Author: Jagmohan
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 18, 2005
Unless Islamabad disowns its jihadi elements, there will be little hope of peace and prosperity in subcontinent, says Jagmohan
In connection with the Kashmir imbroglio, the most serious issue that deserves to be attended on top priority is not the withdrawal of the Indian troops from the two districts of the Valley, namely Kupwara and Baramulla, as asked for by General Pervez Musharraf during his recent meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York, but the issue of international terrorism with which Pakistani-sponsored terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir is linked.
Few in our country realise that the current turmoil in Kashmir commenced in mid-1989. After the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, all the wherewithal needed for causing terrorism in Kashmir became available to Pakistan. By that time, its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had become one of the most powerful intelligence organisations in the World. Thousands of well-trained, well-armed and well-motivated young mujahideens were at its disposal. Earlier, the organisation had manipulated a huge supply of lethal and light weapons, which were sent by the US to Pakistan for the Afghan war.
According to a US Congressional report, about 60 per cent of the sophisticated weapons were diverted by the ISI for its own use. So was the position with regard to funds. In 1987-88 alone, it sliced away about 35 per cent of $1.2 billion American aid to the Afghan refugees. Drug money was also laundered for smuggling of arms and for further recruitment and training of mujahids. It was estimated that in one year alone, 1992, the landed value of the drugs from Pakistan was about $13 billion.
The soft underbelly of the Indian state, its partisan politics and its disposition to live in the make-belief world facilitated the task of the ISI. Further, the US and other Western countries, instead of outright condemnation of militants' activities, placed disproportionate emphasis on alleged human rights violations and provided a massive puff of oxygens to them by way of publicity.
As noted by Stephen Emerson, a specialist on terrorism, neither the US nor its European allies took any serious notice of the menace of terrorism till it affected its own citizens. They took practically no notice of India's repeated warning that Pakistan had become a hotbed of militancy.
By not going all out to nip the evil of terrorism in the bud, the US and its allies committed a lapse of truly historic proportion. It ignored the stark reality that the so called 'freedom fighters' of Jammu & Kashmir were a part and parcel of the network of terror that was emerging all over the globe to destroy the 'enemies' wherever they existed. By the time the US and other Western countries woke up to the reality, the menace had spread far and wide. The militants could strike anywhere they chose - be it in New York, New Delhi, Madrid, Bali, Egypt or London.
According to a research study (2004) of the London Institute of International Security, about 18,000 potential terrorists are functioning in about 60 countries, and "there has been terrifying jump in terrorist incidents - 175 in 2003 to 651 in 2004". Terrorism is becoming mega-terrorism. Even 'cyber warriors' and 'computer hackers' are being trained. There are thousands of religious schools - madarsas - which are virtually serving as a continuous supply-line for the militant organisations. According to the study undertaken by Strategic Foresight Group, there are 40,000 to 50,000 madarsas - with two million students on their rolls - that are being run in Pakistan. The number of young men recruited per year by the militant outfits is about 15,000.
With regard to the role of madarsas in Pakistan, the International Crisis Group has significantly observed: "Education that creates barriers to modern knowledge, stifling creativity and breeding bigotry, has become the madarsas' defining feature. It is the foundation on which fundamentalism - militant or otherwise - is built." The 9/11 Commission report has come to a similar conclusion: "Some of the madarsas have been used as incubators for violent extremisms."
Consequent to the pressure now being put by the US and the UK on President Musharraf, the Government of Pakistan has taken a few measures to curb the forces of fundamentalism and fanaticism. An ordinance requiring all madarsas to get themselves registered under the Societies Registration Act, and keep account of the donations received, has been issued. Foreign pupils of the seminaries and madarsas, who do not fulfil prescribed conditions, have been asked to leave the country. Under the latest anti-terror resolution (September 2005) of the UN Security Council, Pakistan has committed itself to adopt tighter measures to check terrorism.
These measures, however, have turned out to be half measures. Their ineffectiveness has been exposed by the independent media reports in Pakistan itself. For example, the prestigious magazine, Herald, in its issue of August 2005, has published the list of training camps that are still functioning in Manshera complex. The International Crisis Group, too, has remarked: "It is doubtful whether the military Government has the intent or the will to set Pakistan society on a sustainable course that would lead to political pluralism and religious tolerance." No wonder, this year, about 700 persons have died in Jammu & Kashmir on account of militant violence.
It is noteworthy that no militant has ever been intercepted by Pakistan's military while crossing the 'line of control'. Some of the militant outfits have become too powerful to care for the state laws, rules and regulations. In this connection, Khalid Ahmed of Friday Times has underlined: "Jihad and consequent weaponisation of Islam have inflicted permanent damage on civil society and state institutions in Pakistan."
In this context, the priority area for action on the part of all concerned has to be an all out effort to stamp out militancy in all its forms and also eliminate the forces which breed it. The international community need to put stronger pressure on Pakistan, whose unity and well-being themselves demand that the Frankenstein monster that it has built during the past three decades or so should be pulled down.
Once the militancy and the accompanying bloodshed end, congenial atmosphere would emerge. The borders could be made virtually non-existent. Tourism and culture exchanges could replace terrorism and gun-fire. Economies on both sides could get a big boost. Unemployment could abate. Instead of being amongst the 15 largest spenders on defence, India and Pakistan could become the biggest investors of the world in programmes for poverty-removal. They could join hands to secure a better deal for their people in the fast globalising world. Mutual give and take would be natural by-product of such an order. And, all difference could be sorted out.
(The writer is former Governor, Jammu & Kashmir)