Modi-Sharif accord?

After the Pahalgam attack in Indian occupied Kashmir, border tensions between Pakistan and India have escalated sharply. According to recent reports, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has authorised the Indian armed forces to avenge the Pahalgam attack. The Indian government has also banned several Pakistani TV and YouTube channels, including Geo News, which are obstructing its war narrative.

In such critical circumstances, I considered it necessary to deliver a message of peace while addressing directly the peace-loving people residing in both countries. In my video message, I urged the Indian leadership to avoid war. I believe war is not a solution, as it causes losses to both sides. Every citizen of Pakistan strongly condemns the Pahalgam attack across the LoC and expresses condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. As a patriotic Pakistani, I also made clear that the people of Pakistan have complete trust in the brave Pakistani forces striving to defend the homeland.

Historically, the first Indo-Pak war broke out in 1948-49 immediately after Partition, due to which the minorities living in both countries started being targeted unjustly and cruelly. In such circumstances, the first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, signed the Delhi Pact with the Indian prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950, which is also known as the Liaquat-Nehru Pact.

The outcome of the 1965 war between Pakistan and India was the Tashkent Declaration (1966), whereas the 1971 Indo-Pak war resulted in the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972. When both countries carried out nuclear explosions in May 1998, the talk of war started once again in the region. However, Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to Pakistan by bus and the top leadership of both countries signed the Lahore Declaration in 1999, averting the threat of nuclear war.

On the occasion, Vajpayee ji had also recited his poem 'Ab jang naa hone denge hum' (we'll not let the war break out) while interacting with people of Pakistan at Minar-e-Pakistan. Today, after 26 years of historical visit, threats of attacking Pakistan have started again under the guise of the Pahalgam attack. There are also hints of terminating the bilateral agreements signed in the past.

My question to the people living across the border is that if, God forbid, you drop a bomb or launch a missile attack on your neighbour, will the missile or bomb respect territorial borders? Obviously, the devastating effects of the attack will also affect your own country, and the possible participation of any third party will prove to be the beginning of the Third World War.

My other question to the leadership of the neighbouring country is, is it wise to sit at the negotiating table and sign a new peace treaty only after shedding blood on our beloved motherland? Why don't we sign a new peace deal before starting the war this time, which will strengthen the past agreements and lead to bilateral cooperation to defeat terrorism?

The proposed peace agreement between the prime ministers of both countries would provide a comprehensive framework for finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue and other regional disputes. The treaty will also bring the people of Pakistan and India closer to each other in the economic, commercial and cultural fields. However, for this, the peace-loving people of both countries must come forward, raise their voices for peace in the region, and increase pressure on their leadership to abandon the intention of military confrontation.

Today, the free movement of pilgrims from both countries at the Kartarpur Corridor is a ray of hope for bilateral peace.

It is my dream that Indian PM Narendra Modi abandons the intention of war once and forever and announces a visit to Kartarpur, where his Pakistani counterpart Mian Shehbaz Sharif will be present to welcome him. There is no better place than the Kartarpur Corridor for the signing of the Modi-Sharif peace accord.

The writer is a member of the

National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

He tweets/posts @RVankwani