This is arguably the most crucial moment in the history of Pakistan . It is fighting for its soul and identity . It is at war with itself . The old timers in South Block are concerned with the consequences of having an extremist Pakistan as neighbor .  There concerns are well justified but there’s more at stake than just having a trigger happy nuclear armed state as your neighbor . So , I find myself cheering on the Pakistan Army in  it’s offensive in Waziristan . We have more to lose if  Pakistan is to go the Iran way or worse gets dismembered -

1. Wagah Border Ceremony – The elaborate retreat ceremony played out every evening at Amritsar is quite a spectacle . It attracts foreigners and locals al;ike who swarm in great numbers to the attari border to catch the shenanigans of the Pakistani Rangers and the BSF jawans . Patriotism is at peak value as the gigantic men strut about with their Kalashnikovs and stomping their way through the evening . It is a colourful ceremony that takes the attendants from their vicious patriotic fervor to share bonhomie with their brothers across the border in a matter of just over an hour .

2 . Sports – The India-Pakistan match is truly a war on the field . With both countries regularly at loggerheads over one issue or the other , the hostility trickles down on to the field and makes for a spectacle . The joy that engulfs the nations whenever their team triumphs over the other is unparalleled anywhere else . In friendlier times , one can find supporters for the other team on the other side of the border . One can find Indians supporting Pakistan against Australia or the other way around . This is something that is peculiar to the subcontinent .

3. Bollywood – Indian films are officially banned in Pakistan but unofficially the country is gripped by Bollywood fever . The Khan trio enjoys as much fame on the other side of the border . Piracy is a huge business in Pakistan and apart from economic consequences for the pirates , Bollywood too will suffer . How will Sunny Deol and Co make films without their enemy for all seasons – Pakistan ?

4. The Arts – Like it or not , India and Pakistan share a common cultural heritage . No matter how much the Islamists and the Saffronists try to disconnect Pakistan and India , the truth is that both are intertwined . Both sides are enchanted with music and poetry . Literature dealing with the Partition and the relationship between the two people is a genre in itself .

5.  Fixation – Both countries are obsessed with one another . Both compete with each other over every insult and compliment . The most important thing for both nations isn’t if they fare poorly but to ensure that they aren’t below par than their neighbor whether it be poverty , illiteracy , corruption . We’ve so gotten used to this fixation that we’ve nearly turned a blind eye to more pressing concerns . The other keeps us sheltered in a cocoon of our own making . And we’ll always have a ready made ‘interference’ and ‘foreign hand’ story for all our failures .