A realistic approach to solving regional issues

The consensus of view among the members of the South Asian countries reached at a discussion meeting held recently in Dhaka involving participants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, on the indispensability of common approach to solving apparently intractable problems between the countries of the region, is very welcome indeed. The meeting was organised by the local chapter of Bangladesh-Bharat-Pakistan People's Forum.
The discussants put their finger on the crux of the matter - the need for cooperation in the region because of commonality of the problems that emerge from shared history, geography and culture of the three countries
In the context of the region it will serve us well to keep in mind that problems do not occur in isolation or affect only one country, but are dictated by inescapable factors that affect all the countries in equal measure, impinging on the issues in a manner that sometimes lend them an intractable character. It therefore becomes imperative for the countries to look at the matters objectively and relate to them as 'ours' rather than 'theirs alone.'
It needs hardly to be mentioned that the three fundamental issues that affect the people of the three countries in particular, and the region in general, that of sharing of water of the common rivers, trafficking in the border areas, and trade deficit, have assumed such a proportion that can only be addressed through adoption of common strategy at the multi-lateral and region levels. And it is even more so when it comes to the question of extremism and terrorism, a phenomenon that straddles regional borders and festers, allegedly, on support from across the borders.
We are for involving all the mechanisms for enhancing mutual cooperation for problem resolution, and in this regard one cannot agree more that apart from contact and cooperation at the government level there is a need to enhance people to people contact. That is necessary for two reasons. First, there can be no better way than to create awareness among the peoples of the region regarding the mutuality of a problem, and the suffering being caused by it, than by the track two, three and even track four levels of contact. But even more importantly, through such contacts, which often involve frank exchanges of opinions, can emerge realistic solutions that may not occur readily to the bureaucrats. Such groups can even bring to bear pressure on the respective governments to come to an agreement to resolve an outstanding matter urgently.