Peace process

Is it difficult to understand the script or we don’t want to understand it? When Pakistani soldiers are kidnapped and beheaded in the country’s northern areas, not once but repeatedly, then who will Pakistan voice its complaint to? Similarly if same type of gruesome incident takes place inside Indian-held Kashmir by soldiers wearing Pakistan Army’s uniform, then India would obviously hold Pakistan responsible.
But we really need to find out who is the ultimate beneficiary of India-Pakistan tension? Those Pakistani hockey players who were sent back home from the Indian Hockey League, or Pakistani music and film artists who are being threatened in India or the senior citizens of both countries who were promised on-arrival visa on the border? If these non-political people are not the beneficiary of this low in Pakistan-India relationship, then who else could be? Yes, it was a boost for the Bharatiya Janata Party to seize an opportunity to lash out at the central government, it’s a great moment for Indian Army to assert itself and issue threats and warnings to Pakistan.
Similarly, Pakistan Army has a cause to defend its Kashmir policy and demand for additional funds.
It’s high time for India — being a big player in the region — to play a positive role in improving relations with Pakistan. At the same time it is also important for Pakistan to realize that there are elements in the country who try to avail every opportunity to derail the peace process between the two countries.
Let India accept Pakistan’s offer for impartial investigation by the UN into these allegations. Unless truth is brought to light, non-state actors will continue to keep hijacking the peace process while these countries will play blind in the face of a common enemy. Choice is in our hands. — Masood Khan, Jubail