That Shahid Afridi’s poster on my room’s door is no more there… He was my cricket hero in school days. Friends and family, everyone who knew me, asked with sheer displeasure why I supported the staunch rival in every match... except of course the ones with India…As a child, I could hardly understand this furore over such a trivial issue.
During every Indo-Pak match, I had to convince them that I did love Sachin, Dravid and Dada but Shahid Afridi a little more than them… that’s all. They would tell me how different we are from ‘them’. I could spot the difference between Afridi’s silky locks and Sachin’s curly tresses, but the distinct nationalities they carried were not something I was big enough to handle. Watching them together on the field was the only possible thing I could do then. But as I grew older...I began to feel the difference between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
Besides what I read in history books, there was more to this deep divide between the two neighbours…this rivalry… this hostility, which extends beyond the cricket field…even after more than 62 years of partition.
Since 1947, the time India was partitioned, Pakistan has fought three major wars with us, the last being the Kargil War in 1999.
Despite the bitter history of wars we share, the Indian leadership has repeatedly offered olive branches to the neighbour, though it has never given the desired fruits.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently said one cannot choose one’s neighbour and that every state should try to make friends with his neighbours…I agree with Dr Singh but as we say “Love can be one-sided but friendship cannot be...”
From launching rockets on the border villages in Punjab to the recurring incidents of infiltration, our neighbour has always, without fail, broken our trust.
More than a 100 times, 129 to be precise, the neighbour has breached the land ceasefire agreement and infiltrated the Indian air space almost 50 times in last four years, according to a newspaper report.
In the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, our relations with Pakistan have gone even more sore. The deadliest attack on India’s financial hub on November 26, 2008, triggered a possible war between the two countries. Speculations were high that India this time would retaliate with a ‘real’ war, but thankfully, this did not turn into reality. Another War, I believe, would not solve the problem of security here.
International or Global Terrorism is the biggest headache for every country today. And this so-called ‘War on Terror’ initiated by Uncle Sam is incomplete till the time there is coordination and cooperation between neighbours.
But how can we expect cooperation from a country who has used Terrorism as part of its ‘Foreign Policy’ for decades.
Pakistan’s former President General Pervez Musharraf revealed in an interview this year that the American aid during his tenure was used to strengthen defence against India. This doesn’t come as a surprise to any Indian, I can bet. There are numerous incidents that make us doubt our neighbour’s seriousness in its efforts towards a healthy and strong relationship with us.
Despite assurances of cooperation in the investigations in the biggest terror attack India suffered, the neighbour’s attitude has been absolutely disappointing.
Pakistan, torn with internal strifes and a series of suicide bombs and terrorist attacks almost every second day, is bearing the fruits of its own deeds. The Frankenstein it had fed with the American money has come out of the closet and killing its own master.
But it’s a matter of concern for India too. What if the Talibans succeed in their misdeeds? What do they really want? Aren’t the attacks on schools, Universities, posh market places, state banks, suffice to understand their motive?
Every common man knows that the terrorists do not want economic prosperity, democracy, equality, education, anything that dilutes their misdemeanours.
Terror doesn’t spare any religion, any community, anyone. Even my journalist friends in Pakistan have become a target for the militant’s vengeance now. The latest attack on Pakistan’s Press club indicates that the Terrorists want to mute every voice that’s raised against them. Talibans have killed hundreds of thousands innocent men and women, children and policemen alike, in the last three months alone.
Is this the kind of price, Pakistan is willing to pay to keep the terrorists alive and kicking in its own state? How many more innocent lives is it willing to keep at stake all out of its insecurity with India?
Pakistan is a democratic failure. What else can be expected after four military takeovers in four decades? The Army has always been strong there and the news of two serving Pakistani Army officers being involved in India’s biggest terror attack shatters all hopes of renewed trust with the neighbour.
No one wants a War, but in situations like these, forget friendship even diplomatic relations are in jeopardy.
Terror has no face, no loyality. The Terrorists which are still operating from the neighbouring soil will continue to target India. But in doing so, they can go to the extent of killing anyone and everyone that comes their way.
Ever since the Pakistani Army launched offensive against the Talibans in the areas bordering Afghanistan, it has witnessed a bloodbath killing their own men. At a time when Pakistan is going through its worst phase, the PM’s statement that India wants peace and stability for its neighbour holds great importance.
Pakistan promises to take its bilateral relations with India to a new high but has always backstabbed us with a Kargil or a Khandhar or a cold blooded 26/11. It’s like one step forward and four steps backwards…
But swearing by the Optimism and Idealism Nehru and Gandhi preached, it still isn’t too late for Pakistan.
I will not conclude by saying that we can be the best of friends or something of that sort. But I can surely say that for the betterment of both and for the sake of humankind, Pakistan should realize that it’s sitting on pile of explosives which will kill them first and later target us.
“Not Friends, but Friendly,” can be a Realistic approach at renewing the sour relations between the two countries. What if we have not been the best of friends, we can in the least try to be GOOD NEIGHBOURS.
Amen!
