Messages of peace

The Indian authorities have released several Pakistanis who were languishing in their jails. The group comprised fishermen and others, including a family that had mistakenly crossed the border.

The Edhi Foundation once again came forward to take charge of the entire group and made arrangements to reunite them with their loved ones – a reminder of the lifelong services of a great humanitarian and the founder of one of the world’s most inspiring institutions. Courtesy Google and Al Jazeera, we came to know that February 28 marked the birthday of the late Abdul Sattar Edhi.

The nation can never adequately thank the renowned benefactor of the poor, the needy and the sick, regardless of their colour, creed or cast. The State Bank is reportedly set to issue coins to commemorate Edhi’s humanitarian work. This is a good gesture but does not measure up to the gratitude that we owe him. Edhi’s memory should be preserved in a more enduring manner – by, for instance, putting his picture on currency notes. It is about time the state commemorated great personalities – such as Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Abdul Sattar Edhi – by issuing bank notes.

The periodical release of prisoners by Pakistan and India has tempered the heavy atmosphere caused by India’s incessant firing along the Line of Control, which has resulted in senseless loss of life and property.

New Delhi’s onslaught of propaganda targeting Pakistan for its own failures in Jammu and Kashmir has also waned to an extent. Indo-Pak tensions still remain high and the situation cannot change much till Modi and his team realise the futility of muzzling the Kashmiris and acknowledge the need to open communication channels with Pakistan. A resumption of dialogue is the only way forward to bring a semblance of normalcy to relations between both countries.

We should salute the courage of 20-year-old Gurmehar Kaur for challenging the growing influence of Hindutva-inspired student organisations at Indian universities. Nobody should be surprised by the threats she faced for saying that the Kargil War, and not Pakistan, killed her father.

Watching carefully the short video that Gurmehar had uploaded on social media, it becomes evident that she speaks for all those who desire peace between India and Pakistan. She questions the calibre of leadership in both nations for failing to move forward on the path of peace. “We cannot dream of becoming a first world country with third world leadership”. Gurmehar has exhorted the leaders on both sides to talk to each other and get the work done.

For someone who lost her father in the Kargil War – when she was only two years old – her clarity of thought is remarkable. She tells the two countries to shun state-sponsored terrorism and hatred. May she remain safe from the venom and aggression of the enemies of peace.

Gurmehar repeats the usual question: if France, Germany, Japan and the US can get along after tragic wars, why not India and Pakistan?

The Hindutva lot came back to power with an intolerant mindset. That character is personified by none other than Narendra Modi himself.

It may not be good to draw easy comparisons but the Indian scene is not very different from the atmosphere generated by the so-called Alt-Right in the US, where non-whites, especially Muslims and Latinos, are being stopped at the borders. And there are plans to repatriate large numbers on grounds of illegal residence in the country.

While geopolitics can explain certain things, Pakistanis are currently preoccupied with their daily lives amid repeated shocks of terror attacks and the thunder of counterterrorist operations. The spectre of violence looms all over the horizon. Any sensitive event is given disproportionately massive security cover. Islamabad – which is quiet on most days – gave a ghostly feeling after it was largely shut down for a regional conference attended by several heads of state and government.

The three-day Lahore Literary Festival was curtailed to one day amid tight security. And now, the Pakistan Super League final has been greeted with the biggest civil and military security cover ever seen in the country. These are signs of a polity in the throes of psychosis instead of a society coming to grips with the challenges at hand.

Yes, there is a terror threat. But we, more or less, know the capacity of the terror groups to inflict damage. Their success lies in the way the mass media reacts by magnifying and multiplying the impact. In these critical times, is it too much to expect the media to rise to the challenge by being careful in their coverage of terrorist acts and the successes in counterterrorism operations?

A young Indian’s fervent call for peace among the two nations can also be extended to peace within nations. What motivates large numbers to go out of their way to honour an assassin? And how are the purveyors of death able to recruit fresh suicide bombers seeking an early passage to paradise? These questions need not be overlooked in a period of vast military operations or massive security cordons to protect perfectly normal manifestations like a cricket championship featuring international players.

Email: saeed.saeedk@gmail.com