Trust is crucial for peace in the subcontinent

The ripples from the Mumbai terrorist attacks have finally shaken the foundations of Manmohan Singh's government in New Delhi. Two high profile resignations yesterday, that of Home Minister Shivraj Patil and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, being cases in point.

Perhaps the time has come to paint a bigger picture. A time for neighbours India and Pakistan to learn vital lessons from this debacle and work towards coming closer to each other in more than one area.

Stability is the watchword here - both in the respective countries and within the region - and the two states must spare no effort towards ensuring this. This in turn can only be achieved after a level of trust has been attained through intense diplomacy and dialogue.

The approach in this case must seem to be more global in nature. India is an emerging economy and the effects of working a full-fledged democracy, within such colossal diversity, can give rise to specific problems.

Pakistan, on the other hand, needs the attention of the world towards ensuring that its economy attains a fair degree of durability. To this end, perhaps the assistance of the United States and other countries can be seen as vital.

India will need to undertake a drastic overhaul of its internal security policies in order to cope with future threats.

Pakistan must ensure that its own government stands firm not just against domestic instability, initiated by unrest along its borders with Afghanistan, but also against economic breakdown. It cannot afford another step back from the path of democracy.

Terrorism, sadly enough, has become the norm. Few can be free from its clutches. Which is why preventive measures must be taken by both countries to ensure that innocents don't die in vain.