The mature approach adopted by both India and Pakistan following the attacks on the Indian air force base in Pathankot and the Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan comes as a breath of fresh air as far as the politics between the two nations is concerned.
Pakistan wasted no time in condemning the atrocities, while the Indian government has refrained from playing the blame game and issuing aggressive statements as was the norm in the past. This despite the fact that the right wing media on both sides of the border have gone into an overdrive by digging up the past and virtually declaring war on behalf of the governments.
The testy relationship between the two countries is not hidden from the world. Apart from the regular yearly skirmishes on the borders, India and Pakistan have fought four wars ever since the partition of 1947 which resulted in at least a million deaths, not to speak of the mass displacement of humanity the repercussions of which still continue to influence how people on both sides view each other.
But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unannounced visit to Pakistan on December 25 caught warmongers in both countries on the back foot, opening up a whole array of possibilities that would have belonged in the realm of fantasy otherwise. A beaming Modi hugging his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and attending his granddaughter’s wedding cannot be simply dismissed as a photo opportunity designed to score cheap political points.
But despite the recent thaw, there is no denying the fact that both countries need to stay the course in their quest for peace by sidelining hardliners who have made hate a thriving business that suits their purposes. While India’s security concerns are legitimate, there is no disputing the fact that Pakistan has paid a very high price in terms of lives lost to terrorism. The mind-numbing murder of 132 schoolchildren by Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) terrorists in December 2014 is still fresh in everybody’s mind.
Previous periods of bonhomie between the two countries have been sabotaged by terror attacks and many analysts suspected Pathankot was part of a similar, deliberate effort to damage relations. But it would be a major step backwards if India decides to shelve talks, the first instalment of which is scheduled for later this month.
Separately on January 11, Pakistan and Afghanistan, together with representatives from China and the US, are scheduled to gather in Islamabad for a “quadrilateral” meeting to prepare for potential talks with “reconcilable” members of the Afghan Taliban.
Diplomats say Pakistan had promised it would use its influence with the Taliban, which are largely based in Pakistani territory, not only to bring amenable militants to the negotiating table but also to reduce soaring levels of violence.
However, insurgent assaults have continued unabated, with recent weeks seeing several attacks in Kabul on the Spanish embassy, a French restaurant popular with foreigners and the international airport. The airport was hit once again yesterday when a suicide bomber detonated himself on a nearby street but there were no reported casualties.
These could be desperate attempts by militants to prevent any progress on the peace and reconciliation front. The key is not falling into their trap.