Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke on the Kashmir issue at a meeting in Kazakhstan, stating peace in South Asia is not possible without resolve from India. Pakistan and India have had territorial issues for decades. The Kashmir territory has been a debate between the two nations, with troops from both countries pushing into the territory on numerous occasions. India has told Pakistan that it wants normal neighborly relations with all of it’s bordering nations, and free of terror and violence. He later touched on the Afghanistan situation and stated he is in support of peace in Afghanistan after 4 decades of civil war.
This article and the Foreign Ministers meeting really didn’t change anything between India and Pakistan. The Kashmir territory is still a major dispute, and has potential impacts for both countries, and the people living in the territory. The territory currently belongs to India, and if taken by Pakistan, would mean that the residents are forced to either leave and move south into Indian territory. This has a major effect on the size of the countries if Pakistan were to own the territory. The situation on Afghanistan was also touched upon. Afghanistan’s new leadership isn’t a threat to bordering nations at the moment. The Pakistani government and foreign minister have called for support of the Afghani people in this important time in their history.
This article relates to the realist theory and countries pursuit for power internationally. Both India and Pakistan want to be major powers in Southern Asia, and in Pakistan’s story, want the Kashmir territory. In India, they want to expand while keeping their territories intact. The Foreign Ministers thoughts on Afghanistan relate to the power of ideas. The Taliban, who now run Afghanistan, run their country based on their extremist views and religious ideology. The minister believes that this is a pivotal time in their history when the past 40 years have been civil war nonstop. Pakistan has many foreign relations to work on to keep their nation prosperous.