One may recall that Asif Ali Zarari had once said that “India has never been a threat to Pakistan.” What he said was quite unconventional. The tradition, of course, has been different. The South Asian neighbours have fought three wars while the strategic pundits don’t exclude the chances of another one given animosities and mistrust they have about each other.

In fact, what Asif Ali Zardari meant by his unusual statement must not be difficult to understand for India. He wants to put the economy first. To achieve this objective, he has to win war on the western borders imposed by Taliban. The infrastructure of militancy has to be pulled down with force and he has skilfully taken all the stakeholders on board. Taliban now stand isolated — the full-scale military operation is likely to be continued till their unconditional surrender. It is quite possible that India does not believe him. Actually many of his own countrymen have little confidence in his leadership despite his claims of several achievements. He has chosen for himself the role of a president along with the sweeping powers under the 17th amendment which ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf manipulated to obtain from the previous parliament.

What Mr Zardari has got message for India? He wants to treat Kashmir as a humanitarian, not a territorial, issue. The parliaments of the two countries, not the armies, should find a solution to the miseries of the people in the troubled valley. He wants to form an economic union with India, right on the pattern of European Union, and bridge the trust gap by allowing free movement of people and goods across the border. To him the issue of terrorism is of immediate concern and that the two countries should cooperate with each other to tackle the menace.

Yes, there are difficulties around. There is structure of militancy that has to be dismantled. It constitutes the real test for the democratic forces of the country, which Zardari represents now. This herculean task cannot be done without the help of the international community; India should have been the first to stand by Pakistan when the lattert is determined to put its house in order.

Should India believe Mr Asif Ali Zardari? Yes, it should believe him more than any president of Pakistan they have dealt with. By believing Zardari India will believe in the existence of a democratic Pakistan. By strengthening his hands, India will be certainly paving its way to a better environment in the region — it should not have failing states in its neighbourhood.

Mr Zardari is the head of the largest political party besides being the president of the state. He represents a country achieved through democracy but subjected to military dictatorship for the most part of its history. He belongs to the generation of politicians who see a promising future for their land if it returns to the vision of its founder, the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who wanted to make Pakistan a modern state that does not discriminate its citizens on the basis of their castes and creeds.

There was no doubt in the mind of the Quaid about democracy as the system of government in Pakistan. He wanted to do away with feudalism. He warned about the divisive forces that could endanger unity and integrity of the state. Unfortunately, he expired after one year of independence. Sadly enough, his successors betrayed him and forgot his vision. The country divided against itself, on the basis of language and culture, fell prey to the factional politics.

America has not favoured democracy in Pakistan during Cold War years. The funds doled out to the authoritarian regimes in those years were spent in only those areas, which were ideologically committed to serve the ends of the capitalist bloc in this part of the world. Schools, colleges and universities were established only to promote a bigoted worldview and a regimented mentality.