PRESIDENT Zardari's videoconference in the Leadership Summit organised by The Hindustan Times on Saturday contained interesting observations, some that peace-loving people across the Indo-Pakistan divide would wholeheartedly support, while others that would raise many an eyebrow. One could not possibly disagree with the idea of the constitution of a caucus of parliamentarians to ponder the whole gamut of relations between Islamabad and New Delhi, including the core issue of Kashmir, and work towards solution of the problems that keep them at loggerheads or at least distrustful of each other. His view, "there is a little bit of Indian in every Pakistani and a little bit of Pakistani in every Indian" maybe true in the historical context, but would its being given currency not dig up the old and buried unsavoury memories? Before we venture into forming a relationship that makes e-card travel across the border, the development of free trade zone or greater integration under the SAARC beneficial to both, we have to remove the hurdles in the way: the disputes that keep stoking the fires of hostility. Otherwise, e-card travel would risk the infiltration of spies and free trade make Pakistan a captive market of India rather than for it to draw the benefit of the vast Indian market. The brutalisation of Kashmiris at the hands of the Indian security forces day after day reinforces antipathy and distrust among the people of Pakistan towards the Indian government and their supporters. Precisely, for this reason there is urgent need for the resolution of the issue, justifying Mr Zardari's appeal to the people of both countries to force their governments to come round to a settlement that does justice to Kashmiris. Without eliminating that point of tension and bitterness, it would be hard to visualise an understanding of mutual interests to grow. The vision of a nuclear-free South Asia that the President advocated is by no means new; it has been proposed by Islamabad through UN resolutions, almost unanimously endorsed by the world body but opposed by New Delhi. Its big-power ambitions would not countenance such a deal. It is, therefore, a non-starter. India's announcement of no-first use of nuclear weapons that never received Pakistan's endorsement in so many words is grounded in the doctrine of minimum deterrence, which is perhaps the only rationale of keeping an atomic arsenal; for the very thought of the horrendous consequences of their use works against the breakout of hostilities or taking them to that extreme. The suggestion brings us back to the fundamental question of sorting out of contentious issues on the basis of justice, with due regard to the principle of equality between states before we can think of friction-free ties and the consequent flowering of relations.