India and Pakistan need to build trust

Pakistani: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Quraishi's statement that India and Pakistan are edging closer and closer to an all-out Cold War needs to be taken seriously.

In the current political context, the onus is on both countries to ensure that bilateral talks are routine and on track.

The recent cryptic exchanges between Quraishi and his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna along the sidelines of the London conference on Afghanistan have only taken the mutual animosity a step further.

Perhaps it is time for both countries to engage in some introspection and gauge the merits of non-engagement with each other, which seems to be the status quo.

Both countries face a fallout if the Taliban and Al Qaida are allowed to gain the upper hand. Pakistan especially faces a twin threat from the militants internally and from neighbouring Afghanistan, where the violence is spiralling out of control.

A policy of co-operation on areas of security, whilst pursuing the agenda of people-to-people contact, trade and commerce, can keep matters on an even keel. Trust is a big factor and reassurances have to be offered in this area as well.

In the current climate, India and Pakistan are gaining nothing from their self-imposed silence, but the militants definitely are.