HVK Archives: Whither Indo-Pak relations?
Whither Indo-Pak relations? - The Observer
T V Rajeshwar
()
21 August 1997
Title: Whither Indo-Pak relations?
Author: T V Rajeshwar
Publication: The Observer
Date: August 21, 1997
India's efforts to send artists to participate in the golden jubilee
celebrations of Pakistan were rebuffed. India and the Indian public have
been playing host to an unending stream of Pakistan qawwals, ghazal,
singers and cine actors while none of the Indian artists has been able to
visit Pakistan all these years.
With the arrest of Paramjit Singh Dheora of Babbar Khalsa International,
the J&K and Punjab police now have all the details of the assassination of
former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh on August 31, 1995.
It is revealed that the Babbar Khalsa chief, Wadhva Singh, was acting in
close cooperation with ISI of Pakistan in planning the entire operation.
Paramjit carried out the assassination by motivating a former police
constable of Punjab police, Dilawar Singh who became the human bomb.
After tying himself with 7 kg of explosives and putting on a police
constable's uniform, he was able to secure access to the former chief
minister and bring about the explosion which killed Beant Singh on the spot.
The involvement of Sikh militant groups in the Bhatinda train blast as well
as the Bagapurana killings has been established. It is increasingly
becoming obvious that the Punjab militants are becoming active again and
are regrouping themselves.
Various terrorist outfits such as Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan
Zindabad Force, Khalistan Kashmir International and the Babbar Khalsa
International have militant elements drawn from Canada, UK, Germany, etc.,
and all of them working in coordination and under the guidance of ISI which
provides them with deadly arms, explosives and money.
Recently, there were two bomb explosions in trains in the South, one in
Tamil Nadu and the other in Karnataka. If these explosions were eventually
traced to ISI, it would only go to show that no part of the country is safe
from its reach.
A news item, which was almost missed by many, was about the recovery of a
powerful bomb from the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on June 28 at the
instance of a Pakistani agent, Abdul Martin. The Pakistani gave out that
it was one of the two bombs planted in the stadium by Harkatul-Ansar
militants a few days prior to January 26, 1997 for causing explosions
during the Republic Day parade.
All these events, taken together, present a grim picture of Pakistan,
particularly its army authorities and 181, pursuing a relentless
low-intensity war of attrition against India. The events in the North
East, highlighted by the bombings and merciless killings by Ulfa and Bodo
militants, who are collaborating closely with ISI, are a grim reminder of
the internal security scenario.
The temporary cease fire, brought about in Nagaland as a prelude to peace
talks between the Government of India and the Nagaland militant. groups, is
sought to be offset by the stepped up efforts and atrocities by the other
militant groups in the region, particularly in Assam, as otherwise there is
no particular reason why there should have been a sudden spurt in the
activities of these two militant groups there.
The Amnesty International has made a serious charge against Pakistan that
it provided men and military support to Kashmiri terrorists who indulged in
human rights abuses in the valley.
In its report, released on August 4 in London, the Amnesty asserted that
over the years the Kashmiri militant groups had committed widespread human
rights abuses including torture, deliberate and indiscriminate killings of
unarmed civilians, hostage taking, intimidation of unarmed civilians and
their families.
Speaking in Rajya Sabha on August 7, Prime Minister Gujral asserted that
India would meet the challenge posed by attempts of Pakistan's ISI to
foment trouble in the country.
Having said that, Gujral should have gone forward and get a wide-ranging
assessment of ISI threat and how adequate are the preparedness of' the
security forces of various branches to meet the threat effectively.
The hopes raised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief in the initial weeks after
his assumption of office have since been belied by his subsequent statements.
Speaking on the 50th anniversary of the founding of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharief
made a significant statement that Pakistan's independence would be complete
on the day all Kashmiri brethren joined the country.
A few days earlier there was a report from Islamabad that the attempts of
the Punjab-Haryana-Delhi chamber of commerce and industry to establish
close liaison with its counterpart in Lahore were nullified by Islamabad
and that the plan to set up an India-Pakistan chamber of commerce was
turned down by the Pakistani commerce minister, Ishaq Dar.
Dar said that there could be no free trade with India nor would Pakistan
give the most favoured nation (MFN) status to India unless the outstanding
political issues including the Kashmir dispute were resolved.
India's efforts to send artists to participate in the golden jubilee
celebrations of Pakistan were rebuffed. India and the Indian public have
been playing hosts for an unending stream of Pakistani qawalis, gazal
singers and cine actors while none of the Indian artists has been able to
visit Pakistan all these years.
On top of it, India has recently relaxed the visa restrictions for several
categories such as artists, writers, senior citizens, etc., for visiting
India, for long periods and they are also exempted from reporting to police
stations.
ISI would not miss this opportunity to fully exploit the opening and flood
the country with a stream of so-called artists and others under cover.
India may have to pay dearly for this misplaced generosity in, due course.
The Citizens for Democracy and several other good samaritans went to
Indo-Pak border at Wagha on the Independence Day eve last year to greet
their Pakistani counterparts who were expected to turn up but were
disappointed. This year they went in a larger number along with a cultural
troupe and it was termed as a candle light vigil for friendship between the
people of India and Pakistan.
While the vigil did come off on August 14 night there was total darkness
across on the Pakistani side and nobody came to greet the Indian enthusiasts.
While wishing them well, let us hope that these idealists and samaritans do
not influence the foreign policy governing Indo-Pak relations and that it
would make no difference to keeping India's defence preparedness in top gear.
Back
Top
|
