The United States has, once again, lent credibility to the widely-held belief that it leaves its allies in lurch after achieving its own designs and targets by tilting heavily in favour of India and accusing Pakistan unnecessarily as evident from the outcome of the Trump-Modi meeting in Washington.
It was in this backdrop that the Foreign Office on Friday came out with a strongly worded response to attempts being made to malign the country on the issue of terrorism and extremism and increase security woes of Islamabad due to the American decision to help boost India’s war machine to the detriment of its neighbours. Dismissing Pakistan-specific reference in the India-US joint statement as “one-sided, misleading and contrary to the diplomatic norms”, Foreign Office spokesperson expressed surprise that the reference had been added to the joint statement notwithstanding its counterterrorism cooperation with the United States.
A joint statement issued at the conclusion of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington asked Pakistan to ensure its territory was not used for cross-border terrorist attacks and called on it to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of November 26, 2008 Mumbai and January 2, 2016 Pathankot attacks. The terse statement shows how easily the new United States Administration has bought the Indian version of the issue of terrorism, ignoring what New Delhi has been doing to its own citizens, Kashmiris and foreign citizens, who have been eliminated by RAW, prompting even diplomatic rows with countries like the United States itself and Canada. Therefore, the FO rightly pointed out that such references cannot cover up India’s sponsorship of terrorism, subversion and extrajudicial assassinations in the region and beyond; nor can they shift international attention from the stark reality of India being a safe haven for the perpetrators of hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities.
It is an open secret that Modi is known as ‘butcher of Gujarat’ and ‘butcher of Kashmiris’ and it was because of his track record as a murderer and violator of human rights that his entry was banned in the United States. He was effectively banned from entering the US for over a decade but now he has become a darling of the United States and is being embraced affectionately by President Trump as he is seen as a willing partner to advance the US agenda in this part of the world. One should not be surprised over Pakistan-bashing at the instance of India by a leader who has scant respect for international law as highlighted by the plan to colonize Gaza.
Pakistan has expressed surprise that the joint statement failed to address non-compliance of India with the UNSC resolutions which is the key source of tension and instability in the region and to take cognizance of the grim human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) but the US under Trump can go to any extent to advance its own agenda.
Kashmiris have a genuine case but Trump miserably failed to uphold his electoral commitment of mediating on the issue and instead tacitly approved Indian annexation of the territory illegally during his previous term. Similarly, Pakistan has suffered hugely because of its contribution to the US-led global war against terrorism and it is a reality that Washington exited from the complex Afghan scenario only because of the hard work of Pakistan.
Pakistan is still suffering due to the mess created by the United States in Afghanistan and instead of appreciating its role and extending help to cope with the remnants of terrorism, the US has chosen to speak the language of India, which has a vested interest to tarnish image of Pakistan and divert the attention of the world community from what is happening to religious and ethnic minorities in the Hindu-dominated country.
As for sale of advanced aircraft and other technologies to India, any of the two sovereign countries can conclude deals in their own national interest provided there are no aggressive designs against any other country. Previously, the United States compounded Pakistan’s security concerns by sharpening the nuclear teeth of India. Now, state-of-the-art stealth fighters – F35s are to be supplied, which can operate without detection at supersonic speeds, a deal with ramifications for both Pakistan and China. All this proves, Pakistan’s tilt towards China is not without a reason as there can be no compromise on national security and sovereignty.
