The only path for India, Pakistan
In the digital universe, the young netizens in India and Pakistan have no problem sharing across a tense and often violent border between the two rival states. The latest example is an Instagram video of a Pakistani teenage influencer suggesting people need to party (鈥減awri鈥�). It went viral in India, sparking joyous spinoffs. Young people also revel in each country鈥檚 movies and cricket teams. This neighborly culture is just one of many backdrops that help explain why India and Pakistan have restored a 2003 truce in disputed Kashmir. More importantly, they agreed to address each other鈥檚 鈥渃ore issues.鈥�
Perhaps the biggest backdrop to the agreement is that the two countries, both nuclear-armed, can no longer afford military conflict. They have fought three wars and had frequent flare-ups since they each gained independence from Britain in 1947. Pakistan鈥檚 economy is now on the ropes, requiring massive foreign loans, while India has its hands full with a dangerous dispute with China over Himalayan territory and a domestic revolt by farmers.
The very old turf war in Kashmir, long exploited by extremists on both sides, seems minor in light of modern concerns and opportunities. 鈥淒ialogue is the only way forward if both countries want to stop the unending cycle of violence & bloodshed across the borders,鈥� tweeted a prominent Kashmiri politician, Mehbooba Mufti.
For his part, Pakistan鈥檚 prime minister, former famed cricketer Imran Khan, agrees that talks are the best path. As for a reason, he said, 鈥淭he only way the subcontinent can tackle poverty is by improving trade relations.鈥� Few goods travel between India and Pakistan compared with trade between other countries.
His chief national security aide, Moeed Yusuf, claims the agreement is a 鈥渧ery solid and positive鈥� development that will allow 鈥渕ore roads to open.鈥� The two countries, one largely Muslim and the other largely Hindu, have many ways to overcome their deep suspicions of each other. A long-lasting truce in the 460-mile-long unofficial frontier in Kashmir would be just a start. Any reconciliation would need to extend into military and trade areas. They would also have to deal with their diverging narratives of their shared past, something that drives nationalists in each country.
A peace dialogue needs to show quickly that diplomacy can produce results faster than continued violence around Kashmir. Many young people on both sides are already digitally linked. They see more what鈥檚 in common than what is not. That would be worth celebrating.
