Author: Shyam Khosla
Publication: Organiser
Date: February 17, 2002
Twenty-four days after the wily
fox duped the world with false hopes of changing course and distancing
Pakistan from terrorism, General Musharraf is back in his true colours--a
"jehadi" who is committed to wage a proxy war against India. His shrill
address to a joint session of PoK Assembly and Council on February 5 has
proved, if any proof was needed, that Pakistan remains a rogue state and
that anti-Indianism continues to be its state policy-whosoever may be calling
the shots in Islamabad. Even a cursory reading of the General's speech
is enough to convince one that he is not the "reformer" he posed to be
on January 12. Nor did he care to denounce terrorism that Pakistan has
been exporting for more than a decade. The General is back on his lunatic
"freedom struggle" theme and poured venom on India for indulging in "state
terrorism". Pakistan will continue to lend "moral, political and diplomatic"
support to the "freedom fighters" (read provide based to jihadis" and foreign
mercenaries and continue supplying arms and ammunition to them so that
they continue to kill innocent citizens, including women and children)
in J&K.
The man who sabotaged Vajpayee's
Lahore mission by staging Kargil is now accusing our Prime Minister of
"brinkmanship" and talking about massive deployment of troops by India
that has brought the two-countries to a position of eyeball-to-eyeball
confrontation. He wants India to positively respond to his hand of "genuine
and sincere" friendship and says Kashmir has become a flashpoint threatening
regional stability and global peace. He boasts about "Kashmiris genuine
struggle of self-determination" and blames India for denigrating it as
terrorism. The dictator wants the world to believe that the violence aided
and abetted by Pakistan and perpetrated by "jehadis" and foreign mercenaries
is a "rebellion" of the local people.
One is disappointed but not surprised.
No one who knows Pakistan's psyche and its flawed birth believed a word
of what the General said about ending terrorism in his January 12 speech.
The Government's assertion that it would judge his words by action on the
ground was indicative of its suspicion that the General was playing to
the gallery. In that public relations exercise, the dictator virtually
confessed that terrorist groups and "jihadis" had brought the country to
a brink and tarnished its image to such an extent that the international
community perceived it to be a rogue state. Although Musharraf was forced
by the international community (read USA and its closest ally Britain)
at gunpoint to utter niceties like declaring a war against "jehadis" and
his readiness to discard the instrument of cross-border terrorism, one
was never convinced that it reflected a genuine change of heart. If anything,
it was a tactical move to wriggle out of a tight situation created by India's
threat of war and tremendous pressure brought .to bear on him by US. He
has backed out on the first available opportunity and has put the clock
back and reverted to his "timeworn and untenable positions on terrorism".
General's assertion that New Delhi's stand about J&K being an integral
part of India was "untenable and unacceptable" has been rightly dismissed
by the Government as interference in India's internal affairs. J&K,
including PoK and the areas Pakistan gifted to China, is constitutionally
and legally ours. As a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry
says, "General's formulations, unfortunately, have reverted to yesterday's
cliches confirming apprehensions voiced earlier by us".
Pakistan has by words and deeds
shown that it is not willing to end its support to terrorism. It has ignored
India's major concerns by its continued support to cross-border terrorism
and by trivialising the demand that it hand over 20 criminals and terrorists
wanted for committing heinous crimes on Indian soil. Islamabad lost whatever
little credibility it had by its shifting stands on the list of 20. One
day it says it is trying' to locate them. It changes its stand a few days
later to announce that Pakistan would not extradite any of the wanted persons
and still later it claims that, as of now, none of them is in Pakistan.
It makes a stupid attempt to link India with the kidnapping of Wall Street
Journal South Asia correspondent Daniel Pearl and contradicts itself by
later admitting that the prime suspect in the case is Omar Sheikh of JeM
who was one of the terrorist freed from an Indian jail following IC 814
hijacking. In what appears to be an attempt to hoodwink world opinion,
it starts talking about its own list of "criminals" harboured by India.
Having failed to produce a list, it let it be known that the Home Minister
L. K. Advani May be wanted in the conspiracy to murder Jinnah way back
in 40s. It is no secret that Pakistan is cut up with Advani for his no-nonsense
stand on cross-border terrorism. By dragging one of the most popular and
respected political leaders of India in this dirty game of false accusations,
Islamabad has committed a grave error. Sooner rather than later, Pakistan
will have to pay a heavy price for hurting the sentiments of millions of
Indians who hold Advani in great esteem.
The Prime Minister has ruled out
any talks with Pakistan till it addresses India's concerns and stop infiltrating
mercenaries into J&K. Dismissing with contempt the General's plea to
reduce deployment of troops on the border, Vajpayee says no meaningful
dialogue is possible with Pakistan's military ruler. It is proved beyond
doubt that inviting the dictator to Agra was an exercise in futility. There
was no diplomatic need to congratulate "Mr. President" even before' he
usurped that office. The GoI legitimised the dictator's coup at a time
when no one in the West was willing to accept him as the legitimate ruler
of Pakistan. The GoI should have been careful in handling the wily dictator
and put its foot down to US pressure to resume talks with him.
Be what it may. The Vajpayee Government
has by its diplomatic offensive and open threat of war against Pakistan
in the aftermath of December 13, has changed the tone of international
discourse. Having realised that arm-twisting the BJP-led Government will
not do, the US has now taken a more reasonable stand. Public assertions
that the two countries should reduce tensions on the borders notwithstanding,
US is no longer insisting that India pull back its forces from the borders.
It is now proposing that India may continue to mass troops on the border
but consider taking them off from their present "high alert" status. New
Delhi has rejected these proposals saying these can be considered only
after Pakistan takes concrete steps on stopping proxy war and acting on
the list of 20. Britain and Russia have also come out openly against cross-border
terrorism and asked Islamabad to demonstrate its intentions on the ground.
These are welcome signs Government's
stand is in the best interests of the nation and in sync with the national
mood. But the "pseudo-secular and liberal" gang of intellectuals who had
lost no time in praising the dictator for his "liberal approach" and advising
New Delhi to call off its diplomatic offensive and military build up has
not given up. This powerful gang that dominates the Indian media, particularly
English language media, is not ashamed of its flawed perceptions. Surjeets,
Bidwais and Nayars of this gang are building pressure on the Government
by using their clout in the media to back out. India will suffer and suffer
long if it let goes this opportunity to teach Pakistan a lesson for bleeding
India for years. India has called Pakistan's nuclear bluff. There is no
doubt that the General is terribly afraid of a war with India. Hence, his
repeated pleas for talks and de-escalation. It is the right time to keep
the pressure on to force the dictator to bend on his knees.
