Cooperation amidst a catastrophe

Time to relieve tensions between India and Pakistan is now

Irrespective of their discords Pakistan and India face common challenges that they cannot cope with without mutual cooperation. These include challenges posed by the climate change that can alternately result in drought and extraordinary rains, at times causing floods and at others food and water shortages. Natural calamities too have at times simultaneously hit parts of the two countries, as did the 2005 earthquake. The extra heavy downpour in the catchment areas early this month has wreaked havoc in Indian-occupied Kashmir as well as in AJK, KP and Punjab. This led Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach out to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. Modi has offered assistance for carrying out relief operations in flood hit areas of AJK. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson has reciprocated by offering help to India to mitigate the suffering of the people of the Indian-occupied Kashmir caused by similar floods.

The initial goodwill expressed by both sides after the Indian elections has yet to produce concrete results. Kashmir as usual has proved to be the stumbling block. The scheduled meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries was called off by India on account of Pakistani High Commissioner’s consultative session with a Hurriyet leader. On account of the history of the two countries’ relations, ups and downs in efforts to bring the two together are not unexpected. What is needed meanwhile is to get rid of the old stereotypes and do some out of the box thinking.

An attempt in the direction was claimed by Pervez Mushrraf in 2006. The Musharraf plan visualised wide-ranging autonomy for Kashmir, with Islamabad and New Delhi jointly supervising the region. Any daring move requires a prior environment of trust between the two countries. Any suggestion from either side that helps promote goodwill should therefore be accepted. Both countries have to take measures to relieve the suffering of the Kashmiri victims of the floods on their respective sides of the LoC. Wherever mutual cooperation is required it should be undertaken without hesitation.