You can’t talk about peace in an atmosphere of attrition and distrust. Media can play an important role to help develop positive engagement between India and Pakistan. It is extremely important to respect institutional democracy in our respective countries. India and Pakistan share a very turbulent relationship where at times it arouses great hope and at times it leaves us deeply desperate and despondent. The threats the citizens in the two countries can distort their way of life.
These were the personal views shared by Mr. Vinod Sharma, Political Editor, Hindustan Times, on “India Pakistan Relations: The Way Forward” during a lecture at School of Politics and IR, Quaid-e-Azam University. He is visiting Pakistan as part of “Discussion Fora: India Pakistan Relations” organized by the Islamabad based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
He said that he was not making a presentation on behalf of the government of India or his newspaper and was sharing his personal assessment of India-Pakistan relations.
“We have come to a stage where there is a degree of apprehension on our side and a degree of circumspection on your side. Apprehension on our side about what’s going to happen with regard to the threat that we perceive as emanating from Pakistan and circumspection from your side about India’s approach to the promised comprehensive dialogue to address Pakistan’s concerns”.
“Rather than offering solutions to the problems of Kashmir or offering ideas as how to tackle terror that’s a common threat to both countries, I , as a media person and a student of mass communication, would share my perspective on how to create a climate for a meaningful engagement. You can’t talk about peace in an atmosphere of attrition and distrust. Many of the problems that we face in our respective countries directly involve the people of two countries.”
Mr. Sharma said, “With the presence of threats around, you can’t get the way of life you want even when the governments are doing well”. He referred in that context the various incidents directly touched the people and distorted their ways of life in both countries. He said that the confluence of interest between India and Pakistan was essential to give their people a sense of security and hope for the future. The two countries should endeavor to build upon this confluence of interest which will fetch the proposed dialogue, the required public support from both sides of border.
“Vitiation of public discourse can prove to the biggest threat to peace process in the subcontinent”, he said urging the respective media to play an effective role to help develop positive engagement between the two states while talking about the recent engagements between the two countries.
He said that no prime minister – regardless of which country one talk about – will do anything to compromise his countries’ national interest. Popular democracy is good and cannot be cast aside but it is extremely important to respect institutional democracy in our respective countries for bolstering positive state-to-state engagement. Democracy in India-Pakistan have to be participative but that participation of people cannot be extended to subjects where institutions of the state must have the last word.
He underpinned the need for honest talks, exchange of ideas and sharing of problems between leaders of the two countries to keep the dialogue on track. He said that no dialogue can succeed without trust between leaderships and support of the people.
“The Youth – as citizens of 21st century world do not carry any historical baggage must play a creative role in building peace without which their aspirations cannot be met.”
Dr. Mujeeb Afzal from IR Dept., QAU, who was discussant of the event said that India and Pakistan relations were a combination of contradiction and mutuality. He said that the media was of a great relevance in the entire peace process and should play a positive role for normalizing relations.
Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed, Director, School of Politics and IR, QAU urged overcoming trust deficit and addressing each other’s concerns very seriously to improve bilateral relations. He underpinned finding mutually acceptable solutions of the issues of concerns between the two countries.
lecture of Mr. Vinod Sharma, Political Editor, Hindustan Times at QAU Islamabad.