Obama has distorted vision of Pak-India ties ....says a Pakistani writer

M Ashraf Mirza

Is Pakistan’s perception of India as the mortal threat ‘misguided’ or President Obama’s vision about South Asia especially the Pak-India relations is ‘distorted’? It’s the pertinent question that has arisen in the minds of many Pakistanis after Obama’s comment at his Press conference in Washington marking completion of his 100 days in office. His assertion that there is ‘some recognition in Pakistan just in last few days that the obsession with India as the mortal threat to Pakistan has been misguided’ is simply startling and doesn’t represent the realities on the ground. It’s not clear what has made the US President to reach this conclusion since India is as hostile to Pakistan today as it was before. Issues of Kashmir, Siachin, Sir Creek and water remain unresolved. India’s clandestine activities to destabilize Pakistan are also very much persistent. India is pouncing on Pakistan’s neck and is sparing no effort to undermine its sovereignty. President Obama’s conclusion is misplaced since India remains as pugnacious today as it was yesterday. What has motivated Mr Obama to reach this conclusion is not known. Has India held out an assurance to the US that it will not create any problem for Pakistan? If so, the US should have convinced India to resolve the Kashmir and other contentious issues lingering between the two countries.

Pakistan has, in fact, lived with Indian hostility, aggression, belligerence and malevolence since its inception over six decades ago. India attacked Kashmir and occupied it through military action in violation of the Partition Plan creating Kashmir issue, which the world recognizes today as the nuclear flashpoint. It withheld Pakistan’s share of weapons and funds accruing from the pools of British India at the time of partition. India attacked Pakistan in 1965 and the two countries fought intense aerial and tank battles for seventeen days. The biggest tank battle after the War War II was fought at Chowinda near Sialkot in this war. India had earlier overrun Rann of Katchh in Sindh. It occupied Siachin Glacier and the two countries are since engaged in military conflict at the highest battleground on earth. India launched naked aggression against Pakistan and dismembered its eastern wing to create Bangladesh in 1971. India has built Baghlihar and Kishenganga dams on the rivers allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty to deprive Pakistan of its rightful share of water in order to stifle its agriculture sector. Contrary to the US President’s comment, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has told Parliament’s closed-door briefing on the security situation of Pakistan last week that India is grossly involved in supporting miscreants in Balochistan with money and arms. He has proven India’s involvement in interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs with the help of charts and documentaries. Obama’s contention is also against the evidence that Pakistan provided to the President Bush during his visit to Pakistan about India’s dirty role in Balochistan through the number of Consulates that it has opened in the Afghan cities and towns all along the border with Pakistan. It also negates Pakistan’s stand at the recent tripartite summit where Pakistan had provided evidence about India’s conduct. His remark is also belied by the Indian interference in Balochistan where RAW is actively engaged in destabilizing the province through provision of funds and weapons to certain disgruntled elements. The motive of this action is unambiguously clear and that is to undermine Pakistan’s security, stability and sovereignty. And yet President Obama has the audacity to say that Pakistan’s perception of ‘mortal threat’ from India is ‘misguided’. He has rather ridiculed Pakistan’s genuine fear of India’s mortal threat to its existence as a sovereign country by terming it as its ‘obsession’. A cursory look at India’s conduct since its independence reveals its ugly face. It has remained at loggerheads with all its neighbours in one way or the other. It created Tamil Tigers over quarter of a century ago, which Sri Lanka is still fighting with to restore its writ across the country. It created, funded, trained and equipped Mukti Bahini to create insurgency in East Pakistan and ultimately resorted to brazen military aggression to dismember Pakistan’s eastern limb. It stifled Nepal economically and toppled the Nepalese governments time and again. India and Bangladesh also have had border skirmishes. Bangladesh is also crying over the dams India is building on the rivers flowing into its territory. India is, in fact, too ambitious to establish its hegemony in the region to assert itself as the regional power with political, economic and military influence over the regional countries. Its arrogance stems from its geographical size and military prowess. It still dreams of Akhund Bharat. It seems that Obama is also obsessed with India’s so-called democracy, where minorities’ miseries are unprecedented. They are living under constant threat of political, economic and physical elimination. It’s Indian brand of democracy, where thousands of anti-Muslim riots have taken place killing hundreds of thousands of the Muslims. Over a lac of Sikhs were killed in the riots following assassination of Indira Gandi. It’s India where Christians priests are burnt alive in their vehicles by the extremist Hindus. Yet India is a sacred cow in the eyes of the United States. Understandably, however, Pakistan is faced with insurgency like situation in some tribal agencies and Swat. Balochistan is also somewhat disturbed area. The responsibility of this situation, however, devolves on both the US and India. US invasion of Afghanistan is primary cause of Pakistan’s woes, which have since been deepened as a result of provision of funds and weapons by India to the renegade elements here and there. As long as US and NATO will remain in Afghanistan, Pakistan will not be able to heave a sigh of relief. The answer to Pakistan’s predicaments, therefore, principally lies in the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Bush administration had not studied the Afghan history before embarking on the mis-adventure of launching aggression against Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks on Twin Towers and Pentagon. It had also not learnt lesson from the fate of the erstwhile Soviet Union.

That’s why it has failed to gain control over the landlocked country despite lapse of seven years. It’s now trying to pass the on buck to Pakistan. President Obama’s observation that the US wants to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty is also inconsistent with its conduct. The drone attacks are not only grave violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty but are also counter productive in the anti-terror war. If he is really interested in making secure and stable, he should better provide Pakistan with the tools of stability such as sophisticated military hardware and substantial economic assistance in the form of grants rather than loans.

He should better learn from President Reagan’s doctrine of fighting war instead of following President Bush, whose miserly and stingy behaviour has, in fact, led to the prolongation of the war on terror. It’s also for this reason that the menace of terrorism has escalated across the world over the years.