For SAARC’s sake mend ties, India, Pakistan urged
By Sarwar Kashani, IANSWednesday, April 28, 2010
THIMPHU - Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed Wednesday created a flutter at the 16th SAARC summit here by asking India and Pakistan to mend their ties for greater regional cooperation.
“I hope neighbours can find ways to compartmentalise their differences while finding ways to move forward. I am of course referring to India and Pakistan,” Nasheed said in his address at the opening of the two-day SAARC summit being held in the Bhutan capital.
Referring to a scheduled Thursday afternoon meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani, Nasheed said: “I hope this summit will lead to greater dialogue between (them).”
The remarks came as a surprise as bilateral issues and relations are not taken up at multilateral forums such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It was unusual for the head of a state to have raised the tensions between the two South Asian giants.
Manmohan Singh and Gilani are scheduled to meet Thursday on the sidelines the SAARC summit, marking the latest efforts between the two nuclear powered neighbours to restart stalled peace talks.
India called off its composite peace process with Pakistan after the 26/11, 2008, Mumbai terror attack that left 166 people dead. India blamed terrorists based in Pakistan for the nearly 60-hour attack.
The two South Asian giants have fought three wars since 1947 and were at the brink of nuclear confrontation during the Kargil conflict in July 1999 when Pakistani intruders occupied Indian peaks in the cold desert border district. The military conflict erupted a year after the two countries test-detonated nuclear bombs in May 1998.
The two neighbours saw a thaw in relations in 2004, leading to a restart of peace talks, but a deep freeze overcame the bilateral ties in the aftermath of the Mumbai mayhem.
Pakistan has acknowledged the Mumbai attackers were based on its soil and has arrested some members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terror group that India blames for the attacks.
But India has been maintaining that Pakistan should destroy terror infrastructure on its soil before composite talks could be restarted.
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May 4, 2010: 8:13 pm
Sarwar Kashani, why have you said “It was unusual for the head of a state to have raised the tensions between the two South Asian giants.”, ? Did the Maldivian president really ‘raise the tensions’? Did the Indian prime minister tell you that? Or did the parliament of India tell you so? Or did the Pakistani premier/parliament say tell you? Or are you just another outdated old-fashioned, stubborn, hot-headed and foolish Indian. The Maldivian president expressed a sincere, very polite, highly diplomatic-versed and yet constructive statement to a very real and scary issue. No wonder why I see a lot of cartoons and jokes about Pakistan and India. (my favorite one is in a TIME: There’s an Indian and a Pakistani in a coffee shop and somehow a fly in in one’s cup. The other immediately thinks that it’s a spy from the other country. hahaha - This is a laughing bulls@it). If most Indian’s keep such a shallow thinking I guess a million of people might die. Why? Simply because both India and Pakistan launches nukes on a matter which could actually be solved by negotiation/talks/thinking positive. No wonder why I get so much of trouble around the world whenever I travel. Why? Simply, I look like Indian. And people from other parts of the world really dislike Indians due to old-fashionedness/hot-headedness of us. They categorize Indians same as a dog - NO DOGS & INDIANS ALLOWED. |
 Rahul |
May 4, 2010: 8:06 pm
Sarwar Kashani, why have you said “It was unusual for the head of a state to have raised the tensions between the two South Asian giants.”, ? Did the Maldivian president really ‘raise the tensions’? Did the Indian prime minister tell you that? Or did the parliament of India tell you so? Or did the Pakistani premier/parliament say tell you? Or are you just another outdated old-fashioned, stubborn, hot-headed and foolish Indian. The Maldivian president expressed a sincere, very polite, highly diplomatic-versed and yet constructive statement to a very real and scary issue. No wonder why I see a lot of cartoons and jokes about Pakistan and India. (my favorite one is in a TIME: There’s an Indian and a Pakistani in a coffee shop and somehow a fly in in one’s cup. The other immediately thinks that it’s a spy from the other country. hahaha - This is a laughing bulls@it). If most Indian’s keep such a shallow thinking I guess a million of people might die. Why? Simply because both India and Pakistan launches nukes on a matter which could actually be solved by negotiation/talks/thinking positive. No wonder why I get so much of trouble around the world whenever I travel. Why? Simply, I look like Indian. And people from other parts of the world really dislike Indians due to old-fashionedness/hot-headedness of us. They categorize Indians same as a dog - NO PETS & INDIANS ALLOWED. |
Rahul