‘India, Pakistan must bury hatchet’, ‘give peace a chance’: How Pakistan media reacted to Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks

Here’s a look at how the Pakistan media has reacted to his statement in its editorials.

DAWN: Foreign Mediation

Responding to Sharif’s suggestion that foreign intermediaries help bridge the trust gap in South Asia — Sharif said the UAE could help enable a Pakistan-India dialogue on Kashmir — Pakistan’s Dawn publication commented that “while Pakistan has always been game, India has put up a rigid front, rejecting international involvement in its ‘internal’ matters’.”

In his interview, Sharif described UAE’s ruler Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as a “brother of Pakistan” who has “good relations with India”, and sought his intervention to bring India and Pakistan together for a dialogue on Kashmir.

“The reality is that despite this situation, both sides do listen to powerful common friends behind the scenes, and if these friends seriously offer their good offices, they should be taken up by both, even if it only leads to bilateral talks about talks,” said the editorial in Dawn.

It also said Pakistan’s effort for bilateral talks with India should be “led by elected leadership with the establishment endorsing the government’s decision”.

Calling to “reduce the toxic narrative”, the publication advocated for the immediate restoration of the high commissioners in both capitals, before other confidence-building measures like “easing visa restrictions, resuming cultural and sporting exchanges and restoration of the high commissioners in both the capitals”.

PAKISTAN TODAY: Talking Kashmir

Pakistan Today’s editorial welcomed Sharif’s call to normalise relations with the country’s “recalcitrant Eastern neighbour”, but said it should be done “while fully supporting the Kashmiris’ right of self-determination at all international forums.”

“India’s consistent unsubstantiated allegations of Pakistan sponsoring terrorism can only be addressed in any meaningful and satisfactory way if the former is able to produce credible and tangible proof of this activity so that the latter can take necessary action to make things right. For this, a conversation has to be had by sitting across each other on the negotiating table, not through hyperbolic statements by foreign offices or colorful jingoistic television programming,” the editorial said.

It alleged that the withdrawal of Kashmir’s special status in August 2019 “forced young political activists to turn into militants”, which “further strained relations between Pakistan and India”.

Pakistan Today cautioned that any war between India and Pakistan, “who both possess nuclear bombs, could be devastating not only for the two neighbouring countries, but also the entire region and beyond”.

It said the tensions between the countries have forced both to spend “an extra large chunk” of their budgets on defence instead of education, health and poverty alleviation.

The editorial said the resolution of all disputes between the two countries, especially Kashmir, can be helped by enhancing trade and facilitation of people-to-people interaction.

THE NATION: Regional Stability

The Nation’s editorial called Sharif’s efforts to mend Pakistan’s relationship with India “as genuine as ever”, but added that “the statements are likely to be received poorly in India”.

“This attempt to mend the broken relationship is as genuine as ever but, there is no guarantee that it will result in something positive. India must be willing to talk, compromise and end the diplomatic impasse we have reached over the course of years,” it said. “Despite the intentions of our own government, the statements made by PM Shehbaz Sharif during the interview are likely to be received poorly in India—a common occurrence anytime we tend to mention our willingness to cooperate and India’s resistance to it.”

It said opportunities for trade and development are currently “going to waste”, and that “the neighbours must bury the hatchet in pursuance of the benefits that will be born out of a healthy partnership”.

Raising the issue of Kashmir, it said the Indian government is “unwilling to acknowledge the illegitimate actions it has taken in Kashmir”.

THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL: Talks With India

“There can be little argument that neighbours need to try and live in harmony, use negotiation instead of violence, and look for mutual benefits rather than arbitrary attacks on the other,” an editorial in newspaper The News International states.

It said, “India’s policy vis-a-vis Pakistan under the Modi regime has been that of a virtual standoff and the issue of Kashmir is the main reason why any government in Pakistan is always hesitant to make the first move without an unequivocal commitment by India”.

The News International says India and Pakistan must “give peace a chance”, adding that “South Asia cannot move forward without Pakistan and India moving forward first”.

“PM Shehbaz’s conditional offer to talks is rather important. But it all depends on how India responds,” the publication says.

“A region that has already seen enough bloodshed to last it a lifetime, South Asia cannot move forward without Pakistan and India moving forward first. The entire region benefits if both countries reach an understanding on key issues and move forward with trade and open visa regimes. For that to happen, the first step has to be a resolution of the occupation of Kashmir by the Indian state,” it adds.