Pakistan in Media

Editorial, The News International, Pakistan
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Pakistan will soon be resuming the process of negotiation with India and possibly attempting to undo some of the damage inflicted by the Mumbai incident last November. It will be dealing, as it does so, with a confident new Indian government led by a prime minister who becomes the first in his country in three decades to be re-elected to office for a second term. Manmohan Singh will also bring to office this time round greater ease in handling matters on various fronts and looking beyond the economic arena where his dealings played a pivotal part in his success. He and his government have already made it clear the issue of ties with Pakistan will be a priority for it.

Our government needs to see how it can benefit from this situation. One of our priorities at the moment must be to build greater regional stability. This can play a big part in ensuring a lasting victory over militancy. There is a growing recognition of the inter-connections between terrorism in the region and the factors that fuel it. Pakistan must use this awareness to its advantage and press also for a move to resolve the Kashmir issue – which has a big role to play both in giving rise to militant groups and in the antagonism that determines relations between the two South Asian neighbours. To achieve this goal, we need to move forward step by step. Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad closed last year on an unpleasant note. Files on the happenings at Mumbai continue to be interchanged. This matter needs to be put at rest, new confidence-building measures initiated and a full effort made to return the derailed peace process to the track, so that a more secure future can be built for people in both countries.

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