Priorities need to change on both sides
“We need to prioritise socio-economic development, improvement in the health and education sectors,” said Hasan Askari, “War only protects the privileged.”
It’s high time India and Pakistan prioritise a fight against the common enemy
Amidst the ’war’ drama between India, Pakistan- neighbours and old rivals- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi challenged his Pakistani counterpart to fight a war against poverty.
On the other hand, PM Modi threatened to cut down Pakistan’s supply of water which is a direct violation of the Indus Water Treaty (1960).
The verbal war escalated between the two nuclear rivals and the Indian prime minister’s statements have perplexed the audience as they fail to comprehend whether the Indian leadership wants to run Pakistan dry or to unite together in the fight against poverty.
Considering the World Bank’s report “Poverty and Shared Prosperity”, it would be a wise decision for Pakistan and India to unite against eradicating poverty from the region rather than constantly picking up a fight that may lead to a full-blown nuclear war.
According to the report, 8.3 per cent of Pakistan’s population lives in poverty and 21.3 per cent population of India are destitute.
58 per cent of India’s population compared to 45 per cent of Pakistan’s population live under World Bank’s $3.10 a day poverty line.
Education and health inequality in India and Pakistan- termed as the ‘low-middle income nations’- are the problems that have always affected the region’s economic and social standards of living.
Keeping aside India’s threat to cut down the water supply, Pakistan needs to consider the fact that it might run out of water anyway.
The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) warned that the country will approach absolute water scarcity by 2025.
“I want to tell the people if you have what it takes, let’s compete to end poverty in our countries Lets see who gets there first. People of Pakistan and India will like this competition,” said PM Modi in his speech playing a diplomatic move on the global front.
However, Modi received a backlash from the Indian side for advising the neighbours on how to keep their country clean while ignoring the people living in dire conditions under his rule.
Congress leader Meem Afzal criticised Modi to redirect his attention to India’s internal challenges. “Modi ji, instead of giving suggestions to Pakistan, focus on what is happening in your own country,” he said.
Pakistan and India are crippled by highest infant mortality rates, high unemployment rates, poor infrastructure, and increasing illiteracy rates.
Moreover, imperative problems like rape, sexual harassment, and high female illiteracy rates are not dealt with the urgent attention they require.
India, however, has a higher adult female literacy with 59.2 percent in 2011, while for Pakistan it was 41.9 percent.
The figures in the World Bank report highlight the grim condition of the negligence from the leaders of the two nuclear neighbours.
Indian media supports Indian political and security establishment in defaming Pakistan globally by making allegations without any evidence, said Rasul Baksh.
It is self-explanatory that a war in the region will result in severe consequences causing irreparable damage.
“India’s claims of conducting a ‘surgical strike’ were false as it was just another ceasefire violation on the Line of Border (LoC),” said Pakistani political scientist, Rasul Baksh while talking to DNA.
It is not the governments of India, Pakistan that are promoting war against each other, instead the media is to be blamed for spreading ‘war hysteria’, he said.
Indian media supports Indian political and security establishment in defaming Pakistan globally by making allegations without any evidence, said Rasul Baksh.
Furthermore, ceasefire violations have been taking place for a long time; hence, Pakistan has the compulsion to respond to India’s false statements, he said.
Pakistan’s policy is reactive and they took a diplomatic approach to counter India’s claim of ‘surgical strikes’ by inviting media personnel from international networks to visit the military’s check post and complete investigations by interacting with the local population.
India’s brinkmanship reflects the hostility which has been brewing against Pakistan, Baksh added.
However, the current socio-economic conditions of the two South Asian countries demand urgent attention from their leaders.
Pakistan, India must concentrate on ridding the region of poverty and focus on development even if there is no report indicating alarming levels of an inevitable socio-economic crisis, said Hasan Askari, a political analyst, while talking to DNA.
Both countries use ultra-nationalism to ignore the factors unveiling poor management by ruling governments, he said.
The problem with the mindsets of the populations from both sides is accepting and even glorifying war as an imminent solution while disregarding the disasters that follow.
“We need to prioritise socio-economic development, improvement in the health and education sectors,” said Hasan Askari.
“War only protects the privileged,” he said.
“Poverty is not because of allocating a large percentage of the budget for the military, instead it is the result of the wrong distribution of resources,” said Rasul Baksh.
However, Pakistan and India need to shift their focus away from strengthening their military forces to fight an unnecessary war.
The nuclear neighbours need to make peace and resolve their internal matters before prepping against external enemy forces.
The progressive ideas that focus on eradicating poverty, women empowerment, improving the quality of education and health facilities, tolerance towards minorities, and sustaining the environment should be part of every country’s policy.
