Pakistan and India must look towards mutual benefit
Diplomatic attempts by Pakistan to defuse the tension on the LoC continue unabated. On Tuesday High Commissioner Abdul Basit gave an interview to the Indian Express underlining the need to bring diplomacy to centre stage. Key international players too are busy pushing the two neighbours to re-engage. The National Security Advisers of Pakistan and India have reportedly talked on phone twice and agreed to attempt to defuse the tension. A report appearing in the Times of India would however disturb many. Indian armed forces, we are told, have asked the government to allow them to plan a sustained six-month military campaign inside Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The visit by COAS Raheel Sharif to the Mangla Strike Corps was meant to give a message that Pakistan’s armed forces are ready to meet any eventuality.
Incidents of cross-border firing across the LoC meanwhile continue to take place. Pakistani and Indian troops again exchanged fire in the Bhimber sector in the wee hours of Tuesday. Under the circumstances it remains to be seen whether attempts to return to diplomacy would bear fruit. Military conflict has to be avoided as it would have devastating consequences for both the countries.
The World Bank Report “Poverty and Shared Prosperity” underlines the fact that poverty eradication still remains an uphill task for both Pakistan and India. While India fares a little better in dealing with malnourishment, female literacy and infant mortality, as many as 21.25 pc Indians live at or below the World Bank’s poverty line of $1.90 a day compared to 8.3pc in Pakistan. Pakistan’s economy suffers from continuing failures to meet tax revenues, declining exports, and insignificant FDIs while the country is overburdened with domestic and foreign debt. War would deal a blow to attempts being made by the two countries to raise the living standards of their citizens. Besides the devastation caused by war, investors, both foreign and local, would move to more secure countries which would result in a big slide in the economic growth of both India and Pakistan.