Acclaimed writer and narrative historian, William Dalrymple has called the Kashmir issue a ‘gaping wound’ in the South Asian region.
Acknowledging that Kashmir is one of the most problematic issues of our times, Dalrymple, who was a star speaker at the recently-concluded Emirates Literary Festival in Dubai, noted that the resolution of Kashmir remained the key to a peaceful South Asia.
The author said unless Pakistan and India were ready to resolve the dispute, instability would continue to haunt the region.
Dalyrmple, who was shot at while covering Kashmir previously for international publications, said the Kashmir problem could be likened to a lesion that has been left festering for a long time.
“We are currently in a situation where the people of Kashmir feel that they are under a military occupation and frankly the recent reports coming out of the Valley make for a very grim reading,” Dalrymple said.
The author, whose recent book Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan has won rave reviews globally added that there is great similarity, culturally and otherwise, between Delhi and Lahore than there is between Delhi and Bombay (now Mumbai). However, the lingering Kashmir problem has complicated the relationship between the two south Asian powers, he quipped. Dalrymple found himself in a precarious situation on a recent trip to Afghanistan where he had gone on a personal invite from the Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss his latest book.
