Singh’s unabated duplicity with Pak
M Ashraf Mirza
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has once again resorted to the
traditional Indian duplicity, distortion and double standards by talking
of peace with Pakistan as well as about his country’s ‘willingness’ to
resolve all outstanding issues with Islamabad through ‘bilateral
dialogue’. He has also mentioned the rise of terrorism in Pakistan as a
threat to India’s security in utter disregard to what RAW is doing to
promote terrorism on its territory and to destabilize it through supply
of funds and weapons to renegades in Balochistan and Taliban in its
Tribal areas. Mr Singh’s statement, in fact, represents a crude attempt
to focus Islamabad as villain in keeping with his country’s perpetual
policy of hatred, prejudice and enmity towards Islamabad. And yet he has
the audacity to tell Pakistan that it has ‘nothing to fear from India’.
His statements are obviously meant to twist public opinion in the United
States as he embarks on an official visit to Washington.
History bears testimony to the fact that India has never been serious
and sincere towards improvement of relations with Pakistan by resolving
its outstanding disputes with Islamabad including the core issue of
Kashmir. Almost every Indian government since independence has pursued
the policy of periodically talking peace and expressing willingness to
hold talks with Pakistan to address the issues only to facilitate
realization of its own regional and international motives. Indian
leadership talks sweet only to repudiate it subsequently on one pretext
or the other after realization of its objectives. The Pak-India
relations are marked by perpetual confrontation and conflict, although
the two countries have also held series of dialogue processes with
practically no result whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the number of
their disputes has risen over the period of time. The latest process of
the composite dialogue initiated by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee and Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of
SAARC summit held in Islamabad in January 2004 was also motivated by the
Indian ambition to seek permanent slot on the UN Security Council as the
proposal was being debated internationally at different levels at that
time. President Bush, who pampered India in the context of his
anti-China stance had, in fact, persuaded New Delhi to talk peace with
Pakistan to focus India as a peace loving neighbour in the south asian
region. India cannot, however, bury its past acts of hostility against
its neighours including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal etc. While Pakistan
is victim of its military aggression leading to the dismemberment of its
eastern limb, Sri Lanka has endured prolonged insurgency as a result of
the Indian sponsored, trained, funded and equipped Tamil Tigers spanning
over quarter of a century. Indian insincerity and non-seriousness in the
talks is amply reflected from the bitter truth that none of the
outstanding issues has been resolved in the dialogue process that has
stretched over about five years. New Delhi repeatedly suspended the
dialogue process on one flimsy pretext or the other.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi has said in unambiguous terms that
India is not ‘sincere’ about resolving the Kashmir dispute and water
related issues with Pakistan. He also reiterated in a TV interview in
Islamabad that India is fuelling terrorism in FATA and Balochistan.
‘Complete evidence is being collected with regard to Indian involvement
in the trouble in Balochistan and the Tribal areas’, he said adding
‘sustainable peace and security in south asia will not be possible
unless India shuns its negative behaviour towards Pakistan’. A foreign
office spokesman has also said that Indian attitude indicate that it
doesn’t want peace in the region. The Indian Prime Minister has
seemingly embarked upon the US visit with the set agenda to undermine
Pakistan by creating false alarm about her on one count or the other in
keeping with the India’s traditional policy of prejudice, hostility and
animosity.
In his Press and TV interviews with the American journalists, he has not
only tried to cast doubts about security of Pakistan’s nuclear assets
despite persistent US declarations expressing its satisfaction over
Islamabad’s Command and Control system for their safety, but has also
attempted to vitiate Pak-US relations by asserting that Pakistan wants
to control Afghanistan by seeking US troops’ withdrawal from Kabul
although Pakistan has persistently advocated its considered opinion that
immediate withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan will be counter
productive for peace, security and stability in south asia. He has also
made an effort to raise suspicion about Pakistan’s commitment to fight
the menace of terrorism and militancy knowing full well that the Pak
Army has already thrashed and vanquished the militants and terrorists in
Swat and is currently engaged in chasing them out of South Waziristan
Agency, the alleged terrorists’ hotbed to operate in Pakistan and
Afghanistan. The Pak Army has already smashed the terrorists’ hideouts
and destroyed massive quantities of the captured arms and ammunition.
And interestingly, the weapons recovered from these hideouts bear Indian
markings, which leave no doubt about New Delhi’s involvement in the
heinous conspiracy of promoting terrorism in Pakistan.
A number of terrorists and militants captured during the military
operation in South Waziristan Agency have also confessed the Indian
support in the form of funds and weapons from its notorious spy agency
RAW. The fact is that India is the one country that is yet to reconcile
with the reality of Pakistan. It has never spared her from undermining
it politically and economically. It usurped the Muslim majority states
of Kashmir, Junagarh, Hyderabad and Mongrol through military aggression
in violation of the Partition Plan. It attacked Pakistan in 1965 and
then in 1971 dismembered East Pakistan as a result of military
aggression. It has built Kishenganga and Baghlihar dams on the Jhelum
and Chenab rivers allocated to Pakistan under the UN sponsored Indus
Water Treaty in order to squeeze its lifeline. And yet, Mr Manmohan
Singh has the cheek to say that Pakistan has nothing to fear from India.
If he really wants Pakistan to believe him, New Delhi will have to make
the ongoing composite dialogue process meaningful and result oriented
through resolution of the outstanding issues between the two countries
especially the Kashmir and water related disputes.
It’s hoped that President Obama’s administration will not be swayed by
the Indian Prime Minister’s calculated campaign and will take an
objective view of the ground realities of the south asian region.
Pakistan is the pivot for peace, security and stability in the area. If
it fails, India and other regional countries and even Europe and America
will not be safe from the scourge of terrorism and militancy. Pakistan
is fighting against terror not only for its own security and
sovereignty, but also for peace and stability of the world at large.
India should not be, therefore, allowed to get away with its vicious
role in destabilizing Pakistan by providing funds, weapons and support
to the terrorists in Balochistan and Tribal Areas. Washington owes it
morally. Manmohan Singh’s duplicity and cajolery must not go to the
detriment of Pakistan. As a matter of fact, it’s in America’s own
interest to restrain India from its dirty conduct because once Pakistan
is handicapped, weakened and destabilized, the number of body bags going
back to the US from Afghanistan will swell manifold. Ends.
|
