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NEWNATIONS BULLETIN 17 FEBRUARY 2010
INDIA - PAKISTAN: WHAT HOPE FOR A LASTING PEACE?
Overshadowed in public consciousness in both Europe and the US by Israel-Palestine, due to the western nature of the state of Israel and the ubiquitous Israeli lobby, the Pakistan - India confrontation dates from the same period - the late nineteen forties and it is also a product of the post-WW II end of the British empire.
Just as the middle east is disfigured and destabilised by the Israel-Palestine problem, India-Pakistan is quite as dangerous in terms of irresponsible preachers motivating potential Islamic terrorists, and is in fact even more dangerous for the world, because although the degree of bellicosity has proved to be variable, both states are armed with nuclear weapons.
The world believes that the conflict is about the Kashmir valley and dates back to the 1947 partition of imperial India into the (secular) Republic of India, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The former princely state of Kashmir, although predominantly Moslem, was included as a part of India. It is true that this has been a major source of the conflict, but as ‘Prospects for Peace,’ our Newnations mid-month report for February makes clear, it is only a part of the story.
63 years after the partition we try to identify what needs to be done to solve not only the problems of Kashmir, but those other matters that have inhibited good neighbourly relations - the pretext that this gives to those who need a narrative for conflict, in this case one that has already destroyed many lives, and until resolved, threatens many more.
The situation is analysed by our contributor Professor Surjit Mansingh, who with long experience, a keen eye and goodwill to all, identifies the steps that should be taken to achieve the great prize of normalising relations, thus arriving at the potential win-win outcome for both nations, for South Asia and for the world.
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