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The India – Pakistan Relationship – Do We Want War ?
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by Kishor Jagirdar | December 14, 2008 at 12:53 am
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The INDIA – PAKISTAN Relationship – A proactive perspective in turbulent times of jihad and terrorism.
“There are some Islamic elements that are stateless and act independently based on their own myopic concepts of politics and has repeatedly brought about misgivings between the Islamic and non Islamic nations. They seem to have the objective of initiating a perpetual conflict between the Islamic world which doesn’t have the nuclear power and the non Islamic world that has the nuclear power. The Islamic world has to unite and take a stand on this issue more strongly than the non Islamic world as this implicates them into destruction of not their own making” – said Mr. Ramjethmalani a senior Indian parliamentarian while being interviewed by the Pakistani media on the 27th November08 ,while the struggle with the Mumbai terror attackers was still going on .
To understand this we must look deeper into the root cause.
India has faced terrorism on its soil from the pre Independence era. The communal knife had sliced the subcontinent so deeply that it resulted in the partition. It was like two brothers who were so filled with hatred and pain that they refused to look into the eye of facts and allowed themselves to be overtaken by the tide of the wrath of communal dissent .Some fractions of the society didn’t opt to be just bystanders and wanted to make someone pay for the hurt and loss of lives and they were the ones who first raised the demons of terrorism. Be it the RSS, the Hindu Mahasabha or the multiple Sikh fractions or the Muslim league bred youth wing, they all were in some way or the other responsible to the massacre that took the toll of more than 1 million human lives on both sides and displaced more than 10 times the figure of human population which was the largest in modern history.
Since then India has faced terrorism in many instances across all sides of its border from last 60 years. Whether it was state engineered from across the border or non state entities, blood of the innocents has been spilt on the Indian soil endlessly. Besides perpetual isolated and low intensity fighting, this has even caused three major conflict and war with India and Pakistan. The chaos in the Pakistani administration and the lack of a strong democratic set the Military has devised and led their own parallel foreign policy and the Pakistan government was too weak to control these elements, let it be the ISI or the various militant groups they spawned to further their own political interest in Afghanistan with the strong backing of the then US administration as an ally against the then USSR.
Pakistan in the last 20 years has been in the state of constant denial of the involvement of any Pakistani elements in the Kashmir, Sikh or the ULFA militancy .They wanted the world to believe that these were home grown militancy from the Indian own unrest and they have no connection with them even in the face of evidences that were shared between the two nations intelligence agencies from time to time.
Even today, Its hard to explain the relationship between the two nations during the Kargil conflict in 1999 when on one hand the two premiers of the nations were embracing each other at the Wagha border and usher a new era of peace and friendship, on the other hand the ISI backed infiltrators were busy killing Indian army in cold blood and capturing the Kargil territory .The dichotomy is evident by this episode where rogue elements in the state machinery were acting on their own without any respect to the government machinery.
Pakistan may have made tremendous success using their Jihad strategy in Afghanistan. To make this a success and install Taliban in Afghanistan they were supported by millions of USD, apart from the arms and ammunition supply. Many country side settlements across the porous border of Pakistan and Afghanistan people have taken to manufacturing fire arms and AK – 56 kind of arms as a cottage industry due to abject poverty. Thousands of youth from the poor tribal belts were recruited for the Jihad and trained at the secret camps against the aggressors namely USSR.
This gun culture and violence came a full circle after the USSR collapsed and the volatile situation in Afghanistan was contained by the US aggression .Now a generation of their highly sophisticated and war veterans in the Jihad camps were left with no sense purpose and it was in the best interest of Pakistan that ISI had to divert them into allied missions and campaigns in India ,China, and elsewhere in the name of Islam as they have to be contained , least they become a menace within Pakistan and cause anarchy.
The evidence of it is seen in the by commando action by Pervez Musharraf administration storming of the mosque in Karachi and the J.W Marriot episode. This reached a crescendo with the assassination of the charismatic leader Mrs. Benzir Bhutto.
Terror training schools, teaching hundreds of new and young recruits in suicide missions and the use of sophisticated weapons, have been active in many parts of Pakistan, including Punjab, the North West Frontier Province, Waziristan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
Different terrorist groups, including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, often with the help of former Pakistan army soldiers, run these schools or camps. The syllabus, the training and indoctrination are far more sophisticated than the pre-9/11 training camps.
Herald, a widely read English monthly published by the Dawn group of publications, reported in June 2006 about the fresh recruitment drive launched by the terrorist groups and the sprouting of training camps.
According to the several UNI reports , at least three major jihadi groups maintain their liaison and recruitment offices in the Timergara area of Lower Dir district. These include the Hizb-ul Mujahideen, Al Badr Mujahideen, now re-named as Al Suffa Foundation, and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, renamed as Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Other jihadi organisations that have either offices or training camps in the Timergara and Warai areas of Dir include the Jaish-e-Mohammad, which now calls itself Al Rahman Trust, the Harkat-ul-Ansar, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and a Kashmiri group called the Pasban Millat.
Herald reported the presence of more than a thousand trained militants in three camps in the Hazara region of NWFP alone.
At about the same time, Afghan national television reported (October 5, 2006) that the Lashkar was forming suicide-bombing squads to help the Taliban fight the NATO forces and was recruiting Afghan refugees to take up arms against the Afghan government and the NATO forces.
Citing a known case of recruitment, the report said the Lashkar recruits went to the Ahl-e-hadith mosque in the Jalozai refugee camp in Peshawar where the youth were promised training and money if they agreed to join jihad.
The first terrorist leader to acknowledge this development was Jaish-e-Mohammad's Masood Azhar who wrote in his weekly column in an obscure but popular pro-Al Qaeda Urdu weekly, al Qalam, (December 2006) that 'the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are working actively in Kashmir and they are giving the Hindus a tough time'.
He said the 'mujahideen in Kashmir were coming from Dir, North West Frontier Province and it was not possible for Musharraf to stop them'. Upper Dir is one of the northern most districts in the NWFP and borders Chitral, Swat and Malakand districts of the NWFP, in addition to Bajaur Agency in FATA.
Though India has from time to time shown evidence on the Pakistani link to the terror strikes in Kashmir from 1989, the Khalistan movement , 1993 Mumbai blast , the Kargil war or the Parliament attack in 2002 Pakistan did very little or nothing in taking cognizance against these militant camps. In fact most of the Pakistani media until the Mumbai attack on the 26th November 2008 were misleading the Pakistani people that there was virtually no connection to the bloodshed in India and projected the whole scenario as an internal conflict of India, as seen on the video footage below
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=5F4_qwtM5yY&feature=PlayList&p=C41CF71590519436&playnext=1&index=15
But things have changed now .Growing evidence of the terrorists coming from Pakistan training camps and having their home roots from Pakistani homes has prompted US which has taken the Mumbai attack episode seriously along with UK and collectively hauled up the Pakistani administration to act or face serious consequence .Especially the lone terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab caught alive and his connection being established to Faridkot which was substantiated by his father also accepting him as his son in front of the media .This has embarrassed the government in Pakistan and has been left with no space to maneuver any diplomatic solace.
The unanimous resolution of the UNSC on the terror links with terror outfits using Pakistani soil and the inaction of Pakistani government to tackle the situation sparks a change in the in the mindset of the world community as well from mere lip service of condolence to standing up to fight against this new phenomenon of menace. Even China, an ardent supporter of Pakistan has now changed its stand on this issue. Besides the Indian citizens have shown their impatience and anger which cannot be assuaged by anything less than final resolution to this issue.
Despite the rebuke from the world communities Pakistan has to examine its own realities and cannot be forced into a situation that is on one hand threatened by military actions on the terror camps by India apart from the arm twisting by the USA and on the other hand full scale provocation from its own rogue elements in the administration and military who are powerful people and can destabilize the government itself.
After a long period of time the People of Pakistan have been given a chance to express themselves politically and the new government is a very good development for India as well. The Indian administration can go a long way in preserving the interest of the Pakistani Democracy and still be assertive in the demand for change with a resolution that has long dogged the country. These calls for collective action and not indulge in unilateral actions.
The pace at which the Pakistani governments need to take action has to be slow and measured with phased approach to the core problem. They have to uproot the elements from the grassroots level. By first capturing the leaders of all these set ups and putting them to trial on their soil first. This will calm down the anger of the Pakistani citizens and focus their energy into zeroing on the root causes of these terror elements.
a) Improving their employment opportunities and microfinance schemes across the borders and country sides on the lines of Indian model.
b) Strengthen the economy and the financial systems that will not allow the funding of terror activities
c) Striking at will on the terror camps and apprehending the youth indoctrinated. They must be brought to the main stream by appropriate measures.
d) Take severe disciplinary action on those found to be linked with terror groups in the intelligence agencies, bureaucracy or military.
e) Combing and monitoring the borders to jointly stop infiltration of any terror elements. Joint covert actions.
d)The entire state of Pakistan has to be encircled with the combined forces of INDIA, Pakistan army and US forces to seal any attempt of the elements disappearing into the tribal belts fearing action.
Economically the country is nearing bankruptcy and all its allies including US and China have turned down financial assistance to bail them out in the last November 2008. They have no strength to wage a war or sustain it in this recession with the World Bank as their only savior
In India you have 150-200 million people who live by European standards and one billion who live in sheer poverty. Not to say that Muslims are necessarily poor, just as there are poor Hindus also, but this exposes a number of fault lines behind the Indian miracle.
Overlooking these factors India may unwittingly cause greater harm to its own interest by provoking more terror strikes on its own soil and endangering its people across all the cities .Again this can increase the risk of terror strikes within Pakistan and endanger the government with anarchy .With the war against Taliban and Al-Qaeda on one hand Pakistan cannot open another front on its eastern borders with India. This will allow the rogue elements to have a free will with their nefarious activities. Even the danger of nuclear weapons and bio-chemical warheads being pillaged by these forces in the absence of a government in Pakistan and holding the entire region of Indian peninsular to ransom cannot be ruled out. This has all the elements of sparking a third world war which can be the nemesis of the world.
What India must ask itself, if this is what it wants by becoming aggressive?
On the other hand within India terror strikes have created a breed of militant elements within the fractions of the fundamental and extremist outfits. Victims of terror become perpetrators giving birth to more terrorist, as people are hurt and pained and sometimes they want to hold some one accountable. This is evident from the Malegoan blast and its subsequent probe that has brought out skeletons from the closet, linking Indian ex-army people in taking vigilant actions. This means there is another set of movement that is emerging and outfits getting created on the Indian soil by its own people and taking a serious terror group identity that will show its anger on the minority communities further aggravating the agony of the people in India and Pakistan .
The question India needs to ponder is whether both India and Pakistan are heading into a Palestine kind of perpetual conflict that will reset the clock of progress in both the countries economically and socially. This is like playing into the hands of the militants and their schemes. By raking up the tension and bringing India into the battlefield, the attackers aim to turn Pakistan away from the Taliban and focus on tension with India. This would then defuse the pressure on the militants who find themselves cornered by the combined forces of US marines and Pakistan army.
Both the nations have to unite and take a joint stand supported by the citizens to stand up and throw these miscreants and violence mongers out of the sub continent and bring them to justice so that no more blood is spilled and the people of both the nations focus all the anger and energy into harnessing it for peace and harmony creation. Both cannot effort to go to war and nuclear conflict. India is poised to become an economic super power and cannot effort to roll back in its economic growth apart from weathering the long hauled recession
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Kishor Jagirdar
Bangalore, India
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (17)
at 09:47 on December 15th, 2008
Dear Hussain,
Lets look at the larger picture.If we put the entire Islamic nations together how many have the nuclear capability?.Pakistan is a small country and the only one to have nuclear capabilities.If the entire non Islamic nations are put together how many have nuclear capablities?Almost all of them.This is a dangerous equation.This is what Mr Ram Jethmalani is stating and not overlooking the fact that Pakistan can actually take the leadership in leading this initiative and has nuclear strength.An economically weak country with no strong government to handle nuclear warheads is a cause of concern to everyone across the world.Any rogue element can spark a war between nations to suit their own hidden agenda.
When we have to tackle poverty as the enemy and these rogue elements as enemies can we have the luxury of droping nuclear bombs on each other ? Pakistan will perish in this foolish idea that it has nuclear capabilities and can protect itself.India is very apprehensive of this as it will bring the conflict in Afghanistan at the doorstep of India and add to more problems in militancy. This is self destructive and refusing to acknowledge the realities Pakistan is facing in the changed scenario today that its completely islolated.The mumbai attack has changed forever how things work in India forever with a terror phobia everywhere.
Your second point on Terrorist having Indian origin .Yes !! India has lot of separatist movements .If Pakistan being a small nation can have lots of separatist movement then imagine a vast country like India too having the same issue.This is historical and has been the case from hundred of years.But they have been supported and developed into a pain by agencies outside the country like LTTE , Bangaldeshi smugglers and ISI .India has been sharing facts that these elements have been sponsored across the border with sophisticated weapons and training.In kashmir apart from the local militants India has on numerous occassions have apprehended infiltrators alive and they have turned out to be foriegn nationals coming across the Pakistan border.Why is that militant outfits in pakistan openly acknowledge sponsoring the militancy in Kashmir? Why did they change after 9/11 incident ? How come yesterday in Kashmir 60% turnout was recorded by nuetral agencies in the election turn out.That means the people of Kashmir too want peace and normalisation.
If there are separatist movements in India so is there in Pakistan casued by the same factors that is unemployment, social backwardness and exploitation.But all developing countries have these issues.On many occassions India has offered and allowed the Sikh ,Kashmiri and the ULFA militant (terrorist) folks to join the main stream and give up militancy .This has shown results as the youth have taken to employment and accepted that violence cannot bring anything but misery . Today militancy in Punjab is gone and they are leading a peaceful co-existence.
We also have victims of terror becoming terrorists.We have to deal with them as well.But in India people dont run scot free if they are implicated in any terror link as in Pakistan.Why is Pakistan giving shelter to people like Dawood Ibrahim and his likes including the Kandahar Indian Airlines Hijack perpetrators ?
As a nation both have to own responsibilities and not waste away the energy in blame game.A lot of soul searching is required on both sides otherwise both shall continue to be dogged by these rogue elements who have no nation or religion and will be the only ones to gain from eternal conflict with the two nations.Does it take so much effort to stand up and say "we shall stand by each other and throw these rogues at the mercy of justice department which is followed by translating it into actualisation by sincere actions".
at 07:34 on December 17th, 2008
Well articulated paper, I do agree with some of the step as indicated by you, but personally I quite don't agree with the solution of "The entire state of Pakistan has to be encircled with the combined forces of INDIA, Pakistan army and US forces to seal any attempt of the elements disappearing into the tribal belts fearing action."
There are civilians across the border, who just like any other common man stay in communal harmony with the Hindus and aren't in any way associated to the terror groups or with the politics. I believe that these innocent people do have the right to lead a normal life like any one of us!
Encircling the entire state of Pakistan could lead to severe convulsions in the South Asian continent and would not be suggestible.
Yes, I do agree that the certain Sections of the Political and Military system of Pakistan do harbour such terrorists and the terror camps. We do have enough circumstantial evidence to it.
But probably what we could do on our part is to step up a more stringent procedure of recruiting people into the armed forces and a more stronger vigilance system in order to protect confidential information and the people who have access to it. We need to be proactive. Lets not forget that, when we point a finger at someone, the remaining fingers ate pointing at ourselves.
Selfish interests of the Indian politicians has harnessed such activities. Some of the "so called businesses" of Dawood are linked to elected representatives.
Secondly, we have to set up network of intelligence and defense which is answerable to the President alone.
If you probably have seen movies of Rambo and Body of lies, You realise the intricacies of the political world. It is a nexus of dirty game. People from the Arab countries who join such groups, think that they will be attacking the US but end up forcefully in India, which is what they don't want. Who are to be blamed then???
Hussian,
I partly agree with you. The society is made of good and bad people. But not all Indians are bad. I am extremely flabbergasted by the speech of Shahrukh Khan, who as an human being and not as an Indian spoken against terrorism and highlighted the facts of Islam on how it doesn't teach jihad for terrorism.He is truly a respected Person in the media, industry and the people. Hats off to him.
at 03:32 on December 22nd, 2008
Dear friends,
Do you know what is the root cause of the conflict between india and pakistan?
I think you dont know. Let me the pleasure of doing so.
At the time of seperation indian occupied a vast area of kashmir into their custody and start killing the people who protest against them. Due to this reason some of the kashmiris start migration towards pakistan but migration not removes the hate which is caused in their minds for india. Now these Kashmirirs and also Pakistanis are looking to take revenge and they are on track because when you hit someone you will also get the same reply sooner or later it will occur. (every action there is an equal and opposite reaction).
So to bring peace in the reigon its necessary to solve the kashmir dispute if you want peace than you have to give freedom to Kashmirirs we as Pakistanis are not saying hand over Kashmir to us just give them freedom, they can make their own country where they can live in peace.
hope you understand what I am trying to say, and further Pakistan wants peace in its own soil if we know where the terrorists are hidden we will caught them ourself because they are also threat to our countries peace but India thinks we hide them what we will got to hide them we have bomb attacks every day 100's of people die every day than why we support the terrrorists tell me honestly.
Nows its indian who have to think positively about the peace ful Asia, yes peace can come to us but we have to make certain changes in our minds.
Hope you will understand one day.
Muhammad Saqib
at 07:47 on December 14th, 2008
First of all, one wonders how ignorant is Mr. Ramjethmalani a senior Indian parliamentarian when he said the Islamic world has no nuclear power, whereas Pakistan, an Islamic state, is a declared nuclear power.
On the other hand, the writer has analysed rightly or wrongly various issues relating to Pakistan but ignored all about Indian terrorist organisations as if there is no terrorist or extremist among Hindus while a serving Indian army officer has been found involved in terrorism not by Pakistanis but the Indian police. If there is any doubt in the mind of the writer about involvement of India in terrorism acts inside Pakistan, he can go to: http://my.nowpublic.com/world/tit-tat-pakistan-demand-india-hand-over-35-wanted-persons
Blaming others is very easy but owning something is very difficult and it seems same is the case with the writer.
at 09:15 on December 14th, 2008
let pakistan own responsibility and handover Dawood but it cannot do it i suppose because he runs the countries economy yes their are biases sometimes in writing according to the country one hails,i agree to that and those are well debated here.it is high time Pakistan put its house on order and by the way if heir are Hindu terrrist they will be dealt aptly by the Indian Law.Does this happen in Pakistan.To threaten that you are nuclear power will does not mean anything and by the way keep that bomb intact lest it falls in the hand of terrist and pakistan is smitten by the weapon it carries in its bosom one day
at 11:49 on December 14th, 2008
Azzayindia, yes there may be biases but facts too are very important. I did not mean to threaten anybody with Pakistan's nuclear bomb but I wanted to point out how ignorant the Indian parliamentarians are.
As for Dawood, he is of Indian origin and not in Pakistan as has been repeatedly stated by the Pakistani authorities. It is figment of your imagination that Dawood is running Pakistani economy.
How can one believe that Hindu terrorists would be dealt with
at 19:58 on December 14th, 2008
same way as we are made to believe by pakistan tat they are dealing with islamist terrrist
at 19:59 on December 14th, 2008
and as for the nuclear bomb go on drop it
at 05:18 on December 18th, 2008
Dear Ashok
Hope you have seen the news today. The Pakistan Foreign minister has completely gone back to the traditional denial by declining the evidence down that the Mumbai terror attackers didnt have any Pakistani link and the apprehended terrorist KASAB is not a Pakistani when the whole world is aware of his connection with Faridkot .Now they declare that Masood Azar and Ibhrahim Dawood are not in their country. Is this any surprise for India ?. This is the standard position taken when every time <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><?xml:namespace prefix = u1 />Pakistan government is put under pressure to act .
Pakistan has to realize that these Jihads or underworld dons were an asset to them once for their foreign policy an business interest .They are now a liability and for their own good they have to get rid of them.
This calls for India to take a more assertive stand than what has been taken .Again assertiveness doesn’t not mean belligerence. Compel Pakistan now to act and get it to act .No matter what more diplomatic maneuvers Pakistan makes sadly it has now run out of options this time and the whole world is watching to understand who is actually in control in Pakistan .Is it the Zardari government ?, the ISI ,the Pakistan army?, or the Jehadis?
Joint action with the world community and freezing the entire boundaries of Pakistan is the first step to remove these cancerous elements in Pakistan for their own good as a country.
Its like a sick patient who refuses to seek medication.Eventually the person will know how sick the person was only after compelled into treatment and medication restoring normal healthThey are incapable of doing it themselves as they simply cannot disentangle the mesh of the nexus between the rogue elements and administration. They have to be persuaded to work on jointly and not engulf any sovereignty issues here. India should maintain its tough stand till the complete objective is achieved. India cannot just rely on their empty promises any more .
We must act on the following
a) The perpetrators are brought to justice
b) All the Banned outfits/camps are actually closed and their assets freezed
c) The ISI is reined and controlled by the Pakistani govt
d) All the jehadis or their organizations along with their leaders are terminated
There shall be no peace in the Indian subcontinent untill then
at 00:44 on December 24th, 2008
Dear Muhammad Saqib,
You have in your understanding on the Kashimir issue missed the historical facts.Kashmir was ruled by Raja Hari Singh who was a hindu ruler and had not signed the instrument of accession like the rest of the 500 maharajas and rajas in India as the British left the Indian administration.He was not very sure what he wanted to do as his state had majority of the Muslim population in Kashmir and hindus were in majority in Jammu .He perhaps wanted to continue as the monarch. It was only when marauders invaded the kashmir valley from the Pakistani side did he realise that his kingdom was in danger of being thrown into anachy and his family lives were in complete risk, that he decided to call upon the then Indian governement for help in 1947.When the Indian army came to his assistence the mercenaries were very close to the Srinagar airport.If they had succeeded in capturing the airport then perhaps there would never have been the contention of Kashmir as Indian army would have no access to Srinagar the only way to kashmir. So Hari Singh called for help from the Indian army and signed the instrument of accession acceding the state of Kashmir to India as an integral part of Indian union legally..This is when the Indian army came to defend the State of jammu and Kashmir . POK was a part of the same territory that Pakistan has occupied and not India in 1971.If India was the agressor then how come you have a territory called POK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) in place ?
PLease care to read the facts below
The People of Kashmir have gone to election and have been electing their representatives to the parliament from last 60 years.Its a hand ful of population that seeks independence may be around 25% and some 5% seek merger with Pakistan in a population of 30 lakhs.
This is evident by nearly 65% turnout of residents of Jammu and Kashmir in the elections last week of .
Some handful of the youths who are indoctrinated on the freedom movement in kashmir and yet some being used in the terror instruments cannot become the voice of Kashmir.If they mean to really seek freedom then they could have participated in the political dialogue .But they chose to come out in the cover of darkness and massacre innocent people via merciless and ruthless killings of innocents and sometimes a lot of Kashmiris themselves.
The State mechanism and the Indian army and BSF have been facing the wrath of these youths and sacrificing their lives every day . Some times when one has to face terrorist in the midst of the the general population without any distinction in appearances the security forces commit such blunders like punishing and killing innocent citizens while attacking the terrorist who use human sheild of the local population.Many a times it has also been found that heavy infiltrations with foriegn Jihadis across the border continue the violence when the valley is calm and whip up emotions on both sides.
More than 30,000 civilians have died since 1991 - 2008 .There was never a migration of this population into Pakistan .Pakistan continues to hold a part of Kashmir territory in which muslim Kashmiris have relocated.
The Kashmiris will know peace if the sponsor of terror is stopped across the border and the people are allowed to focus themselves on development and progress.Peace will automatically prevail .The kashmir folks are neither interested in the politics of Pakistan or breaking away from India .The majority of the population want to live in peace.
25% of the poluation cannot decide the fate of the entire state of Kashmir.So no matter what Pakistan says or claims time will tell in the future as to how long the violent methods can persist in self determination process of the Kashmir people.
at 05:57 on December 24th, 2008
The tragic results of the war with India for Pakistan - A forecast
War between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan over last month's militant attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai is seen as highly unlikely.
War would bring a wave of patriotism and national unity, analysts say. However, the authority of the civilian government that came to power this year after nine years of military rule, and had been trying to improve ties with India, would be undermined as the military would take charge of key decision-making. - At the end of a war, assuming the country has not been flattened by Indian nuclear strikes, the government would be under huge pressure to deal with the economic consequences.Nevertheless, with tension high and fiery rhetoric coming from various quarters on both sides, conflict between the neighbours who have fought three wars since 1947 cannot be ruled out.
Here is a look at some possible scenarios for Pakistan in the event of war:
Efforts to establish stable and sustainable civilian rule could be set back years. - India could try to stir up trouble in regions such as the energy-rich province of Baluchistan, where Pakistan says India has been meddling for years in support of separatist rebels fighting a low-key insurgency.
Similarly, Afghans, perhaps egged on by close ally India, could revive calls for a greater "Pashtunistan" (Afghanistan has never recognised the border with Pakistan, imposed by British colonialists in the 19th century, which divided ethnic Pashtuns). - Such developments in Baluchistan and the Pashtun-dominated northwest would revive deep-seated Pakistani fears of the break-up of their country.
The Pakistani military would effectively give up its part in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, analysts say, as it pulls troops off the western border with Afghanistan, where they have been battling militants, and deploys them on the eastern border with India. - Pakistani Taliban militants have already said they would rally to help the Pakistani military in the event of war against India.
Source - Economic timesPakistani efforts to rein in militant groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region would likely be reversed and the groups would be given a green light, or official support, to raise funds, recruit fighters and infiltrate India.
Public sympathy and support for militant groups would soar as they would be seen as national defenders against the "real enemy", India. - That would be the death knell for government attempts to convince a skeptical public that militancy has to be rooted out, and efforts to tackle it are for the good of the country and not just doing America's bidding.
at 08:43 on December 31st, 2008
South Kashmir comes out to vote ( 24th December 2008)
In the fifth phase of a staggered seven-phase- election process,
thousands of people queued up outside polling stations amid stringent
security arrangements and chilling cold to vote in 16 constituencies
across Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 63 per cent turnout was recorded in this phase, government officials said.
The polling which began on Wednesday morning, will decide the
electoral fortunes of 271 candidates, including two former chief
ministers -- Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Mufti Sayeed of the People's Democratic Party is fighting from
Anantnag, while as Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress is seeking
re-election from Bhaderwah in Doda district.
Brisk polling was recorded across all the polling stations and no
affect of boycott was felt despite the boycott call from separatists.
At places like Anantnag, Bijbehara, Dooru, Pahalgam, Kulgam, Qazigund
and some other areas people were seen in the queues outside polling
booths since morning.
The voter turn-out was low this morning due to chilly conditions
however it picked up soon after. As per officials 1,268 polling
booths were set up for the connivance of 11.65 lakh eligible voters to
cast their franchise.
"We are casting our votes so that development is carried out in our
constituency and employment avenues are generated," said Muzaffar
Ahamd, a voter at Kulgam.
Like the earlier five rounds of polls for the legislative assembly an
undeclared curfew was clamped in Srinagar and major towns which were
not going to polls Wednesday to prevent the separatist rally. The
proactive coordination committee - an amalgam of trade unions,
separatists, businessmen, lawyers, etc - that came into existence
during the Amarnath land row and spearheading the election boycott had
appealed to people to march towards the districts where polling was
being held.
The main contest in south Kashmir is between the National Conference
and the PDP, though other parties like Indian National Congress, the
Panthers Party, the Samajwadi Party, the Lok Jan Shakti Party, the
Awami National Conference, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the
Communist Party of India (Marxist), and many independents, are also in
the race.
As compared to 2002 assembly elections when 124 candidates were in
contest, this time a record number of 271 candidates including 11
women contestants are trying their luck.
Ten former ministers – Abdul Aziz Zargar, Abdul Rehman Veeri, Abdul
Gaffar Sofi, G A Mir, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, G M Saroori, Mehboob
Beg, Sakina Itoo, Peerzada Ghulam Ahmed Shah, Mohammed Akbar Gannie –
are also seeking a re-election in the state Assembly.
State CPI (M) chief Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami is also in the fray.
The elections for the state legislature, which began Nov. 17, are
being held in seven phases through Dec. 24. On Dec. 28 the counting of
votes would take place and results would be made public.
The voting in the ongoing elections has been largely peaceful with a
higher-than-expected turnout of over 60 percent. The first phase
recorded nearly 69 per cent turnout. Second phase recorded 65 per
cent. Third phase recorded 68 per cent. Fourth and fifth phase
recorded 55 per cent and 57 per cent respectively.
at 01:26 on December 26th, 2008
you should have understand that you cause teriorism in India and if this time war occurs you will be absolutely be finished.you.pakistan will be lost from the map of world.
at 06:47 on December 31st, 2008
Pak official raises doubt on Kasab's letter
Wed, Dec 31 03:04 PM
Islamabad, Dec 31 (PTI) A top Pakistani official has sought to doubt the authenticity of the letter written by Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone gunman captured for the Mumbai terror attacks, to seek legal aid from the Pakistan government. Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah claimed the language and contents of the letter did not "match those of a real Pakistani".
"They (Indians) have simply tried to make up a story and have even failed in that too," Shah told reporters during a visit yesterday to the headquarters of the National Database and Registration Authority, Pakistan's national database. Questioning the authenticity of the letter written by Iman alias Ajmal Kasab, Shah repeated interior ministry chief Rehman Malik's contention that no records of Iman had been found in the NADRA database.
However, the database covers only 60 million of Pakistan's total population of over 160 million. Shah also said the Indian authorities had not yet shared evidence on the Mumbai attacks with Pakistan.
"Why did the Indians not share the identity of the others accused in the attacks? They are talking just about Ajmal Kasab, who was not even arrested from the crime scene," he said. He also said that one of the mobile phone Subscriber Identity Modules allegedly recovered from Iman was issued from Austria.
Iman's father recently admitted to the influential Dawn newspaper that the gunman whose picture was beamed round the world by the media was his son. Residents of Iman's village of Faridkot in Punjab province too have told the Pakistani media that he belonged to the area and had told his mother during his last visit home that he was going away for jehad.
PTI.
at 08:41 on December 31st, 2008
LeT's Zarar Shah confesses to involvement in 26\11 attacks
December 31, 2008 14:38 IST
Last Updated: December 31, 2008 16:31 IST
Top Lashkar-e-Tayiba commander Zarar Shah captured in the crackdown on militants earlier this month in Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, has confessed the group's involvement in the terror attacks in Mumbai, a media report said
on Wednesday.
Shah has also implicated other LeT members, and had broadly confirmed the confession made by the sole captured militant Ajmal Kasab to Indian investigators--that the 10 assailants trained in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and then went by boat from Karachi to Mumbai , the Wall Street Journal reported quoting a senior Pakistani security official.
The paper said Pakistan's own investigationof terror attacks in Mumbai had begun to show substantive links between the LeT and 10 gunmen who took part in the Mumbai mission.
Pakistani security officials were quoted as saying that a top Lashkar commander, Zarar Shah, has admitted a role in the Mumbai attack during interrogation. The paper quoted a person familiar with investigation as saying that Shah also admitted that the attackers spent at least a few weeks in Karachi, training in urban combat to hone skills they would use in their assault.
The disclosure, it said, could add new international pressure on Pakistan to accept that the attacks, which left 183 dead in India, originated within its borders and to prosecute or extradite the suspects.
That raises difficult and potentially destabilising issues for the country's new civilian government, its military and the spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence--which is conducting interrogations of militants it once cultivated as partners, the Journal said.
"He is singing," the security official said of Shah.
The admission, the official told the paper, is backed up by US intercepts of a phone call between Shah and one of the attackers at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, the site of a 60-hour confrontation with Indian security forces.
A second person familiar with the investigation was quoted by the Journal as saying that Shah told Pakistani interrogators that he was one of the key planners of the operation, and that he spoke with the attackers during the rampage to give them advice and keep them focused.
Shah, the paper said, was picked up along with fellow Lashkar commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi during the military camp raids in PoK.
The probe, the Journal said, also is stress-testing an uncomfortable shift under way at Pakistan's spy agency -- and the government -- since the election of civilian leadership replacing the military-led regime earlier this year.
Military and intelligence officials, it says, acknowledge they have long seen India as their primary enemy and Islamist extremists such as Lashkar as allies.
But now the ISI is in the midst of being revamped, and its ranks purged of those seen as too soft on Islamic militants.
That revamp and the Mumbai attacks are in turn putting pressure on the civilian leadership, which risks a backlash among the population -- and among elements of ISI and the military -- if it is too accommodating to India.
"Don't fight the ISI. It can make or break any regime in Pakistan," retired General Mirza Aslam Beg, a former army chief, was quoted as saying.
The delicate politics of the Mumbai investigation, the Journal said, have given the spy agency renewed sway just when the government was trying to limit its influence. A Western diplomat told the paper that the question now is what Pakistan will do with the evidence it is developing.
The big fear in the West and India is a repeat of what happened after a 2001 attack on India's parliament, which led to the ban on Lashkar.
Top militant leaders were arrested only to be released months later, the Journal noted. Lashkar and other groups continued to operate openly, even though formal ISI links were scale back or closed, the diplomat was quoted as saying.
"They've got the guys. They have the confessions. What do they do now?" the diplomat said. "We need to see that this is more than a show. We want to see the entire infrastructure of terror dismantled. There needs to be real prosecutions this time."
A spokesman for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari , Farhatullah Babar, was quoted as saying on Tuesday that he wasn't aware of the Pakistani investigation yet producing any links between Lashkar militants and the Mumbai attacks.
"The Interior Ministry has already stated that the government of Pakistan has not been furnished with any evidence," he said.
The Pakistani security official, it said, cautioned that the investigation is still in early stages and a "more full picture" could emerge once India decides to share more information.
Pakistani authorities didn't have evidence that LeT was involved in the attacks before the militants' arrest in PoK, the security official claimed. They were captured based only on initial guidance from US and British authorities.
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at 02:37 on January 17th, 2009
what i suppose you people who want war, your souls are dead. if some are doing wrong are you suppose to punish the whole nation. the children of pakistan. they are our brothers.
at 05:53 on January 20th, 2009
as Quran clearly mentions that, "killing of one human being it is as killing of whole of humanity and saving of one human being is as saving of whole of humanity" therefore any true would not want war but in self defence we have right to fight back till death muslims do not want war or blood shed but if there will be any signal of war between india and pakistan every child of pakistan will get out and will fight to save his home land . as we did in 1965 pakisatanis tighted bombs and laid down in front of indian tanks. but still we wanr peace and want to live with love and peace with our neighbours. thanx Ali Raza Baloch 0092 333 7345169