly. Let us also demonstrate that we recognize the chance to truly prosper, contain our egos, and become friends.
Mueen Batlay is an independent consultant who has worked in the areas of investment and development banking, education, regulation and fintech. The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.