Saarc and Pakistan
Dev Boston University, US
I must say I am a little annoyed by Mr. Khan's assertion that the Kashmir issue should be solved by Saarc, and only then Pakistan will be a good participating member of the organisation. Saarc was not involved in creating the Kashmir problem, nor it should be burdened to solve that problem. It is a bilateral problem and it should be solved bilaterally with Pakistanis talking to Indians.Since Kashmir is the main problem for Pakistan and Pakistanis, I would also like to say that Pakistan is not an innocent participant of that problem. Pakistanis need to talk more about their own democratic aspirations, than about the Kashmir problem. What can Pakistan offer to Kashmiris that they could not offer to Bangladeshis who were very much part of Pakistan? What crime did Bangladeshis commit by voting for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman? It was all democratic! Wasn't it? Millions of Bangladeshis were butchered by then ruling Pakistani military and their collaborators. Was anybody punished for that crime? Pakistani obsession with Kashmir has created many problems for that country. We have witnessed the rise and fall of Taliban and the miseries that were brought upon Afghan people. Pakistan has become a hub of extremists who have been giving Islam a bad name all over the world. The words came out of the mouth of none other than President Musharraf. The Saarc dream will probably remain a dream for many South Asians. The region is too diverse and incapable of thinking beyond the religious boundaries. I do not think the region is ready to think big yet. Free trade may come involving certain countries, but visa free entry would be too dangerous for the stability of the region. Nobody wants extremists to move from one country to another with no documentation. I do not want them in my neighbourhood.
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