No let-up in rhetoric
FAR from making the atmosphere conducive to talking out their differences on a slew of issues, ranging from Kashmir to Siachen, both India and Pakistan are taking several steps back on the road to peace. True, the response on Saturday of Pakistan’s Foreign Office to the deliberatively provocative remarks of Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was restrained and measured.
By making remarks such as the need to `teach a lesson to those who are rogue` and hinting at `harsh measures`, Mr Parrikar has done little to alleviate Pakistan’s suspicions of its neighbour. But a broader look at the overall picture, beyond the current war of words, shows that neither side has done much to clear the air. Indeed, certain Pakistani ministers themselves are not above targeting New Delhi.
While the hawkish government of Narendra Modi, held responsible for the anti-Muslim Gujarat pogrom of 2002, has left no stone unturned to vitiate the atmosphere, for example by calling off foreign secretary-level talks earlier, the Indians remain concerned by the lack of progress on the trial of the Mumbai suspects in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the more immediate concern for both sides has been the recent skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani forces along the Working Boundary and the Line of Control. A recent attack on Indian security personnel by militants, accused by Mr Parrikar, of having crossed over from Pakistan into India-held Kashmir has further strained ties. There are lessons in diplomacy to be learnt by both sides here. Rather than jumping the gun, and asserting that it was `an open secret that the militants came from Pakistan`, the defence minister would have done well to have waited for investigations to produce evidence that could substantiate his views. For its part, Pakistan must remember that even if it no longer provides support to such forays by militants, its lack of action against anti-India groups and their leaders, indeed its tacit acceptance of them, may cause India’s concerns to be seen as valid.
Sadly, over the years the problems between India and Pakistan have mounted to a point that may appear difficult to solve now. Hard egos instead of flexible attitudes, disdain instead of accommodation and eagerness to blame each other for any untoward incident instead of self-introspection have pushed matters almost to the point of no return. Had the two countries attempted earlier to resolve the less intractable differences between them, by now there would have been hope that they were at least on the right track.
Conversely, taking hard-line positions will only boost the attempts of those lobbies, in both countries, that are keen to see a South Asian conflagration. In the end, it will be the ordinary folk who will continue to suffer as the lack of cooperation on so many fronts, including trade and development, would mean continuing poverty for the entire region.
Hockey chaos
AKISTAN`S 2-0 loss to Germany in the final of the Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar, India, on Sunday deprived the team of a golden opportunity to win the prestigious event after 20 years and to recover some of their lost glory. The Germans, who claimed their 10th title in the tournament’s history, displayed a superior game of skills and stamina to emerge as deserving champions. Though Pakistan held the Germans to a goalless first half, they failed to cash in on the scoring opportunities that came their way, and were, in fact, a shadow of the fiercely competitive side that got the better of Holland and India in the quarterfinal and the semi-final respectively. Clearly smarting over a series of ugly incidents that marred their 4-3 win over India on Friday, the Green-shirts sorely missed the services of midfielder Mohammad Tauseeq and reserve goalie Ali Amjad as they had been duly handed a ban by the game’s governing body for conduct unbecoming in the high-voltage clash against the Indian team.
There is no doubt that a win over India has always held special meaning for Pakistani teams as well as their fans since the inception of this country, and emotions quite naturally run high whenever the two arch-rivals face off in international sports. Nevertheless, the offensive behaviour of the national team players on Friday was deplorable and cannot be condoned in any way. Besides embarrassing Pakistan hockey itself, the nasty incident stymied the euphoria of a rare victory over India, in India, and compelled Pakistan manager-cum-coach Shahnaz Shaikh to tender an apology to the International Hockey Federation soon after the semi-final. That said, a number of critics have also chastised the federation for succumbing to Hockey India’s threats to boycott all world-ranking events that later induced the world body to ban Tauseeq and Amjad after letting off the two without any penalty earlier in the day. It is also being felt that the hockey federation should have taken notice of the hostile response of a partisan Indian crowd during the semi-final and the aggression shown by the Indian media in the post-match presser that saw both Shahnaz and captain Imran walking out in a huff. The moral of the story, however, is that the lack of players` grooming continues to mar Pakistan hockey and despite the better playing skills displayed by the team this time round, their inconsistency impedes their rise to the top.
Deal on climate change
THE climate change-global warming debate has seen years of contestation. Finally, new resolve seems to be building.
On Sunday, two days into overtime after a fortnight of talks that at one point seemed almost on the verge of collapse, some 190 countries agreed on the building blocks of a new-style global deal, due in 2015, to combat the phenomenon. China and India, which had expressed concern over earlier drafts of the deal because they placed too heavy a burden on emerging economies as compared to the rich, got what they had been demanding: the preservation of the Kyoto Protocol convention that rich countries must lead in the cuts in greenhouse emissions. Matters were helped along by the joint US-China agreement last month to curb emissions. If the resolve holds, governments are to submit their national emission-management plans by the informal deadline of end-March next year, which could form the basis of a global agreement at the Paris summit.
In terms of climate change, it is an unfortunate reality that while the more industrialised countries have done/are doing the most damage, it is the planet as a whole that must pay. Countries such as Pakistan, which might not have significant emission levels because of the low levels of industrialisation, nevertheless stand badly affected, particularly when the availability and efficacy of coping or mitigating mechanisms is factored in. In their own interests, though, such states need to step up to the plate. There are already indications that Pakistan`s climate and weather patterns are changing, such as the floods in recent years. But there seems to be no recognition among policymaking circles that an action plan is required for the future even though Pakistan counts agriculture as its economic base. The country is ignoring harsh realities at its own peril. The fact is that the future will bring, to whatever extent, challenges in water and consequently food availability, which will have an adverse knock-on effect on the population. It is time to start preparing.