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| Pak must not have done this | | | | One should not be surprised if Pakistan offers India bullets or fire crackers on our national days. What happened on the morning of 62nd Independence Day of India was nothing but reflection of unholy and mischievous designs of Pakistan and its armed forces. When the nation was celebrating the Independence Day, there were incidents of firing on the International Border in RS Pura sector on outskirts of this Winter Capital City. This incident of firing has contributed to a sense of heightened tension between the two countries. This is 16th incident of firing either on Line of Control or on International Border in past few months. In the backdrop of previous such incident, the External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee had appropriately pointed out during his visit to Tehran that ceasefire violations must not occur. This is necessary if India and Pakistan are serious about expanding their contact to take in more areas of cooperation and to consider the issues of terrorism and Kashmir with purposefulness. Defence minister A.K. Antony has also reminded Pakistan that there are established procedures for flag meetings to sort out misunderstanding at the local level. Miscommunication can also flare up into an ugly incident, as has been seen in the recent days. On the positive side is the oft-repeated sentiment from the political leadership in both countries, as well as civil society, in favour of establishing normal relations on a durable basis. This should certainly be possible as the people of India and Pakistan have so much in common, with little dividing them. More, they have so much to lose if the hostility arising from the Partition syndrome is not buried. Principally, and this has increasingly come to be accepted in Pakistan, the mistrust has been fostered by the military establishment of that country. If the Pakistan Army has a little less to do with the conduct of policy vis-à-vis India, the people of the two countries can have a better shot at cooperation leading to mutual gain. Some security experts believe that in recent months Islamabad has deliberately chosen to keep the border ‘hot’ through stepped-up infiltration and repeated violation of the ceasefire agreement of November 2003. There are many factors responsible for this. Pakistan may also be trying to take an advantage of the internal tension brewing up within Jammu and Kashmir. It doubtless knows India means business about keeping the Kashmir issue strictly bilateral with Pakistan and would brook no external interference in the matter. |
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