Pak people belonging to cross sections of the society have given mixed reactions to Singh’s desire to sign a peace treaty with Pakistan.
LAHORE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently said he wants to see a day when one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul. “That is how my forefathers lived. That is how I want our grandchildren to live,” he said.
As if to complete the pantomime which few members of hardline establishments in both countries accept, Foreign Office in Islamabad welcomed the statement from Singh but added that he had talked of a treaty of friendship in the context of something that might happen at a future date. According to the Daily Times Editor Najam Sethi, Pakistan thinks that right now it is more interested in sorting out the Kashmir issue and thinks nothing of either a trade agreement or a treaty of friendship. In short, he said, Pakistan thinks that friendship with India can be postponed until New Delhi, completely humbled by its desire to be friendly with Islamabad, coughs up Kashmir.
Najam said it is not the first time that Prime Minister has expressed such a desire. However, he added, this time Singh said something that hasn’t yet sunk into most members of the establishments in India and Pakistan: “India cannot be a prosperous, dynamic economy and a stable polity if our neighbourhood as a whole is also not economically prosperous and politically stable. And similarly, our neighbours cannot prosper if India does not do so as well”.
In the opinion of a journalist turned politician Sherry Rehman, it is significant to note that Manmohan Singh reiterated his vision of an integrated South Asia at a forum that represents India’s economic strength. “Being the emerging economic power, India is increasingly employing industrial and business linkages to expand its influence and achieve national objectives. It is not out of place for it to desire peace and friendship with Pakistan and other neighbours to achieve the level of development it is striving for. There is wisdom in the argument that countries which trade with each other do not go to war.”
Pakistan former foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed Khan said: “Thanks God! Our prayers are at last being answered. General Musharraf’s numerous Kashmir recipes are beginning to have an appetising and mouth watering effect on India’s angelic and tightlipped prime minister who is now opening his mouth even when he is not eating”. Curiously, however, Shamshad said that Singh’s “Kabul Express” bypasses both New Delhi and Islamabad as he has mentioned Amritsar and Lahore. He said one can understand Islamabad’s omission because it did not exist during the times of his forefathers, but New Delhi’s absence from his dining car itinerary is inexplicable. May be Manmohan Singh’s forefathers always commenced their journey from Amritsar. And perhaps, in those days, Srinagar was also never on their route”.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}