The closure of an online petition seeking declaration of Pakistan as a terrorist state is a great set back to the Indian government and certain elements that do not want the promotion of peace in the region. Reportedly, the White House has shut down an online petition asking for Pakistan to be declared a state sponsor of terrorism after suspecting fraud. “This petition has been archived because it did not meet the signature requirements. It can no longer be signed,” the website reads.
Soon after the Uri incident, Indian government started a campaign to get Pakistan isolated internationally. New Delhi holds Islamabad responsible for all the militant attacks that take place on its territory, and India is using all means available to it to achieve its objectives. A majority of Indian nationals, who are active at the international level, are backing their government’s stance by giving venomous statements and further escalating tensions. It is not reasonable to declare the whole state as a terrorist country merely on the basis of a few incidents that involve capturing of notorious militants. Even the US has not taken such an extreme step despite killing and capturing some of the most wanted terrorists from Pakistani soil. The jingoistic approach of the incumbent Indian regime is crossing all limits and giving birth to a society that indulges in violence.
However, in the present age, Pakistan cannot be sidelined at the instigation of a single state as Islamabad enjoys a close rapport with a large number of countries. Pakistan has diplomatic relations with almost all the countries in the world except Israel. At the same time, Pakistanis work and travel across the world and through this they are promoting the soft image of their country. Even the US considers Pakistan a strategic ally despite Islamabad having an all-weather friendship with Beijing.
At a time when certain Indians are supporting the extreme decisions of their government and certain extremist organisations, the showbiz industry seems to be divided over the Pakistan-India issue. A number of superstars have raised their voice in support of Pakistani artists, who have been stopped from performing in India and have been asked to leave the country. Prominent among them are Salman Khan, Om Puri, and Mahesh Bhatt who have shown their reservations over tense relationship between Pakistan and India and called for keeping artists away from such politics. Salman Khan deserves appreciation for his sensible statement regarding Pakistani artists. He said that “they are artists, not terrorists. It’s the government who gives them work permits and visas. Art and terrorism should not be mixed.” Moreover, kudos to Mahesh Bhatt, who made a succinct statement: “Kill terrorists not talks”. Why is the society blaming artists for no fault of their own? Anger against terrorists is justified but not against artists. Wisdom calls for friendship, peace, trade and a good bilateral social relationship instead of sticking to jingoism. Pakistan and India should behave like mature and responsible sovereign countries. Instead of wasting their time and energies on irrelevant rivalries, they should focus their attention on fighting poverty, ignorance, diseases, and socio-economic injustices in the region.http://dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/06-Oct-16/white-house-petition
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