‘Pakistan should arrest people declared terrorists by UN’
Husain Haqqani also says that Balochistan is a ‘troubled area’ and people there deserve better than what they are getting.
stan. What according to you is the reason behind this? Is Sharif under pressure from the ISI, army, jihadi groups? A. I think that PM Sharif has increased the rhetoric only because that is the mood of the country at this moment. Every time problems arise in parts of Kashmir controlled by India, people in Pakistan begin to feel that there might be a resolution to the Kashmir conflict, because of what they are told. If this conflict has not been resolved in 69 years, it will not be resolved in 69 days or 69 weeks. Unfortunately, increasing rhetoric about Kashmir is only resulting in making the Kashmiris like “Southeast Asian Palestinians”. Kashmiris have a strong sense of alienation from India and the Kashmir valley does have serious unrest. But to increase that unrest will only result in greater action from the Indian state and it will not help the Kashmiri people. Till Pakistan resorts to terrorism, it will not gain any support from the international community on Kashmir issue. The way I see it PM Sharif’s increasing rhetoric is only aimed at Pakistani people’s opinion and nothing else. Q. Is Pakistan doing enough to curb home grown terrorism? A. Pakistan has not yet decided to treat all extremist jihadist groups equally. So Pakistan has taken action against those jihadis that have become a problem for Pakistan and who have attacked inside Pakistan. But it has not been active against those terror groups who have engaged in regional and international terror activities. Q. What is the political solution to Kashmir? A. The best way to overcome long-standing disputes is through trying to overcome hate and animosity. The political solution to Kashmir can be found by both the nations agreeing to meet halfway. Half-way solutions, by definition, require compromise. If one side says that we want everything 100% our way, that is not a negotiation.