India Express Buzz
Friday, December 19, 2008 1:41 PM IST
Dawn is a well known English daily published from Karachi. It was founded by M A Jinnah before Partition. It has a wide circulation.
In its issue of December 13, it carried an article by Irfan Husain, a remarkable exposé of the Pakistani governmental psyche. It is also written in excellent English. Let me quote two paragraphs: “Years ago, a western diplomat wrote that Pakistan was the only country in the world that negotiates with a gun to its own head.
Our argument, long familiar to aid donors, goes something like this: If you don’t give us what we need, the government will collapse and this might result in anarchy, and a takeover by Islamic militants. Left unstated here is the global risk these elements would pose, as they would have access to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
“We have been getting away with this argument for a long time, mainly because a failed, fragmented Pakistan is everybody’s worst nightmare. There are still Pakistanis around, in and out of uniform, who seriously believe India secretly would like to see the break-up of their country. They need to wake up to reality. Many Indians have written to me, saying that they are glad India was partitioned in 1947, so it now has fewer Muslims to deal with. More to the point, the last thing India wants is to share a common border with Afghanistan. The turmoil there is unlikely to end anytime soon, and our army would be far more use on that border, dealing with the militant threat.” I was India’s ambassador in Pakistan in the early 1980s. Ever since I have kept up my abiding interest in Indo-Pak relations. Pakistan is not a failed state. Its politicians have let Pakistan down. There are exceptions, but by and large, the political tribe ruling Pakistan at the moment does not inspire confidence.
What is worse is its current denial mantra, which flies in the face of incontrovertible facts given by India. The terrorists who nearly succeeded in gravely wounding the great financial capital of India were trained in Pakistan, armed by elements in Pakistan and financed by those elements.
These facts are not an Indian invention.
They are provided by the sole surviving terrorist, Ajmal Amir Kasab, whose father has identified him. Kasab has apparently got in touch with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. Will the High Commission ignore a Pakistani national’s appeal? Or will it behave in an honest and responsible manner and accept that Kasab is a Pakistani from Faridkot? This is a test case. Either Pakistan comes clean or it must face the consequences. What are these? At the moment Pakistan has no friends in India. Does this provide comfort to the government of Pakistan? India can at any time put on the heat now that Parliament has unanimously stated Pakistan is encouraging terrorists to kill innocents in India.
We could stop trade, terminate bus and train services, stop Pakistan overflights and enforce a stricter visa regime.
We could also isolate Pakistan internationally.
At the recent UN Security Council meeting even China, a permanent member, did not speak up for Pakistan.
We can do more, but a destabilised, Talibanridden Pakistan is in no one’s interest. The reported house arrest of Masood Azhar of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hafiz Saeed of the Lashkar-e-Taiba is not good enough. They should be in jail and the Indian criminal Dawood Ibrahim handed over to India.
No Muslim country has defended Pakistani terrorists or Pakistan harbouring them. Muslims in India have condemned the attack on Mumbai. They do, however, feel Pakistan’s folly could be their tragedy.
India’s secular democracy and composite culture are vibrant enough to prevent this sinister development. But there are elements in India who think otherwise.
Mumbai has responded with courage, exemplary promptness and unity of purpose.
But the wound is too deep. The people are angry, angry with the government, particularly its intelligence agencies. Dr Karan Singh had support in the Rajya Sabha when he spoke of total intelligence failure.
I have appeared on many TV channels on this issue. I too am angry, but anger is not a substitute for policy. It is wise of the external affairs minister to rule out military action.
That would be folly of the highest order.
An isolated Pakistan will suddenly find friends who will condemn Indian military action. Even hot pursuit will find no international support. What about the US? It is bombing parts of Pakistan. But we are not the US. Besides, two wrongs do not make a right. If we do decide to take even limited action, Pakistan will reciprocate in kind.
I have, like so many others, been reflecting on why a minuscule number of Muslims take to terrorism, why young girls become suicide bombers. Why has jihad entered our vocabulary, why al Qaeda has appeared on the scene, and the Taliban. These are profoundly complex issues. Martyrdom is sanctioned in Islam. All Muslim terrorists believe their place in jannat (heaven) is reserved.
The disappearance of the Soviet Union had serious repercussions in the Muslim world. Young, leftist Muslims normally attracted to socialism or communism discovered that their ideological anchor had disappeared.
So they turned fanatics and terrorists.
The Afghan Mujahideen were aided and armed by America. Having sowed the wind they are now reaping the whirlwind. Al- Qaeda is an offshoot of the Mujahideen.
Members of al Qaeda and the Taliban, departing from the text of the Quran, hate non- Muslims and take pride in killing kafirs and destroying whatever they can.
But Muslim terrorists have no hesitation in killing Muslims either. Terrorism in Egypt precedes 9/11. In Algeria they kill fellow Muslims. One has to only look at Al- Jazeera TV channel, which is so often used by Osama bin Laden’s senior colleagues for propaganda. The language his followers use is worse than the language used by Hitler about the Jews.
Osama is the deadly Islamic Pimpernel. He calls the shots and remains invisible. Sections of the Muslim youth — men and women — swear by him and die for him. His aim is to make terrorism “respectable”. He will not succeed but he is debasing a great religion.
Pakistan is the hotbed of terrorism. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it in so many words in Pakistan. Al Qaeda has no hesitation about murdering Benazir Bhutto and wanting the head of Pervez Musharraf.
Terrorism is the cancer of the 21st century.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in America.
From Mauritania in north Africa to Medan in Indonesia young Muslim girls now wear the headscarf and they do so voluntarily to emphasise their distinct identity.
Finally, Israel versus Islam is another ever-present flashpoint. President Barack Hussein Obama has already announced his support for Israel. Let us await his inaugural speech on January 20 next year. Will he or will he not take terrorism head on?
About the author:
K Natwar Singh is a former External Affairs Minister
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment