Washington:A group of eminent pro-democracy intellectuals, politicians, journalists and activists have urged the new government in Pakistan to play a constructive role in defusing ethnic and religious conflicts, and strive for better ties with India and other neighbouring countries. At a virtual conference organised by the South Asians Against Terrorism and for Human Rights (SAATH), they said the new government formed after Imran Khan's exit as the PM should immediately engage with Baloch nationalists to find an "amicable" solution to violence in restive Balochistan province.
Participants of the conference said relations with neighbouring countries, particularly India and Afghanistan, should be improved, a media release said. SAATH co-founder and former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said Pakistan can't come out of its current mess without ending the militarisation of politics and the use of religion for political purposes. "The focus of the Pakistan state should be the prosperity of its people, not an ill-defined ideology," Haqqani remarked.
He said good relations with Pakistan neighbours were key to ensuring that Pakistanis could focus on rebuilding their economy while end to Jihadi terrorism was key to building better relations with neighbours. Former senator Farhatullah Babar, who is also the secretary general of the Pakistan Peoples Party, expressed concern at reports of a "split" within the security establishment. "When one group accumulates too much power then it starts fighting amongst itself," he said.