Overboard peacenik

PPP Co-chairperson Asif Zardari has gone too far in saying that Indo-Pak ties cannot be held hostage to the Kashmir issue. Explaining an earlier statement about putting the Kashmir issue in cold storage, he only managed to complicate things more for himself and his party. He has raised questions that should have never been asked, considering the tight control he exerts over the government, about the Kashmir policy that is being followed by this government, and whether it can be trusted with sensitive national interests. The view that Mr Zardari has finally expressed is that since India and Pakistan could not go to war, as they previously have over the Kashmir issue, their bilateral relations should not be affected by the Kashmir issue. There is a fundamental piece of illogic involved. Kashmir is the cornerstone of the relationship, it is the core issue. If it is not solved, and that too in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people as expressed in a plebiscite held to elicit their opinion, as expressed in the UN Resolutions on the subject, to which India itself was a party, then there is no point in improving bilateral relations. This is a mere repetition of the peacenik claim that India and Pakistan should concentrate on issues of agreement, not of disagreement, and bilateral ties.