Islam Online

ISLAMABAD – Politicians, activists and experts in rival Pakistan and India are welcoming a campaign for a peaceful ending for a protracted conflict between their two countries, though some doubt its success chances.

“In principle, I welcome this move,” Liaquat Baloch, Secretary General of the Jammat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s largest Islamic party, told IslamOnline.net.

“If this improves relations between the two countries, it would be a great achievement.”

Co-launched by Jang Group and Times of India Group, two leading media groups in both countries, the “Aman Ki Asha” (Destination for Peace) initiative aims to debate major sticking issues between the two rivals.

“A majority of Indians and Pakistanis want to live in peace,” says Zafar Agha, a New Delhi-based senior journalist and thinker.

“They will surely support this idea.”

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of which were over the disputed region of Kashmir.

Peace talks between the two countries have stalled over the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 146 people had virtually brought the two nuclear-rivals to a full-fledged war.

India blames the attack on the outlawed Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) and accuses the group of links to the Pakistani intelligence.

Pakistan denies any involvement in or link to the attack insisting it was the work of non-state actors.

India says peace talks could not be revived until the masterminds of Mumbai attacks are brought to the justice.

Pakistan, for its part, argues that India is not cooperating with its prosecutors to bring the culprits to justice.

Prospects

Many believe it is the desire of the people in both the countries to find a peaceful solution to their enmities.

“This wall of hatred can be removed through sincere efforts and dialogue,” Abdul Sattar Edhi, a renowned Pakistani social worker, told IOL.

“Dialogue is the only way to get rid of this hatred and enmity.”

Edhi believes that instead of fighting each other, the two countries should take on common enemies.

“Poverty, illiteracy and social and economic disparity are the common enemies of the two countries. They, instead of wasting their resources in fighting each other, should disburse them to fight these menaces.”

Though widely praised, the initiative’s prospects to succeed remain a divisive issue.

“This seems to me a serious move because it has been launched by the two leading media groups, who have a great influence on a large section of intelligentsia, thinkers, poets, and common citizens,” says Agha, the Indian journalist.

“I am sure that this move will get to its destination in the form of a durable peace and better relations between the two neighbors.”

He added that the support of the majority of Indians and Pakistanis will bolster the move.

“A majority of Indians and Pakistanis want to live in peace.”

A recent survey by the two media groups found that 72 percent of Pakistanis and 66 percent of Indians are in favor of durable peace between India and Pakistan.

Challenges

Dr. Zafar-ul-Islam, a leading Indian Muslim community leader, believes the peace initiative is not more than a propaganda campaign.

“What these media groups are doing these days is a public relations act, which is totally out of sync with the reality on the ground,” he told IOL.

“Every sane Indian and Pakistani should support and work for good relations between the two countries but for that to happen, the destructive activities of some groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyeba should stop.”

Baloch, the JI secretary general, says one major obstacle on the road for the initiative is going to be the Kashmir conflict, asserting that without resolving the basic issue of Kashmir, ties between the two countries can not progress.

“It would be great if the two media groups work to resolve the core issue of Kashmir, which is the major source of confrontation in the region.”

According to the media groups survey, some 84 percent of Pakistanis see the resolution of Kashmir dispute a must for better relations with India.

But regardless of the major challenges ahead, Indians and Pakistanis agree that the initiative must go on.

“Both countries have wasted too much time in addressing the basic issues Time is running out for them,” says Agha, the Indian journalist.

Chaudry Aitizaz Ahsan, a senior Pakistani lawyer, says the two countries have no other choice but to live side by side in peace.

“Pakistan and India are neighbors. They cannot change their borders.”