Mani Shankar Aiyer urges India and Pakistan to improve bilateral relations

Mani Shankar Aiyer urges India and Pakistan to improve bilateral relations

Member of Rajya Sabha and former Indian Union Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyer has urged both India and Pakistan to resolve their disputes and look for the betterment of the masses in South Asia.

India and Pakistan have had strained relations since their separation in 1947. The major thorn between the peace processes between the neighbouring countries is the Kashmir issue. Apart from that, Siachin, Sirkreek and the distribution of water are also
major differences between the two countries.

However, there is a school of thought creeping in both the countries that they should start to solve the real issues of the region, which are unemployment, poverty and terrorism. At the present moment, both the South Asian countries are spending a huge amount
of money in their defence budget.

Aiyer said that it is about time that the two countries remove their differences and forget about the past. He feels that the neighbouring countries must improve their relations in order to survive in the modern changing world.

He said, “History may have divided us, but geography binds us.”

Former minister expressed that Pakistan is going through some massive problems of extremism and terrorism but it is by no means a failed state. Ayer is encouraged by the fact that moderate political forces in Pakistan are still most popular.

“Pakistan is a modern nation-state, now under serious threat from armed religious fanatics, but it is not about to succumb as a society or as a state to elements who, even in a moderate garb, have rarely managed to win more than a tiny handful of seats in
any election,” Aiyer feels.

While talking about the on-going war against terror, Aiyer believes that both India and Pakistan are going through same kind of a problem and they can solve the matter only with the cooperation of each other. The member of the Rajya Sabha said that there
is no reason why the two countries cannot get rid of this menace, if they work together.

“No state has suffered as much from terrorism as Pakistan itself. I do believe that a joint strategy to counter terrorism will enable both India and Pakistan to overcome what is, in effect , a joint threat to our people,” he added.

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Posted by Yasir Hashmi on Feb 3 2012. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, South Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry