The Press THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1965. India And Pakistan

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30737, 29 April 1965, Page 18

The Press THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1965. India And Pakistan

Two weeks ago there was a prospect that the Home Affairs Ministers of India and Pakistan would meet to discuss the disputed territory in Kutch. Soon it will no longer be possible for the armies massing there to fight for control of this strategic ground, for high tides will flood the region and it will remain submerged until November. In this exchange, Pakistan appears to be the aggressor. If it is more than an outbreak of the sporadic and intermittent sniping that expresses the sour feeling between the two countries along their borders it is hard to see what it is intended to prove. The only thing that is certain about full-scale hostilities between India and Pakistan is that India, which is, on paper, the fourth military power in the world, would crush Pakistan’s forces. Pakistan has sought other means to redress the balance. President Ayub has been busy seeking the friendship of China and Russia; and the current fighting may have been initiated to suggest to the United States that military support for India is misdirected. It may be simply an exercise to bring pressure on India, through international interest, to negotiate on the disputed territory of Kashmir. While Pakistan and India continue their wasteful arguments, Western aid to both countries is being dissipated, and President Ayub’s flirtations with the Communists might induce the Western friends of India and Pakistan to make new and more determined efforts to bring the two together. Pakistan’s affiliation with China does nothing to ease India’s fears of aggression from the north, and this has no doubt hardened India’s feelings against Pakistan. But these sentiments should not be allowed to overrule considerations of the defence of the subcontinent. If earlier action is not taken to resolve the border disputes, the possibility of mediation should be canvassed at the coming meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers. India and Pakistan have many friends in common. It is the duty of these friends to convince both sides of their impartiality in a quarrel that has gone on too long.