Pakistan thoughts
I would like to respond to the article, “Bridging the divide”, by Syed G.B. Bokahri and published in your daily on January 20, 2009.
Yes, all ordinary people of this subcontinent wish to live in peace and harmony with one another within and with those beyond their borders.
No nation can keep itself hostage to its past and expect to move forward. The important thing is to learn lessons from history and choose the right course. But the irony is that, as Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan once said, we never learn from history.
Bangladesh had a general election over a month ago and a new government has taken the oath of office after winning a landslide victory. Pakistan could have sent an envoy to Dhaka as a goodwill gesture. So far we have not heard of anything like that. Even the Pakistan High Commissioner in Dhaka did not make a courtesy call yet on the new Prime Minister or Foreign Minister.
Any cooperation or people to people contact can only happen when governments from both sides create the environment with open minds. We look forward to that.
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