Pakistan: Time to Redefine Policy towards India

Indian Prime Minister shut all the doors for negotiation by once again reiterating “Kashmir is an integral part of India and no talks can be held on the issue”. He sounded a typical extremist Hindus who says, “We will not allow another division of India on the basis of religion”. His anti-Pakistan sentiments were at its peak when he said “Pakistan is the epicenter of cross border terrorism”. In fact his speech was aimed at declaring Pakistan a terrorist state.

In the simplest words he said ‘Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism”. This is a big slap on the face of all those Pakistanis who have been signing mantra of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ for years and ignoring that India is being ruled by Hindu extremists, who are adamant at destroying Pakistan for achieving the status of regional super Power. Let this also be kept in mind that the United States is the biggest proponent of this philosophy.

India blames that Pakistan’s foreign policy is being dictated by hawks but worse is the situation in the country which claims to be a secular state and also the biggest democracy of the world. The Indian occupied Kashmir is under the siege of army/law enforcing agencies for decades and people are denied ‘right of self determination’ despite approval of resolution in the United Nations.

In this endeavor India is fully supported by the colonial rulers of yester years. They allowed creation of Bangladesh and division of Indonesia and Sudan on the basis of religion, sponsored change of regime in Iraq, Libya and are supporting rebels in Syria for last two years.

However, they are never tired of appeasing India, only because it is their major trading partner. They are supporting India because it is trying to demolish a country created on the basis of an ideology. There are only two states in the world, Pakistan and Israel that were created on the basis of ideology.

It has been highlighted time and again that Pakistan suffers from internal and external threats. While frontiers can be guarded the embedded enemies are difficult to catch. These perpetrators wear various caps and the worst display of ‘cold blooded mercenaries’ was the attack on the helicopter of Pakistan Army that went to earthquake affected areas to deliver food etc.

TTP is yet another faction of the fascists who is at war with Pakistan Army for years. However, worst is the attitude of those who are still trying to appease the terrorists, telling the government to declare ceasefire unilaterally but not asking the perpetrators that lay down arms is a prerequisite to talk.  

It is also been mention repeatedly that a proxy war is going on in Pakistan. All those adamant at destroying Pakistan have joined hands. The perpetrators may wear different caps but have a common objective, destroy Pakistan.

It is highly regrettable that many Pakistanis, particularly politicians have not been able to distinguish between friends and foes. Especially in case of India all the efforts to restore ‘friendly relations’ have been frustrated by the hawks prevailing over in India. This hawkish attitude is at its maximum when general elections are to be held in India. Often political parties try to solicit vote on the basis of anti-Pakistan stance. 

Pakistan: Ruthless Killers of Baluchistan

A total of six districts, Awaran, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur, Chaghi and Khuzdar have been affected by the earthquake. The scale of the affected territory is daunting. The enormous destruction of the area can be gauged from the fact that death toll is inching towards 400. However, there are 337,980 people within 100km of the epicenter who could potentially be affected, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS).  

Awaran's population is scattered over an area of more than 21,000 square kilometers. More than 60,000 people live within 50 kilometers of the epicenter, according to the UN disaster agency, mostly in easily collapsible mud homes. Workers were facing difficulties in reaching out to survivors since the communication system has been severely affected by the earthquake.

Attack on helicopter carrying Chairman, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 

 Major General Mohammad Saeed Aleem and Major General Samraiz Salik is not an ordinary incident.  The purpose was to disrupt relief and rescue work and create hurdles in reaching out to earthquake survivors and target security forces engaged in a massive relief and rescue operation in Awaran the worst hit area of Baluchistan.

It has been highlighted repeatedly that the rebels operating in Baluchistan are not local but militants funded by external forces. Critics go to extent of saying that these militants wear various caps, at time they are called ‘Baloch Liberation Army’ and if opportunity comes they become the custodians of rights of Sunnis. However, their sole objective remains causing dent to Pakistan by killing and sabotaging.

They just don’t want exploration and production activities to continue in the province. At times they appear to be working for annexing Baluchistan from Pakistan, as was done in Sudan and Indonesia, oil and gas rich areas were annex from these two countries. The games continued for a decade in Iraq and being played in Syria for the last two years.

One can also take cue from whatever has been happening in Northern areas of Pakistan, the fight is only to get control over reserves of precious stones and metals and oil and gas. These agents have been creating havoc only because if mining of minerals, oil and gas start in these areas all the economic woes of Pakistan will be over. The supporters of these perpetrators want to weaken Pakistan and present India as ‘Regional Super Power’.

It is not a secret that the United States is the biggest proponent and wants to create Indian hegemony in the regional. Experts say that now the United States ‘outsources’ the job. If British Prime Minister Toney Blair was used as ‘mouthpiece, for creating justification for attack on Iraq, France is playing the most active role mobilizing public opinion for attack on Syria, it may be other thing that other stakeholders of the region have been frustrating these efforts.

One of the conspiracy theories is that the five countries on the US ‘hit list’ include Syria, Iran and Pakistan. Assad’s government in Syria would have been toppled in few days had other stakeholders of the region not posed such a massive resistance. 

 If Syria is the biggest thorn in the creation of Israeli hegemony in the Middle East, getting control over sea trade passing trough Indian Ocean and creation of military camps around Iran is not possible without creation of an Independent  Baluchistan.

Pakistan: PTI or Devil’s Advocate

 Although, some of the political parties appear to be sympathizers of Taliban and its offshoot Teherik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but of lately Pakistan Therik-e-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as the Devil’s advocate. This is not an allegation but an inference drawn from the latest statement of Imran Khan, Chairman PTI given at Peshawar while talking to media. 

As reported in media Imran Khan urged the government to declare ceasefire if it was serious about holding peace talks with militants in Pakistan. PTI chief also called on the government to allow militants to open up office in Pakistan, similar to the Afghan Taliban office in Qatar to facilitate the dialogue process.

Khan said that on one hand, there were talks of holding negotiations but on the other hand war was still ongoing. He asked how it would be possible to hold peace talks without the ceasefire. He also said that after the fourth All Parties Conference (APC), it was decided to hold peace talks; however no initiative has been taken as yet.

While talking about Peshawar church bombing which killed 81 people, Khan alleged that the tragedy had been politicized. He said 170 blasts had taken place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the past nine years under previous governments, but PTI had not politicized those tragedies.

To put the record straight it is necessary to bring it to the notice of PTI Chairman that during the election campaign while ANP, MQM and PPP meetings were attacked by TTP for supporting the war on terror, the banned outfit spared PML-N and PTI.

Now these two political parties are vehemently pleading negotiation with the terrorist outfits. Strangely, the government is being asked to stop operation against the perpetrators who take pride in claiming responsibility of killing of innocent people, soldiers and officers of Pakistan Army and other law enforcing agencies, sabotaging and destroying sensitive installations.

One completely fails to understand logic behind Imran’s demand of allowing the terrorists to open office in Pakistan. It seems completely insane because TTP is a banned outfit; it had killed thousands of innocent citizens, personnel of security forces and also caused enormous damage to sensitive installation, including Mehran Naval Base in Karachi, where aircrafts responsible for the surveillance of coastal line were destroyed.

The prerequisite for negotiations with any group at war with the government is that it lays down weapons and stop killing innocent people and attacking personnel of law enforcing agencies.  It seems PML-N and PTI are begging the terrorist to come to negotiation table rather than telling them categorically that ‘talks can’t be held unless these banned outfits lay down arms’. These two political parties are constantly ignoring messages coming from TTP, which claims to be at war with Pakistan Army.

Keeping in view the recent happenings in Syria one is often forced to draw the conclusion that the militants at war with Pakistan Army are being funded, supplied the most lethal weapons and also given training to use these are supported by ‘Enemies of Pakistan’. The sole purpose of these perpetrators is to weaken Pakistan economically and plunge the country into anarchy.

The perpetrators are killing people in the name of Islam but are not attacking occupying forces in Afghanistan. In fact they have become accomplice of CIA by creating a justification for prolonging stay of Nato troops in Afghanistan.

By weakening Pakistan they are also facilitating India in the creation of its hegemony in the region. The United States in the biggest proponent of granting India status of ‘Regional Super Power’. This objective can’t be achieved without causing serious dent to Pakistan.

Pakistan US relationship: Need for overcoming trust deficit

Historically diplomatic relationships between Pakistan and United States have often suffered due to changing policies of the super power, which has its own agenda to pursue. Despite fighting the US proxy war in Afghanistan for nearly four decades the US mantra ‘do more’ continues. Fighting this proxy war has the biggest fallout in the shape of growing militancy in Pakistan, influx of arms and drug and drug money. 

The situation is really odd for Pakistan as it was asked to support Taliban when USSR attacked Afghanistan in an attempt to get access to warm waters. The friends turned foe when United States attacked Afghanistan on the pretext that Taliban had provided safe haven to OBL. As the time came for withdrawing US-led Nato troops from Afghanistan United sates divided Taliban in two faction, good and bad. This put Pakistan at a very embarrassing point because Taliban decided to take revenge from Pakistan Army for supporting Nato troops. It made Pakistan jittery as bad Taliban were moved from Afghanistan to Syria to fight yet another proxy war of United States. No one really knows what will be the next US move.

As regards dealing with Taliban, particularly it offshoot TTP and its accomplice LeJ, Pakistan has no option but to weed them out as these outfits are openly challenging writ of the government. They are not only killing innocent people but martyring soldiers and sabotaging sensitive installations. On top of all they (perpetrators) very proudly claim responsibility of killing and sabotaging. Ironically, armed forces and elected civilian government don’t seem to on the same wavelength. The policy of appeasing Taliban followed by the civilian government doesn’t allow the forces to undertake ‘operation clean up’ or an open war as some critics prefer to call it.

It is also evident that United States wishes to promote India as ‘Regional Super Power’ by assigning it a role in Afghanistan and Iran, assigning responsibility for maintain security in the Indian Ocean and also to check China. All these objectives put Pakistan at a disadvantages position because of: 1) unresolved Kashmir issue, 2) Pakistan’s relationship with Iran and China and 3) Pakistan’s stake in Afghanistan. The dichotomy of US policy is evident from India getting in reward ‘nuclear technology for civilian use’ for deserting Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. While India has been allowed to continue its oil purchases from Iran, Pakistan is being pressurized to also quit Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project or get ready to face economic sanctions.

One can say it categorically that the US policies have always remained tilted towards India and Pakistan continues to play the role of ‘mercenaries’ in Afghanistan. Despite that Pakistan has been hosting millions of Afghan refugees for nearly four decade, some of the ‘US Touts’ are inflicting the worst damage on Pakistan, particularly in Karachi. Worst of all these elements have been trying to create a breach between the two sects, Sunnis and Shias, to plunge the country deep into anarchy. Destroying peace in Karachi is the first target to put Pakistan’s economy in complete disarray.

Added to this is the US support for ‘Garand Baluchistan’. The unrest in the province is affecting oil and gas exploration in the province. Any action against the perpetrators is projected as exploitation of Balochs and used for raising demand for an independent Baluchistan. If Pakistan asks the United States to change its policies, it must be heeded for the good of the region and not as a disagreement with the super power.