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[Hilarious] An angry young Pakistani man has a message for Mr Modi

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DailyBite
DailyBiteSep 08, 2015 | 17:06

[Hilarious] An angry young Pakistani man has a message for Mr Modi

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Why peace between India and Pakistan is jinxed

"There is simply no alternative to talks," as an editorial in The Hindu sums up succinctly, or perhaps, rather somberly. While the chest-thumping, hardline rhetoric and borderline war hysteria is palpable after the cancellation of National Security Advisor level talks in New Delhi, scheduled to take place on August 23, there is an underlying discomfort predicting the new impasse. The two nuclear-armed neighbours are too close to one another geographically to be in a long-standing state of hostility that seems to be the overpowering aspect of what goes for the status quo. While the talks halt the big question remains: What now?

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The Ufa agreement between Pakistan and India underscored the need to initiate an NSA level dialogue, focusing on ensuing of peace by elimination of terror, which would in turn help prospects of development. Pakistani NSA Sartaj Aziz's press conference in Islamabad after the Ufa summit reiterated that the mere omission of the word "Kashmir" in the agreement is not a connotation of Pakistan's acceding to non-prioritisation of the issue whenever Pakistan and India meet for a dialogue.

Even those of us who make no claims to understand the complexities of diplomatic dynamics between Pakistan and India would have no difficulty singling out the fundamental issue: Kashmir. The issue is not merely a war of words and egos; it dates back to 1947, is delineated in the blood of many military and civilian lives on both sides, the chaos and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in draconian military and civilian laws, and much misery for ordinary Kashmiris. The Line of control (LoC) has become a ghoulish stage of intermittent two-way cross firing, resulting in the deaths of soldiers and civilians. Be they Pakistani or Indian, the irreparable loss and pain their families suffer is the worst thing about the deteriorating situation that seems to be unravelling at an alarming speed. Ergo to imagine any talk on terror would be logical without bringing the K-word into the equation is not merely fallacious but also short-sighted.

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If the meeting of the Hurriyat leaders had taken place between the Pakistani visitors before or after the NSA meeting, it would have been nothing more than a routine exercise, inconsequential in the big scheme of bilateral realities. But the diplomatic messages being lobbed forward and back between the two countries via proper channels, leaked reports to media, and then press conferences of the Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani NSA Sartaj Aziz turned the entire governmental exercise between Pakistan and India into a media circus. While both Ms Swaraj and Mr Aziz kept their words conciliatory, to-the-point, precise, non-aggressive, and fact-based, the message was clear: nothing doing until the other side is in agreement of our stipulations. The wily art of pehle-aapwas played out in the full view of TV cameras, political naysayers and gleeful warmongers. The result: RSVP in regret. And the impasse worsens. Read more here.

Last updated: September 08, 2015 | 17:08
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