Jan 11, 2009

From the reality of the Pakistani perspective






I think despite the impatient tone of the article of the Times of India, the JATM is a good idea, with logical pragmatic solutions and intentions, if used correctly. That perhaps the JATM has lost its direction due to misunderstanding on both sides is without doubt. A bilateral apparatus can only work, beyond superficial gestures if it is approached with honest clear intentions from BOTH sides.


As Churchill said Jaw, Jaw, Jaw is better than War, War, War.

However the extent to which expectations from the Indian side are fully met where India provides the intelligence and culpability of Pakistani nationals, and Pakistan honestly acts on them immediately, quickly without fail, must be cautioned by the fact that such terrorist groups have in the past been sanctioned by the military and ISI in Pakistan, and Pakistan is a failed state with VERY weak levels of governance. Indian expectations must therefore be moderated by the 'reality' of Pakistan.


The perception of some key security in Pakistan within the military and ISI, who matter is this:

1) "You India helped break up our country by training, providing logistics and sanctuary to the 80,000 Mukti Bahini which led to the creation of Bangladesh. You militarily participated on sovereign Pakistani soil to invade and divide our country, AFTER coordinating, and organizing the Awami League false victory in East Pakistan in October 1970, through the newly instituted RAW in 1968" ........."So for us it is fair game, that we do the same in at least in Indian Kashmir if not the rest of India where a section of the population are clearly pro-Pakistani" "Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander" blah blah blah.

2) "You India are operating suspiciously in Afghanistan, expanding your role there against our interests, and from the base of Afghanistan, through your consulates, too numerous to mention, you are carrying out covert ops of terrorism on our soil in especially Baluchistan, NWFP, and possibly even the Punjab"........so if we back a few fellow Kashmiri Muslims in Indian Kashmir who are pro-Pakistani whats the problem?........"Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander"......Notably Ahmed Quraishi and other such prominent journalists with linkages to the ISI.

3) "We in Pakistan don't think ALL so called "Islamic terrorism" on Indian soil originates from Pakistan, and that a good deal of the terrorists acts are state sponsored, with linkages to the RSS"-----Hemant Kakare investigations etc. "So how can we trusts and act on information you give us on OUR nationals when we think, and believe a lot of the so called terrorist acts are in fact carried out by your own security."......."We through our own work are fully aware of how covert ops of the Mumbai kind are carried out by state actors and then blamed on other nations"....."We are neither naive or innocent of such things ourselves"..."We are fully aware that many Pakistani national disappear in India and Nepal, under suspicious circumstances to be used later as agents of RAW"

4) "On occasions when terrorism is carried out "OPENLY" by your own people in India, with clear incriminating evidence of the terrorists boasting about their deeds, you in India become deafeningly silent. Narendra Modi the BJP, and Gujrat where 2,000 people were butchered and burnt alive." ......"So why should we act against alleged terrorists on our soil, who you accuse, when you do nothing against your own terrorists, also participating in popular national elections, and being treated as celebrity by India" "Hasn't the EU and USA denied Modi visa for his terrorist crimes"....." "More Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander"

5) If the great, "Its not fair by the rules of cricket" UK can host a terrorist by the name of Altaf Hussain, and provide him with the full comforts of citizenship, even though we have provided the UK authorities with the full information of his culpability in numerous acts of sectarian terrorism in Karachi mainly as head of the MQM, then what standards do you expect us to maintain viz your allegations against our nationals in their alleged acts of terrorism on your soil"?

6)"We view India as a hostile power that wants to divide and destroy our country....so why should we cooperate with such a power" ........."You lose no time in criticizing us, without even thinking for a second"..."Into the second day in Mumbai's case, so sure of our evil bad deeds and behavior"...."You create a international hysteria against us openly, that is hostile and negative, but you at the same time expect cooperation from us"....and so on..

7) "You threatened war against us whether veiled, or implied and sometimes directly....if we don't act according to your wishes"

8) "We in the Pak military/ISI are the servants of America and have been for a good few decades. They train us, arm us with highly sophisticated weaponry and systems.......for most of the time, of which you never had any access. It is not what India wants that matters to us, but what America wants that ultimately counts for us"......."That is why we allow the Americans to attack sovereign Pakistani soil openly and kill our civilians, and then we follow it up obediently, and slavishly with ground action by the Pak army and airforce against the Pashtun insurgents, as our American masterji wishes"........"The Americans give us a % from the huge narcotics business from Afghanistan"...."We further enrich ourselves from the $1.2 billion given to us annually by America, as military aid"........."And you sala bacha India (With the tone of gangsters....as the anonymous speech is reported)...you give us NOTHING, but trouble, grief and holier than thou semantic utterances".

9) "Top American officials visit us frequently and give us assurances of support privately, as long as we follow their orders. People like VP Joseph Biden and Admiral Mullen. They publicly slap us to sooth and placate India, but for us with no sense of Lajja and IZZAT, these public admonishments from America means very little."..."What these important people say to us privately is what counts"

10) "We have nuke missiles that cover the whole of India.We have many foreign friends to thank for such capabilities, over the last 30 years, such as North Korea, and ISRAEL via Turkey (Sibel Edmonds--FBI whistle blower, and part of the Valerie Plame investigations outed and exposed by the USA government of Bush, to neutralize it, and her covert work; the same American administration which has signed a nuclear deal with India-) amongst a couple of other helpful countries. Such lopsided capabilities of our basket weaving economy, which is failing again, gives us undue unrealistic confidence in our deterrence capabilities, and blurs, confuses and misdirects our desire to live constructively with India as a good neighbor. Such capabilities inflates our ego beyond our normal senses and perennially clouds our judgment."

So given this REALITY, what is India to do?

1) Legalize the LoC, immediately and make it a non-issue for the Pakistan military and ISI. Sign a general agreement for now clearly stating that the LoC is hence forth the international boundary, and then work out the yards, meters and exact patches later, through detailed bi-lateral negotiations.Off the sight of the local and international media.

2) Give Pakistan money, and give Zardari money, and sign an FTA with Pakistan immediately. Fully project to Pakistan, and let them accept that Pakistan like India can develop together mutually. That this is India's real goal for Pakistan, and not any other...deeds rather than words.