Fighter,
other than the internet, i happen to see “meena bazar” and “sunday lounge” (hope i got the names right) on ptv home occasionally which gives a better glimpse of the mindsets of pakistanis and have got to say that till then i had a lot of misconceptions about pakistanis since till then all my views were based on hate mongers on various pakistani forums. as for our internet counter parts on pakistani forums, one assumes they are mostly young in their teens who really are far away from reality and even in this heap of hatred one can find some sensible pakistanis even in the worst of places.
there is a section in pakistan which has the courage of calling a spade a spade and they do not even get dithered or discouraged by the mighty pakistan army. sadly though, from the looks of it this section is a rather small one which i assume are mostly seen as traitors in their own country, which if true is extremely sad. i am of the firm view, if these people are to take center stage with complete awam backing then indo-pak relations would see a high like none before and our disputes would give way to a better future, where in our two countries could be the best of friends.
it quite clearly seems pakistanis are obsessed with the “k” word and that if true is a recipe for disaster because no way will india give another inch of land in kashmir to pakistan so people there need to get realistic and accept the reality as it stands today. a recipe of disaster because this very point could turn out to be another war flash point where in nuclear weapons could be used. the reasonable solution will be loc gets accepted as the international border with kashmiris on both sides allowed to more freely and they be allowed to get on with their lives.
till the time pakistanis can keep to themselves i am fine with a united pakistan but if they continue with their anti india activities then pakistan needs to be divided with pok joining the indian republic, and baluchistan either being independent or joining the iranian republic and nwfp afghanistan.
indians or at least i have nothing against the people and the civilian government of pakistan but it is the pakistan establishment comprising of pak army and isi who are the real villains and sadly they are seen as heroes in their country. these people have literally taken pakistanis for a ride may be because of certain insecurity which might be true on ground to a certain extent but still it was the biggest mistake of pakistan to allow these people to take center stage where even when there is a civilian government, it is them who run the real show from behind the doors. i would not have problems even with the pak army had they not set the agenda of “hate india”, an agenda because of which no one in their country can challenge them. there are also bigger powers at play which in no way want to see strong indo-pak relations and side by side certain vested interests in both our countries whose shops only run when our relations are at its worst, these are the interests we have to over come to have a better future, but why blame them when the real culprits are we ourselves who let these powers and vested interests take center stage.
trade wise our two countries have a great future and if we can wake up to it then i am sure our people who live below the poverty line by millions would have that many more opportunities to have better lives, and if we can get along on this front then because of our historic ties there will be a bond which will be unbreakable. the relations of our two countries have to be based on economics where the common man benefits and the change for the better should not be too far off.
pakistan of the 70s and 80s used to pride it self of being ahead of us in most fields, but can the same be said today. it is a shame pakistan has had a fall like this but this also tells if all done well, pakistan has a good future. the real culprit for pakistan was zia who changed the course of pakistan forever and in the same time india built institutions after institutions which are bearing fruits for us. as i see pakistan today, its a case of missed opportunities with some highly incompetent people running the show for them which is the pak army and the isi who in fact should have nothing to do with running of the affairs of that country, the day pakistan can rectify this problem, things should change for better for pakistan. all the best for that.
PS:Fighter, welcome to DFI, please go ahead and give your introduction and give us a chance to formally welcome you. thanks.