Is Pakistan going to face a Siachen-like situation in Sir Creek? The Hindustan Times report last month was highly alarming, according to it, India is going to erect a floating fence anchored by submerged metallic mashes along the Sir Creek border with Pakistan. That too, India is not realizing that it cannot do any kind of activity on its own because the 96 km long border area is disputed between Pakistan and India. Unless it is resolved, amicably or otherwise, both the countries should, under the 1914 Bombay Resolution, not take any kind of unilateral step and resolve the issue within the same parameters. According to a report published in The Hindustan Times last month, Narindra Modi of India had announced to initiate two major projects, while erecting a floating ‘gabion box’ fence; the work on which is reportedly going to start with two construction companies given the contract by Indian Government i.e. National Buildings Construction Cooperation (NBCC) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD).Pakistan Army has recently reprioritized the internal threat, as the number one threat to Pakistan’s security, before this India was the number one threat, thanks to the increasingly normalizing relations with the all-time adversary. Under such circumstances no sinister move from Indian should have been expected, but such a unilateral decision reminds us to believe that ‘once an enemy, always an enemy.’ If one differentiates between a dispute and an issue, I would categorize Kashmir as a dispute and Sir Creek as one of the issues between Pakistan and India. Of all the issues, Sir Creek has been the simplest issue that could have been resolved as a confidence building measure. Benazir and the Musharraf governments were reportedly close to resolving the Siachen and Sir Creek issues, but probably the Indian intransigence did not give a way. It is not too late. The Sir Creek issue has to be resolved mutually as well as amicably so that the process of bringing two peoples closer is not stopped and the common threat to this region i.e. terrorism, is countered and defeated with full force. Both the countries submitted their claims to the UN for increasing the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) area through claiming Continental Shelf in 2009. These claims cannot be approved unless both the countries are able to resolve these boundaries issues with each other. If not resolved, the two countries will again come to collide, the populace on both sides would badly suffer and if EEZ is not approved, it would affect the economic activity, peace and stability – a dream that the leadership on both sides wishes to come true. The international community should also facilitate Pakistan-India talks to amicably resolve the maritime boundary issue as early as possible, before it triggers to becoming counterproductive.MARYA MUFTY, Lahore, January 8.