Dawn suggests practical move for positive results
A major Pakistani newspaper has welcomed the “change in tone” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent remarks about India’s policy towards Pakistan and termed it “a seemingly worthy effort to improve the lives of over a billion people who live in the subcontinent”.
However, leading daily Dawn has suggested that “ Modi must realise that ‘hoping’ for better relations with Pakistan yet doing nothing practical to improve ties will not lead to positive results.”
The opinion was expressed in an editorial published on Tuesday. It said that Modi sent a number of mixed messages about relations with Pakistan. He said that his country’s foreign policy does not revolve around Pakistan and that New Delhi was not working to isolate any nation.
The daily said that Modi has reportedly said that both South Asian nations should join hands to fight poverty and disease, stating that “if we fight together, we will win faster”.
Moreover, the daily said that PM’s remarks were contrary to the bellicose statements that have been emanating from New Delhi of late. It said that recent hawkish remarks by Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat calling Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff” were “uncalled for” and vitiated the already tense atmosphere in the region.
It also recalled India’s boycott of 2016 SAARC summit which was scheduled to be held in Islamabad. It said that it “has not exactly aided the smooth conduct of bilateral relations.”
The daily was referring to Times of India report about PM’s interview with Times Now on Sunday. He had reportedly said that India is not working to isolate any nation, nor is the country’s foreign policy formulated around Pakistan.
Dawn further said that despite “Indian leader’s denial, it very much appears that New Delhi is making efforts to isolate Pakistan, especially considering the increased bonhomie between India and the US.”
The newspaper asserted that “If Mr Modi is earnest in his desire to work with Pakistan, he must back up his rhetoric with practical steps.”
“There are major obstacles that stand in the way of normalisation, and these can only be removed through dialogue and confidence-building measures,” the Dawn siuggested.
Theoretically, cooperation in “soft issues such as poverty alleviation and common health care initiatives” could lead to bridging the trust deficit between the two countries and “pave the way” for resolution of the seemingly intractable ‘hard’ issues such as Kashmir, the daily opined.
It recalled that India issued a little over 34,000 visas to Pakistanis last year, 18,000 fewer than it issued in 2016. The visa application process has been made “incredibly difficult”, discouraging many from applying for it.
Dawn is Pakistan’s oldest a and most widely read English newspaper. Based in Karachi, Dawn is a flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications. It was founded by Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Delhi in October 1941 as a mouthpiece of the Muslim League.