Will the saints save India-Pakistan relations?
Many Pakistanis who face economic hardships or are grieved over suicide attacks and social problems turn to saints and shrines to seek peace of mind. Some believe that the saints, whether living or dead, have the spiritual power to solve their problems. With unresponsive governments and limited access to social safety net the recourse to superstition serves as a palliative.
It looks odd when prominent politicians like Pervez Ashraf start visiting saints and shrines, though he is not the only one to do so. With his tenure drawing to an end and the Raja unsure of retaining his seat in the NA in the forthcoming elections, he first turned up at the shrine of Lal Shabaz Kalandar. The same day terrorists launched the murderous attack at Abbas Town in Karachi. Disheartened by the bad omen the Raja decided to appeal to another saint who is considered a step higher than the one buried in Sehwan.
The PM chose an inauspicious moment to visit Ajmer Sharif as the relations between Pakistan and India are at a very low ebb after the January border incidents. New Delhi over reacted to the beheading of its soldier which despite its diabolical nature the Indian army cannot claim to have never committed. A section of the Indian media subsequently created an unprecedented hype. Pakistani players visiting India were told to return and the visa liberalization measures withdrawn. On the eve of PM’s visit, his Indian counterpart had reiterated that relations with Pakistan cannot return to normal unless Indian grievances connected with terrorism are removed. The Indian authorities meanwhile insisted that there would be no substantive talks with Pervez Ashraf.
Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid who hosted a lunch for the Pakistani Prime minister reminded the media at least thrice within half an hour that he did not have the mandate to enter into any kind of official dialogue with Ashraf. Ashraf was greeted with a protest shut down by the Ajmer Dargah market association. A representative of Ajmer Bar Association said that roads from where Pakistani PM’s cavalcade will pass will be washed after his departure for being polluted. The Diwan of the Dargah boycotted the visit citing tensions between the two countries. He blamed Pakistan army for the beheading the soldier and demanded apology.
Couldn’t Pervez Ashraf have waited for another fortnight to visit the shrine as a common citizen? The lure of junkets on state expenditure is so strong that he did not care about the disgrace that awaited him. He and the 19 relatives that accompanied him might not have enjoyed the facility of a special plane and a helicopter but Pakistan would have been spared the embarrassment caused by the treatment to its PM.
