With South Asia at the mercy of terrorists of all hues and colours, the news that Pakistan and India are about to resume peace talks suspended after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks is heartening. There is a need now as never before to resolve the mutual differences that have kept the pot boiling in South Asia at the earliest. Pakistan and India have wasted enough resources on rivalry while ignoring social development and thus failing to realise their potential. While India claims to have made remarkable progress in developing its economy, abject poverty continues to be the hallmark of its rural areas. In Pakistan, the situation is by no means better. Both face serious challenges posed by the climate change that require joint action which is not possible without improvement of relations. India is currently on a buying binge to acquire billions of dollars worth of sophisticated weapons systems. Pakistan continues to develop its nuclear arsenal and make it more sophisticated. The two nuclear countries are also competing in the improvement of delivery systems. In case of an all-out war caused by any misunderstanding, the two have amassed enough lethal weaponry to destroy each other many times over.
It is widely understood that bilateral talks between Pakistan and India had by 2001 brought the two countries significantly closer. Optimism was being expressed regarding the solution of the issue of Kashmir, which has for over sixty years acted as the major stumbling block in the way of mutual understanding. There is therefore a need to restart talks from the point where they were called off. While maintaining their principled positions on sensitive issues, the two sides need to proceed with pragmatism, building bridges as they first resolve relatively less intractable issues.
Developing economic ties by enhancing mutual trade should be given priority as it would benefit the people of both countries. There is also a need to enhance people-to-people contacts by easing the visa regime which remains highly restrictive on both sides. There is enough unrealised potential for tourism, particularly religious tourism, between the neighbouring countries. These measures would improve understanding. What is more, friendly relations will remove the psychological hurdles that stand in the way of the resolution of more complex problems.
