News
Monday, August 22, 2011
PPP shares PML-N perception on Indo-Pak relations
By Muhammad Akram
LAHORE: Holding Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif’s point of view on Pakistan’s relations with India as just and close to the party’s own perception for peace in the region, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has instructed many of its mouthpieces to refrain from any diatribe on the issue.
The sources in the PPP confided to Daily Times on Sunday that the instruction was quietly conveyed to those responsible for representing the party’s point of view on different national and international issues not to air any of their views contrary to the statement made by PML-N leader for the sake of politics as did by a small coterie of politicians and a section of the media.
The sources said the best the party mouthpieces asked to do was to highlight the party’s own point of view on relations with neighbouring countries, particularly with India instead of focusing on what the PML-N President Nawaz Sharif said.
The PML-N President Nawaz Sharif had on August 15, while speaking as chief guest at a seminar “Building bridges in the sub-continent” organised by South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), said that Pakistan and India, which share the same culture, civilisation and language, should help the development of the region by putting aside disputes between them and help the region prosper like other economic regions were doing for the betterment of their people.
The PML-N president’s remarks drew unnecessary criticism from a coterie of politicians and a section of the media that he has been responsible for keeping hostage the relationships between Pakistan and India since 1947.
The PML-N leadership remained steadfast on what the party’s president said about Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring countries, particularly with India despite numerous calls from the mindset that had been responsible for the PML-N president’s and his party’s earlier perception about relations with India which revolved around seeking permanent animosity with the neighbouring country.
The country’s politics had seen a great turnaround since the 2008 general elections vis-à-vis country’s relations with India as almost all political forces, having representation in parliament are, seeking friendly and good neighbourly ties with India. Those who had been opposed to this idea of the majority of parliamentary forces are out of parliament, like Jamaat-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Insaf, as they boycotted the general elections.
Parliament at present is overwhelmingly represented by those political parties who are not just seeking good friendly ties with India but also opening up of trade corridors as a remedy to many economic ills of the country. The PPP and the PML-N, at the time of signing of the Charter of Democracy, had expressed the resolve to work for improvement of relations with all neighbours, particularly India and Afghanistan, and would support the ongoing peace process in the region.
The political observers see the PPP’s overture of refraining its second cadre leadership from flowing with the tide to score small political points against the PML-N is a sign of increasing maturity in the country’s politics. This is also true that all political forces present in parliament, including the Awami National Party, PML-Quaid, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), had been unanimous in seeking friendly relations with India and had in fact supported the views expressed by the PML-N president on the country 64th Independence Day, they said.
The general silence over Nawaz’s statement mean it is tacitly approved, while those who are trying to create a storm in a teacup are actually crying at the loss of their handmade leader to perpetuate their agenda of hatred in the region which they had been pursuing for over five decades from now using one face after the other, the observers said.
There is an overwhelming consensus in the country, among political parties, leaders of public opinion and mass media in general that Pakistan needs to move along with the spirit Pakistan and India reached through the Lahore Declaration that Nawaz had signed as the prime minister of Pakistan in February 1999 during the visit of his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee, they said. The observers also endorsed the PML-N president’s appreciation of the Indian government for holding a detailed inquiry of Kargil war it won and Pakistan has yet to move an inch on it despite the humiliation it faced internationally for the misadventure of a bunch of military generals with Gen Musharraf leading them from the front.
The observers believe that ‘de-radicalisation’ of Pakistan that the federal government has recently approved for study and subsequent implementation to eradicate fundamentalism and extremism from society during a meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet needs to include country’s friendly ties with its neighbours as a major component.
This is important because radicalisation of society has roots in the country’s proxy war in Afghanistan and beyond that waging four wars with India on Kashmir disputes and covert jihadi operations across the Line of Control that has impoverished the country to a point that country’s growth rate is lower than even the poorest of the poor nations in the South Asian region, the observers said.
The PML-N’s categorical stance on relations with India is also important because the party had been representing the opinion of central and north Punjab including the areas from Pakistan Army had massive recruitments, said the observers. The change in perception vis-à-vis India would help change the mindset that had been viewing India only as an enemy country and not as a competitor in areas that help growth of people on healthy lines, they said.
The defeat and ultimate demise of the mindset that had been flourishing on the notion of India bashing is a good omen for the country’s progress and equally important is the maturity that the political parties has been showing while standing like a rock in defence of the point of view expressed by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, the observers opined.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk