Nearly half of the people in Pakistan do not learn to read or write in school, with the lowest literacy rate being in Balochistan at below 40 percent, according to United Nations reports. To raise Pakistan’s literacy to 80 percent requires a government-funded education initiative. Yet Pakistan’s government chose to spend one billion US dollars on nuclear weapons and military budget in 2020, amidst a raging pandemic.
Instead of saving lives by investing in healthcare, education, and social development, most countries are more interested in ways to kill more people with outrageous military spending and preparations. The problem is not solely Pakistan’s misdirection of funds. If Pakistan does not arm itself to the teeth, there is a real concern India may invade, to end the Kashmir conflict. By arming itself, Pakistan invites the use of such military might.
Global powers view India as an ally due to a population of 1.3 billion. This is a purely economic vision. Pakistan is endorsed financially to secure flourishing arms sales between these countries. Foreign governments are not motivated to promote any reform in Pakistan or India. The fact that this campaign for education will encourage literacy and reduce poverty in Pakistan and India is not on national interest lists of global powers.
Conflicting forces acting on the state will eventually coerce movement. If this movement leads to war, it may cause the death of many innocent residents, some of whom have family members on both sides of the border. The only solution is to abolish the profitable notion of fueling hate between these neighbors. Only through compassion can we aid and encourage each other to harmony. The initiative for this peaceful resolution must begin with a view to humanitarian achievements that could be championed if national budgets are spent in progressing love rather than on promoting hate. Spiritual purification can lead involved parties to aim not only for diplomatic solutions but the neighborly vision of love beyond the scope of egotistic values. Regardless of outcome, war is a losing concoction because mothers on both sides of the conflict bury their young, innocent lives get caught in crossfire, and hate intensifies generationally.
