You have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of democracy, social justice and the equality of mankind in your own native soil. [Mohammed Ali Jinnah]

Saturday, November 29, 2008

The blame game is on! South Asia walking on a thin line,once again!

The fabled 'foreign hand' is behind the recent bloodbath in Mumbai, once again South Asian politicians use this time tested term. I wonder why is it used so fluently and why do we, the people on the both sides of the border, buy it on a regular basis ?

It was only a few days ago that I commented on a blog run by an Indian blogger that

" for the first time in our lives we see that less and less Indian films are being made with anti Pakistan propoganda, & even lesser anti-India sentiments in the 50 plus Pakistani TV channels. When Jammat-i-Islami and Pakistani Maulana's on the one side and BJP and the likes on the other are not airing anti-Indian sentiments, when our PM or President is not playing the 'Indian'/'Pakistan' card anymore, when TV,papers, blogs have nuetral stance towards towards each other, it definitely means things are getting humane, and once can hope for the best. "

But I am afraid, the blame game started in the after math of tragic Mumbai terrorist attacks is taking the whole of South Asia back to square one. As if this region and the two countries did not had internal problems of high magnitude already, I worry that we may be drawn, yet again, to the cross border fueds, verbal and actual.

I do not know what the Impression of Pakistan and Pakistani people is in India, but one thing is for certain that there never has been a hate activity from the civil society of the both countries. There always were the hawkish politicians, religious right wingers, conservative newspapers, short sighted media producers which made being patriotic in lieu with being anit-Indian or anti-Pakistani.

The recent events with which the Mumbaikers had to go through, were certainly targeted towards, terrifying and intimidating them in specific & Indian population in general. It has probably hit the Indian society where it is most fragile, the ethnic religious divide. It is now known that the terrorist were of Muslim origin, a couple of them of Pakistani origin. Demolition of Babri Mosque, Killing of Indira Gandhi, Burning of Hindu pilgrim trains have already led to unrest and carnage of huge proportions.

If possible, I would just like to convey my condolence to citizens of Mumbai, that we condemn these attacks. People in Pakistan do not approve of it, and neither do they are celebrating. The effort current Pakistani government is making, is to send out a message that Pakistan on official or public level is not involved in it, at all. If some high wired self proclaimed righteous group has used Pakistani soil to do this, lets find them and bring them to justice together. We are trying to cope up with this menace as well.

The 'foreign hand' has in past and might as well in future find itself used on the both sides of the border. One thing is for sure, it helps politicians on the both sides to cover their tracks. It helps conceal their inability to counter these problems. Nawab Akbar Bugti, a nationalist Balouch Sardaar, was killed in Baluchistan and military found a few thousand dollars in cash lying there besides him, clearly indicating he was an 'agent' of the 'foreign elements'!

I remember the view of certain government functionaries and pro-government reporters regarding the resurrection of Student movement in aftermath of Nov. 3. It was stated that the 'foreign element' was active in instigating the students to protest against the Musharraf Govt. We laughed our tails of at this comment.

Pakistani people have been a victim of violent activities from a long time. Sometimes at the hand of its own military, the Dhaka Medical College massacre in 1954, 'operation search light' in current day Bangladesh in 1969, Military operation in Baluchistan 1974, Military operation in Sindh 1994, The current military operation in Baluchistan and tribal areas since 2001. And sometimes at the hands of terrorist activities that have shaken the already fragile social fiber of this nation i.e. one after the other serial bomb blasts in Peshawar and adjoining areas during more than a decade of Afghan war, the heightened sectarian violence of late 1980's and early 1990's, the unrest and communal motivated violence in Karachi for most of mid 90's and then came the grand 'war on terror' and we were on the receiving end of a continuous salvo of suicide and car bombings. The painful ordeal of People in Swat, the unrest in tribal areas, bombings in Islamabad and Lahore.

So with all our previous experiences with similar incidents, we can, to an extent, realize what people in India might be going through. Whenever a tragedy like this strikes a nation, it shifts to an aggressive stance, politicians, in order to thwart the pressure upon them and to convey a message that something is being done are quick to blame it on the 'foreign hand', we have been a victim to this term before, I hope that this time around we don't fall prey to it. Because if we do, we are back to the hate culture that was bubbled down in the past decade, and that could be a biggest obstacle in progress, that more than a quarter of the world's population living in South Asia requires to survive.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

No one can justify these attacks and claim to be sensible/not insane, at the same time. We need to fight this lawlessness together ... BUT to remove lawlessness we NEED to strengthen the LAW itself. And the LAW which is supposed to ensure peace, MUST be based on JUSTICE. With injustice being in place we cannot fight this kind of lawlessness effectively.

AND, Indian Govt. and media should not blame Pakistan (prematurely without any proofs) just for political gains and to sell their news. This kind of attitude is not helpful to bring peace in the region.

We all know that Pakistan itself is going through a very difficult time. The elements involved in Balochistan and NWFP are not a big secret. People of Pakistan and India must recognize the tricks of politicians to cover their inability to assure the security of their citizens.

Anonymous said...

A friend refferred me to this page, saying i should put out the word How I feel about the recent horrifying events in Bombay.

well, it is inhumane, killing people, on any pretext is not welcomed by anyone. how can the world or people in India in anyway think of it?

My heart goes out to the people who have lost their loved ones. Just when I was getting to know that India and Pakistan are finally gonna make peace, like resolve their differrences, this tragedy happens.

Clearly, anyone who is behind this, doesnot wants Indo-Pak in peace.

Anonymous said...

I have a story to share.
Few years ago my brother who is an salesman visited Kashmir regarding his work and he died there in firing from a militant group. Now if you pakistani people believe that those terrorist are not trained in pakistan and not financed from pakistan, i think you need a serious reality check guys.
On the contrary i am sure India has never trained militants to go and created terror on pakistani soil. If some pakistani has this experinece please share it with me.
A lot of pakistanis are saying that it was past and it doesnt happen any more, But no one is ready to come forward and accept that we did breed terrorists and accept the fact that killed several innocent people. I firmly believe its payback time now for pakistan.

Anonymous said...

I wont absolutely rule out the involvement of the rogue forces in Pakistan, that include the various armed groups, and our agencies. This pretty much seemed like a revenge act for the MARRIOT hotel bombing in Islamabad, a few weeks back.

If that is the case, Pakistab needs to investigate and bring to justice anyone involved.

Being a Pakistani, I condemn the attacks, we have seen enough bloodshed already here, and certainly will not like anyone else to suffer in the same manner. Be it in our country or outside.

Let me tell you that, general public in Pakistan is in grief and sorrow. We hope that Mumbai & India recover from it soon, and,things between the two countries don't go off-track once again.

ZAR said...

Mr. Anonymous who need a story abt indian double standards and indian terrorism... dude more will be shared if u ask for more :)... get a life n urself go through a reality check... grow up n stop blamin a 7 times smaller country for even a small happening beyond thinking of ur agency... had ur agency played a role in ur own country +vely, u could have hadnled these things better...

Instead of going into arguement that whose "atut ang" kashmir is i will like to bring up some facts from the past. If the majority of indians think that pakistan is behind the militancy in kashmir then will they not admit that it was the similar situation when india was involved in training and arming "mukti bahni" in east pakistan. please note that not long ago its been confessed by india's own ex-army general. was east pakistan not the atut ang of whole pakistan? if now mr. vajpayee is blaming it on the non-democratic goverment in pakistan (1971) then why dont india allowed a refrandum in kashmir for self determination as per un resolutions which mr. nehru also agreed upon? if kashmir was annexed by india as per maharaja's wish then why it run over hyderabad and junagarh despite of their ruler's wish to be with independent pakistan? its also a fact that first military expedition on haji peer pass was carried out by indian forces in 1965 which resulted in all out war. then in 1971 it instigated a revolt in east pakistan and were the first to start the siachin glacier dispute. contrary to it pakistan can be rightly blamed for the kargil debacle. so its upto the readers now to decide that which country is more "peace loving". instead of indulging into the hysteria of blaming pakistan for whatever goes wrong in india one need to look in its own backyard. i still wish that one day both these countries will settle their differences and live in peace and harmony for the benefit of their own people. ifti@operamail.com

See Hypocracy or Ignorance-Opinion-The Times of India
href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1586014511.cms"

ZAR said...

I m sure mr. anonymous will be interested in the following excerpt :)

"To defend this key threat to the Union, New Delhi should extend its influence through export of both soft and hard power towards Central Asia, from where invasions have been mounted over centuries. The cessation of Pakistan as a state facilitates furtherance of this pivotal national objective.

For New Delhi this opens a window of opportunity to ensure that the Gwadar port does not fall into the hands of the Chinese. In this, there is synergy between the political objectives of the Americans and the Indians. Our existing goodwill in Baluchistan requires intelligent leveraging.

Sindh and most of the non-Punjabi areas of Pakistan will be our new friend"

Bharat Verma: Indian Defense Review:(most-quoted Indian defence publication)

ohhh another interesting excerpt abt indian false claims n doublel standards:

"Looking ahead, New Delhi should formulate an appropriate strategy for ‘post-Pakistan scenario’ to secure India’s interests in Central Asia.

It is intriguing, therefore, to hear New Delhi mouthing the falsehood that stable Pakistan is in India’s favour. Perpetuation of such illogic for vote-bank politics is harming the consolidation and integration of the Union." Indian Defense Review:-Bharat Verma

wow!!! how certain mr. anonymous was tht india has never been involved in militancy... dude... its actually the incompetency of ur bloody agency tht they blame pakistan for even a gun battle between two gangs... i'd again plea u close minded indians to grow up n use ur heads... get out of pakistan and islam phobia.... be +ve in real sense instead of just claiming to be a +ve state...

Anonymous said...

Indian approach towards Pakistan is dishonest, arrogant and 'might is right'. Indian involvement in destabilization of pakistan can be seen by Rahul Ghandi's statement of maliciously dividing Pakistan by supporting insurgency in east pakistan and propagating it ultimately to Pakistan's resentment.

When Indians supported Mukti Bahni No body accused India for supporting militancy, why not? If Indians were honest towards Pakistan, they could have helped Pakistan to stabilize situation arose from not accepting democratically elected Bangladeshis by west Pakistani politicians, not invade it with a four time mightier force under the guise of Bangladesh liberation, knowingly that west Pakistan will not be able to defend it due to lack of logistical support to the military present in east Pakistan.

Mark my words, if given opportunity, India will not think for a second invading Pakistan as it always looks out for excuses. It can be seen from the recent propaganda against Pakistan after Mumbai incidents or attack on Indian parliament in past without coming out with any proof that it was a covert operation from Pakistan, disregarding Lankan Tamil Tigers (LTTE) and other separatists involvement in other neighbors. Its important for Pakistan not to duck in and make a mockery of those soldiers who defended this homeland by strapping bombs to their chest and lying in front of Indian tanks at Chawinda-Sialkot sector during 1965. I would rather spend one day as a lion than spending 100 years as a jackal.

India has a poor history of handling minorities... these particular incidents of mumbai are either results some gang war inside mumbai or a staged event by indian agency. The reason behind this staged drama can be any or all of the following or even some others which i cannot think of:
1) Masking Kashmiri uprise
2) Suspending relations with Pakistan so that India doesn't have to discuss Baghliyaar and water theft issue
3) Pressurize Pakistan to throw it in depths of current crisis it is facing

4) Bringing bad name to Pakistan so that USA can apply further pressure on Pakistan and can justify more attacks on Pakistani soil

By the way, why have incidents of firing and clashes been seen in Karachi after the Mumbai incidents... why dont we see them as retaliation of Mumbai incidents and Indian hit back????

Why don't Pakistan blame india when bombs blast in Pakistan??? When ppl die in Pakistan??? When Indian backed militants fight Pakistan??? Pakistan has given proofs to american agencies about the links between Mehsud and indian RAW... then why is still Pakistan being considered responsible for Mehsud's actions???

Answer of all these is that USA and India cannot see China and Pakistan prosper....

Anonymous said...

USA and India cannot see China and Pakistan prosper.... and Pakistan is always tries to act as a responsible state and become defensive just because it does not want more bloodshed...

Murtaza said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Murtaza said...

First of all I would like to condemn the attacks in Mumbai. It was really sad event in the history of man kind. Last three days were some of the worst days in the history of mankind. But, here are some facts which we have to keep in mind and should give a look.
In Mumbai attacks, Terrorists and Security forces have not fired as many bullets as many times Indian news papers and television media have tried to involve Pakistan in these attacks. If it was about some new reporter or new TV channel then It would have been ok. But, it was the story about each and every TV channel.

It is not only media which is blaming Pakistan for these attacks, But CM of Gujrat and all the officials including respected PM and army generals have blamed Pakistan in a situation when an agreement was signed that two countries wont blame each other without complete evidences.

Now lets look at what happened and who got most out of it.

First of all BJP is the one which got most out of it. In this election year now people will vote for Hindu extremist party. Then there is another Hindu extremist party associated with BJP, RSS. They also got a lot out of it as they have now sympathies of people of India with hattered against Pakistan and Muslims. Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Department arrested about 10 religious extremist since 24th October. They include one Lt. Col. of Indian Army named Lt. Col. SriKaant Prohat. He was involved in Samjhota Express Attacks. Now a days a commission headed by Haminat Karkare was inquiring against him. And you know what!!! Haminat Karkare was among those first who were killed by these attackers in Mumbai. Ok.... it can be totally by chance that these so called Pakistani terrorist wanted to save Mr. Prohat.

After this case Indian Army was facing serious image problems. People were saying that there can be more RESPECTED ARMY OFFICERS who were involved in terrorist activities. But, army conducted such a great operation in Mumbai that everyone in India loves army.

The party which was most badly affected by these attacks is the freedom movement in Kashmir. It was the time when this movement was converting into a political movement. All extremist parties (Muslim extremist in Kashmir) jointly declared cease fire. This cease fire totally freaked out Indian Govt. Now they (Freedom movement) knew that they are going to get most out of it without violence and believe me they were getting out of it. As, it was the first time that even Indian media was saying that Kashmir Issue needs to be solved. But, many ppl did not like that. So, here you go now, no one in India has any sympathy towards Kashmiri Muslims.

(Part of this comment's information was from Talat Hussain's today's column)

(Mr. Anonymous The death of your brother was a real sad event. Believe me no one in Pakistan would say it was right.)