‘What good is a dead body if you can’t see the person alive?’

Posted on July 13, 2010 by beenasarwar

Published in Hardnews, India and The News on Sunday, Pakistan

PERSONAL POLITICAL

What good is a dead body if you can’t see the person alive?

Beena Sarwar

India-Pakistan relations have Nazo Reshi vacillating between hope and despair. Hailing from Srinagar, she is married to a Pakistani and lives in Islamabad. “Every time I apply for a visa for Jammu and Kashmir it is a marathon,” she wrote in an email to Aman ki Asha, the peace initiative of the Jang Group of Pakistan where I work and the Times of India Group.

“The intricacies of the visa application keep increasing. Nobody realises the plight of women like me who are divided from their families, often from villages all over India and Pakistan. Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: , , , | 9 Comments »

Conversations 7: Frankly my dear, let’s give a dam(n)

Posted on April 16, 2010 by beenasarwar

I’m really behind on my postings. Below, Dilip & my Conversations (7th installment), published in The News on Sunday’s Aman ki Asha page in the Political Economy Section on April 4, 2010

April 1 2010

Hi Beena,

OK, so perhaps we are agreed that we should find a way to take forward the idea of a joint war memorial and/or peace parks on the borders. We should ask about your view that a serving soldier cannot openly support such an idea. I cannot imagine that doing so would be equated to refusing to serve and being called a conscientious objector. Perhaps we can write a letter to senior officers in both our countries, suggesting such memorials, and see where it goes. I’ll draft one and let’s discuss it. Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

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