A pulverised Muslim leadership

By Shireen M Mazari Once again the tragic pulverization of the Muslim leadership has revealed itself in the mumblings and fumblings that have followed the launch of the new Israeli military campaign to annihilate the Palestinian people that dare to seek an end to Israel's illegal occupation of their lands – or even those that simply dare to exist with a modicum of self-respecting defiance of Israeli fascism. Over 400 people killed so far by Israel's military machine, so carefully aided and abetted by the US and its European allies. So where are the voices of the Muslim world? Where is some action to show that they will not allow Israel to commit genocide of the Palestinians? A few muted declaratory protests are all that have come so far. Is the Muslim World really so helpless in the face of Israeli abuse backed by the US?

No. The helplessness of the Muslim world is a myth. The reality is that the Muslim leadership – primarily Arab in the context of Palestine – has chosen to be pulverized into submission to the US and its more belligerent western allies. After all, despite numerous incidents of aggression and abuse at the hands of the US and Israel, the Arab leadership – barring some exceptions like Syria – continues to rely financially and militarily on the US and Europe. Their weapon systems are from these parts and their financial assets continue to lie primarily in the banking systems of the west. Both these facts could, of course, be used as a source of pressure also but that would require a strong and defiant Arab leadership and that does not seem to be on the horizon. Yet just imagine what a withdrawal of financial assets from the west would do! And just imagine how many arms industries would feel the pinch, and maybe even go under, if the Arab states did not buy their weapon systems! And one has not even begun to see the already-demonstrated-in-the-seventies power of oil.

But none of these elements of defiance will come into play so the Israelis will have a free hand in killing Palestinians by the hundreds – unless some western states with a genuine conscience and commitment to human rights, like some of the Nordic states or Canada, move forcefully but their power is limited partly by politics and partly by their still existing guilt over the Jewish Holocaust at the hands of the European monster of Nazism. It is indeed a supreme irony that the belated rejection of this European crime is allowing states to accept attempted genocides today – be it of the Bosnian Muslims, the Palestinians or the Muslims of Gujarat.

Perhaps an even greater tragedy is that the Muslim leadership has lost its will to stand up against all this abuse. If the Arabs would have taken their resources out of the west and invest it effectively in the Muslim World, especially the poorer but more technically competent Muslim states, the global picture would have been different today. If the Arab world would have stopped hosting US armed forces, so many murderous global designs of this unilateralist imperial power would have been undermined. For those Arab states that have security fears from their neighbourhood, surely dialogue and security pacts with strong Muslim states could have been a more viable alternative. As for purchasing of western weapon systems, if they are truly needed and alternatives are not considered viable, the dependency works both ways and could be exploited by the purchaser also.

But all this is mere day dreaming or wishful thinking. Or is it? After all the uplifting example of Hezbollah's success against Israel; the Iranian nation's steadfastness against US bullying; and even Syria's dignified and assertive reaction to one US bombing attack on its territory that should put a militarily much stronger Pakistan to shame. At another plane, there is the Mahatir economic miracle and political assertiveness. Again, at a time when Pakistan's leadership continues to bow ever lower to the US, a look in the easterly direction of Malaysia would not be amiss. Of course, if we could only have learnt some lessons from our long standing Chinese friends, we would have perhaps traversed less tumultuous paths.

But today we have reduced the country into a place where the rich and influential break all rules; where their children defy any institutional standards or procedures for jobs; and where repression and power grabbing are the norms, with rulers wanting absolute power – be they in uniform or in civvies. Is it any wonder then that there is no spirit left to defend against external or internal threats to our existence? The powerful grab all and move back to their nests abroad while the rest turn in despair to prayer and the life hereafter in their pillaged state.

Coming back to the self-created helplessness of the Muslim world in the face of the incessant abuse and violence unleashed by Israel and the US, one may well ask where the UN is today. Clearly it's Security Council has been reduced to an organization that is here to defend only the US and its allies and their agendas. That is why Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has been reduced to whimpering a protest against the latest Israeli attempt at genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. First they starved them of all amenities including basic health, food and water and now they are moving in with military attacks while the US prevents any international condemnation through the UNSC.

But the UNSC has become a highly contentious political body for some time now – especially in the face of the demise of bipolarity. After all, look at its absurdities on the terrorism issue. While the UNSC's Committee on Taliban and Al Qaeda is Muslim-specific, the Counter Terrorism Committee is not. Yet one has seen no efforts to put the Hindu RSS and VHP violent extremist groups on the terrorist list. Nor has any thought even been given to state terrorism that the US is perpetrating in Iraq and Pakistan; that Israel is carrying out in Palestine; and that India is continuing in Occupied Kashmir. It is no wonder then that the UN feels under siege and has to barricade itself behind concrete in countries like Pakistan despite the fact that our soldiers die for the UN in the largest numbers and we continue to pay our UN contribution which helps pay the fattened salaries of the UN personnel that seem to regard Pakistan as a hostile land! Even the windows have been bricked up. What a farce! The UN may as well leave Islamabad since at the moment it is merely adding to our already many miseries. If it distrusts the people of Pakistan so much it should also look elsewhere for Blue Berets in the future.

But which Pakistani leader will have the national dignity to stand up for Pakistan? Where is the voice of protest on these counts by affected states like Pakistan? Our official voice is too busy seeking subjugation before the US grand design. That is why when US Secretary of State Rice calls India she calls her equivalent external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee (who seems to have discovered the true spirit of Islam suddenly); but when she calls Pakistan she calls the president directly!

Yes, like so many of the resource-rich and financially powerful Muslim states, the militarily powerful and potentially resource-laden Pakistan has also been pulverized psychologically into a state with a muted and whimpering voice. Despite the military capability, our leaders are not prepared to defend their people against the daily US drone attacks, that are shrinking the space for moderation in the country (the frivolities of our leaders was so clearly laid out by Farrukh Saleem in his last column, but even that was simply one part of a much wider absurdity gripping our leaders). How are we expected to effectively raise our voice for the Palestinians then? And is it any wonder that Muslim people are being massacred with impunity today?

The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com

RAW’s infiltration in Pakistan

Dr Mian Ihsan Bari

The Cabinet Secretariat Research and Analysis Wing [RAW], India’s most powerful intelligence agency, is India ‘ s external intelligence agency. RAW has become an effective instrument of India ‘ s national power, and has assumed a significant role in formulating India’s domestic and foreign policies. RAW has engaged in disinformation campaigns, espionage and sabotage against Pakistan and other neighboring countries. RAW has enjoyed the backing of successive Indian governments in these efforts. Working directly under the Prime Minister, the structure, rank, pay and perks of the Research & Analysis Wing are kept secret from Parliament. Terrorist activities in Pakistan attributed to the clandestine activities of Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies include: A car bomb explosion in Saddar area of Peshawar on 21 December 1995 caused the deaths of 37 persons and injured over 50 others. An explosion at Shaukat Khanum Hospital on 14 April 1996, claimed the lives of seven persons and injured to over 34 others. A bus traveling from Lahore to Sahiwal was blown up at Bhai Pheru on 28 April 1996, causing the deaths of 44 persons on the spot and injuring 30 others. An explosion in a bus near the Sheikhupura hospital killed 9 persons and injured 29 others on 08 May 1996. An explosion near Alam Chowk, Gujranwala on 10 June 1996 killed 3 persons and injured 11 others.

A bomb exploded on a bus on GT Road near Kharian on 10 June 1996, killing 2 persons and injuring 10 others. On 27 June 1996, an explosion opposite Madrassah Faizul Islam, Faizabad, Rawalpindi , killed 5 persons and injured over 50 others. A bomb explosion in the Faisalabad railway station passenger lounge on 08 July 1996 killed 3 persons and injured 20 others. RAW executed a hijacking of an Indian Airliner to Lahore in 1971 which was attributed to the Kashmiris, to give a terrorist dimension to the Kashmiri national movement. However, soon the extent of RAW’s involvement was made public. Current policy debates in India have generally failed to focus on the relative priority given by RAW to activities directed against India’s neighbours versus attention to domestic affairs to safeguard India ‘ s security and territorial integrity. The RAW has had limited success in dealing with separatist movements in Manipur and Tripura in the northeast, Tamil Nadu in the south, and Punjab and Kashmir in the northwestern part of the country. Indian sources allege the CIA has penetrated freedom fighters in Kashmir and started activities in Kerala, Karnataka, and other places, along with conducting economic and industrial espionage activities in New Delhi.

In 1968 India established this special branch of its intelligence service specifically targeted on Pakistan . The formation of RAW was based on the belief that Pakistan was supplying weapons to Sikh terrorists, and providing shelter and training to the guerrillas in Pakistan. Pakistan has accused the Research and Analysis Wing of sponsoring sabotage in Punjab, where RAW is alleged to have supported the Seraiki movement, providing financial support to promote its activities in Pakistan and organizing an International Seraiki Conference in Delhi in November-December 1993. RAW has an extensive network of agents and anti-government elements within Pakistan, including dissident elements from various sectarian and ethnic groups of Sindh and Punjab . Published reports allege that as many as 35,000 RAW agents have entered Pakistan between 1983-93, with 12,000 are working in Sindh, 10000 in Punjab, 8000 in North West Frontier Province and 5000 in Balochistan. As many as 40 terrorist training camps at Rajasthan, East Punjab, Held Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of India are run by the RAW ‘ s Special Service Bureau (SSB).

Throughout the Afghan War, RAW was responsible for the planning and execution of terrorist activities in Pakistan to deter Pakistan from support of Afghan liberation movement against India ‘ s ally, the Soviet Union . The assistance provided to RAW by the KGB enabled RAW to arrange terrorist attacks in Pakistani cities throughout the Afghan War. The defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan did not end the role of RAW in Pakistan, with reports that suggest that India has established a training camp in the town of Qadian , in East Punjab , where non-Muslim Pakistanis are trained for terrorist activities. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has blamed India for funding the current upsurge of terrorism in Pakistan, and senior ministers have blamed the Research and Analysis Wing for the sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis which has resulted in thousands of deaths every year.

Terrorist activities in Pakistan attributed to the clandestine activities of Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies include: A car bomb explosion in Saddar area of Peshawar on 21 December 1995 caused the deaths of 37 persons and injured over 50 others. An explosion at Shaukat Khanum Hospital on 14 April 1996, claimed the lives of seven persons and injured to over 34 others. A bus traveling from Lahore to Sahiwal was blown up at Bhai Pheru on 28 April 1996, causing the deaths of 44 persons on the spot and injuring 30 others. An explosion in a bus near the Sheikhupura hospital killed 9 persons and injured 29 others on 08 May 1996. An explosion near Alam chowk, Gujranwala on 10 June 1996 killed 3 persons and injured 11 others. A bomb exploded on a bus on GT Road near Kharian on 10 June 1996, killing 2 persons and injuring 10 others. On 27 June 1996, an explosion opposite Madrassah Faizul Islam, Faizabad, Rawalpindi , killed 5 persons and injured over 50 others. A bomb explosion in the Faisalabad railway station passenger lounge on 08 July 1996 killed 3 persons and injured 20 others. RAW executed a hijacking of an Indian Airliner to Lahore in 1971 which was attributed to the Kashmiris, to give a terrorist dimension to the Kashmiri national movement. However, soon the extent of RAW’s involvement was made public. RAW has a long history of activity in Bangladesh, supporting both secular forces and the area ‘ s Hindu minority.

The involvement of RAW in East Pakistan is said to date from the 1960s, when RAW promoted dissatisfaction against Pakistan in East Pakistan, including funding Mujibur Rahman’s general election in 1970 and providing training and arming the Mukti Bahini. During the course of its investigation the Jain Commission received testimony on the official Indian support to the various Sri Lankan Tamil armed groups in Tamil Nadu. From 1981, RAW and the Intelligence Bureau established a network of as many as 30 training bases for these groups in India. Centers were also established at the high-security military installation of Chakrata, near Dehra Dun, and in the Ramakrishna Puram area of New Delhi . This clandestine support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), some of whom were on the payroll of RAW, was later suspended. Starting in late 1986 the Research and Analysis Wing focused surveillance on the LTTE which was expanding ties with Tamil Nadu separatist groups. Rajiv Gandhi sought to establish good relations with the LTTE, even after the Indian peacekeeping Force [IPKF] experience in Sri Lanka. But the Indian intelligence community failed to accurately assess the character of the LTTE and its orientation India and its political leaders.

The LTTE assassination of Rajiv Gandhi was apparently motivated by fears of a possible re-induction of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka and a crackdown on the LTTE network in Tamil Nadu. The RAW and the Ministry of External Affairs are provided Rs 25 crore annually as “discretionary grants” for foreign influence operations. These funds have supported organisations fighting Sikh and Kashmiri separatists in the UK, Canada and the US. An extensive network of Indian operatives is controlled by the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. The Indian embassy ‘ s covert activities are reported to include the infiltration of US long distance telephone carriers by Indian operatives, with access to all kinds of information, to r blackmail relatives of US residents living in India . In 1996 an Indian diplomat was implicated in a scandal over illegal funding of political candidates in the US . Under US law foreign nationals are prohibited from contributing to federal elections. The US District Court in Baltimore sentenced Lalit H Gadhia, a naturalised US citizen of Indian origin, to three months imprisonment. Gadhia had confessed that he worked as a conduit between the Indian Embassy and various Indian-American organisations for funnelling campaign contributions to influence US lawmakers.
Over $46,000 from the Indian Embassy was distributed among 20 Congressional candidates. The source of the cash used by Gadhia was Devendra Singh, a RAW official assigned to the Indian Embassy in Washington. Illicit campaign money received in 1995 went to Democratic candidates including Sens. Charles S. Robb (D-Va.), Paul S Sarbanes (D -Md.) and Reps. Benjamin L Cardin (D-Md.) and Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.).
http://pakobserver.net/200812/31/Articles02.asp

Time to step back

Seema Mustafa

India and Pakistan have stepped up the rhetoric to a point where the terrorists have been given the key to conflict between the two nations. One act of terror now will leave the UPA government with no option but to declare war, with Pakistan having already taken itself into battle mould with fighter jets flying over key cities and the army amassing at the borders with India.

There seems to be little concern in either capital about the consequences of the war rhetoric. Senior leaders in Delhi are heard saying that it will not come to a war, “because the Americans do not want a war as it does not suit their interests.” The question that then does not get an answer is, “have we lost the ability to think and act for ourselves?” And is it in India’s strategic interests to go in for a war with Pakistan, or is now our policy determined just by US interests?

The confusion in the Congress camp is evident. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently spoke of war not being an option, but this is not ruled out by the Congress whose spokesperson virtually contradicted Singh the very next day by declaring that all options were on the table. Minister of external affairs Pranab Mukherjee is also currently of this last point of view, with the fast approaching general elections determining the tone and tenor of his rhetoric. He is clearly happy that the Congress has, for the moment, stolen the thunder from the BJP and is determined to cash this to the utmost.

The Pakistan establishment is also making the most of the situation. After the initial hesitation by President Asif Ali Zardari, Islamabad realized that war talk was the best way to unite a fractured nation. And has done so in a manner that today the army is back in the lead with the quiet General Kayani leading the “we will hit back” sentiment while the politicians and civil society quietly fall in line.

The Pakistan army, under attack from its own citizens for its aggressive role in the US-led war on terror, is suddenly finding itself with support again. It has also realized that it can use the threat of war from India to move operations from the Afghan border to the Indian border, and thereby regain some of the lost popularity with its people. Its basic constituency that includes the jihadi groups and the Taliban were fast becoming its enemies, and the army clearly hopes to stem this tide by awakening the borders with India. Given the Pakistan army’s traditional links, the statement by Baitullah Mehsood that he and his men will fight alongside the Pakistan army against India is no doubt being seen as a major step forward.

For the past couple of years the attention of Pakistan had shifted from Kashmir and India, to Afghanistan and the US. The strong anti-US sentiment that had virtually engulfed that country was evident during the February elections when the people voted Musharraf out with a vengeance. Not because he was an army general, though that was part of the campaign of the political parties, but because he was seen as a US stooge who had forsaken Pakistan. The army was virtually put in the dock with Kayani issuing instructions to pull back officers from civilian positions. The terror attack in Mumbai and the strong response from Delhi has been strategised into a real war threat in Pakistan, with the country uniting in the process. Experts who had told this correspondent that Pakistan was facing a real threat of disintegration are now wondering at an Indian strategy where even the Balochis, almost at war with Islamabad, have expressed their support for the Pakistan government and army.

The US is worried but is hoping to make use of this opportunity to bring in a new cooperation - preferably military - between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although there is no indication of this in American journals at the moment, there will also be a sense of some relief that the Pakistan anger has been diverted to India, that the army which is an extremely important tool for the US is regaining some of its lost lustre, and short of a war the crisis can be converted into an opportunity. Needless to say the Americans have started looking at the crisis afresh, and this is evident in some of the recent statements that have emerged out of Washington. For instance, the US joint chief of staffs Navy Adm Mike Mullen told reporters after a key meeting in Islamabad that the long-term answer is a regional strategy that includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and other Central Asian nations. The nations must improve relations among one another so attacks like the one in Mumbai don’t escalate closer to conflict. He was of the view that military to military contacts can help lessen tensions among the countries of the region and put in place a structure for resolving problems.

So clearly both Pakistan and the US are strategizing the fallout of the Mumbai attack in what each perceive to be their own national interests. What about India? What is the strategy here? If it is war, how does it help India short of demonstrating a macho ability that has not gone well for even the US in Iraq and Afghanistan? If India attacks, Pakistan will certainly retaliate. What then? Will we wait for the US to separate us, or go into a full escalation? If the first, what will be the terms and conditions that India will have to agree to in return for peace? If the latter, what happens if some moron in Pakistan decides to go nuclear? Strategically, neither of these two options can benefit India and will actually have disastrous results.

Peace is the only option. As it gives governments the space required to develop and implement a strategy that protects Indian interests. The UPA government could have opted for hard diplomacy as one had suggested earlier in these columns. It could have used its international clout this time to ensure the economic and political isolation of Pakistan. This time several foreigners have been killed, and the world capitals have realized that the terror attack was as much on their citizens as on the Indians. The pressure could have been revved up to a point where Islamabad would have had to take action against the terrorists. The threat of war has instead united Pakistan, and silenced even those who had been writing and campaigning against the terror industry being nurtured by the Pakistan establishment. Well thought-out diplomacy with a step by step approach would have paid India rich dividends but the opportunity has not been seized by politicians who cannot see beyond their nose.

There are some who have been vociferously arguing for war, maintaining that this option requires ‘courage.’ How is it courageous to go in for the military option without any regard of the consequences? That is what Bush did when all the embedded journalists hailed him as the new hero and now shoes are being thrown at him physically by the brave journalist in Iraq and verbally by the world. The global war on terror has not ended terrorism, just strengthened it.

The writer is a former political editor and New Delhi bureau chief of The Asian Age. Email: seemamustafa@ gmail.com

Can Barack Obama change the world?

Dr Ali Mohammad

The new administration in the USA is about to take the reign of that country. The next President, Mr Barack Hussain Obama has promised to turn round the failed policies of the previous administration. It is hoped that he can give more to a better future for mankind as the world has suffered enough upheavals, death, and destruction. During the last eight years alone, Iraq has suffered nearly a million deaths while the same number of people have been crippled and maimed. That country, once the most advanced in the region, has been reduced to rubbles. Similarly, thousands of people have perished in Afghanistan since 9/11, while peace is nowhere in sight. Also, thousands of Palestinians have been murdered every year, and peace is as illusive as ever. In the past sixty years, the world has seen uprisings in Kashmir where hundreds of thousands have lost their lives. Yet nobody has recognized the genuine plight of the Kashmiri people in their struggle for the right to self-determination, which has been recognized by several UN resolutions. Pakistan, as a frontline state in the war against terrorism, has also paid a huge cost as an ally to the USA. It has suffered thousands of military and civilian casualties, while the cost to the economy is estimated at $35 billion since 2001. Yet, Pakistanis feel betrayed by the constant barrage of criticism in the West. They have come to agree with the view that to be USA’s enemy is dangerous, but to be its friend is suicidal. Today, the MuslimWorld, in general, feels that it has been treated extremely unfairly by the United States.

The new administration under the Presidency of Mr. Obama must understand that conflict resolution, through the barrel of the gun, has always failed. It has divided and displaced people, increased their sufferings, and invited further aggression. This has turned young souls to attempt suicide attacks. Several trillion dollars have been spent since WWII on weapons, which could have brought development and prosperity to the world. This money could have also saved millions of people from disease and starvation; it could have put every child in school and in places of higher learning; and it could have provided every family on earth with shelter. In sum, our world would have been a more safe, stable, and secure habitation for our future generations and ourselves.

We understand that President Obama has decided to take the oath of the office with his full name Barack Hussain Obama. He must have studied the life of Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAAS) who, with seventy-two loyal followers and family members, in 680 AD was brutally murdered for challenging the epicentre of tyranny, deception, injustice, perversity, and the worst types of transgression from moral values. But the tragedy did not end even after Imam Hussain’s martyrdom, as his family had to suffer cruelty and oppression for many years to come. For nearly fourteen hundred years, he has become a symbol of hope for the oppressed against tyrants, contentment against fetish lust for power, and moral life against decadence. He bestowed the humanity with concepts of beauty and dignity, love and care, and spiritual attributes of life and for life. In the words of Ali Naqi Naqvi, he has become “an eternal symbol of human dignity … a source of spiritual destiny … the vision and voice of the oppressed … and the effable mystery of Divine Dispensation which every age interprets according to its ethos and its needs…” Such are the mysteries of the sacrifices of Imam Hussain (AS) that must unfold for a better and a happier world. Millions of people from all faiths draw inspiration from Imam Hussain (AS). He truly rules their hearts and minds.

Perhaps we are expecting too much of a President. But then Mr. Obama is perhaps the last hope. He is also the President of the most powerful country on earth. As the leader of a super power, he has a serious responsibility towards a peaceful resolution of disputes and promotion of international cooperation and development — the alleviation of poverty and deprivation, equality among nations, and global environmental quality. Moreover, the dangers of nuclear superiority to our world are real, as there exists a stockpile of some 12,000 operational nuclear warheads that could destroy the entire planet within minutes. The USA certainly has the means and power to play a significant role in establishing security, peace, equality, justice, and true democratic rule in the world. However, its recent involvement in international conflicts has increased instability and insecurity in the world. Moreover, there are also emphatic examples of diminishing image and respect for the USA and its top leadership. I remember how American citizens were respected in the countries that I traveled to during the 1960s and 1970s. Today, they are constantly reminded of hostile attitudes in those countries. What the world needs are leaders with tremendous courage, singularity of purpose, and deep understanding of other countries — their history, culture, and beliefs. In these difficult times, the real leaders must fight for peace and prosperity of the world.

We believe that a major preoccupation of the new administration will have to be with the Muslim world, which consists of fifty-five countries that stretch from Indonesia to Senegal with some 1,200 million inhabitants. The Muslim world, due to the exploitation of its resources, maltreatment, and injustice rendered by the major Western powers, has become alienated. Moreover, for sixty years, the Western media has been relentlessly involved in Islam bashing. For every crime in the West, the first finger is raised at Muslims. The Western media often projects Muslims as if they are fire breathing, dagger-waving sub human creatures. Much has been written about terrorism, but very few have explored the real causes of terrorism, which could include deprivation and injustice. Violent crimes are found in every country. However, to make generalizations about an entire Faith based upon some of its transgressors is unfair, outright ignorant, and dishonest. Indeed, the majority of Muslims truly have concern for their families, for fellow beings, for peace, and for prosperity. And if they have any shortcomings or weaknesses, that should not give any power the right to exploit those countries. There are also many examples of discrimination and double standard towards the Muslim countries. For example, when Pakistan followed its nuclear tests in response to India’s several earlier tests, the Western media went into frenzy. It was dubbed an ‘Islamic Bomb.’ Why is it that nuclear bombs in the arsenal of other countries were not called the ‘Christian, Jewish, Communist, or Hindu Bomb’? This unabated disinformation has not stopped even after repeated assurances from Pakistan that its nuclear assets were safer than any other nuclear power in the world. The twisted minds have ignored the simple logic that how could any terrorist jump out of a cave and capture a ‘bomb.’ Not even the most powerful countries know anything about Pakistan’s nuclear assets. The only way terrorists could conceivably reach those assets would be to defeat Pakistan’s armed forces — an absolutely impossible scenario! The Western press has conveniently overlooked several real incidences of theft of nuclear material and uranium ore in India and other countries. In fact, the West has rewarded India with major nuclear deals! Moreover, even the UNO, which has become a mere tool of hegemony of the powerful over the weak nations, has been unfair with the problems facing the Muslim world. This has caused further gloom. Of the five permanent members of the UNSC, not one represents the Muslim world. The time has come to correct this injustice to nearly a quarter of humanity. Finally, for the past sixty years, the Palestinian and Kashmiri issues have remained unresolved. Without granting the right of self-determination to the Palestinians and Kashmiris, there will be more suffering and more human disaster. Next, stability and long term security in Afghanistan and Iraq lies in a political solution that should entail a proper representation of their people in governance, gradual withdrawal of foreign forces, and their large scale reconstruction. In Pakistan, many perceive President Obama to have ‘tilted’ towards India and to indulge in ‘Paki bashing.’ It is hoped that Barack Obama will prove to be fair and just in dealing with Pakistan and India. Elsewhere, there have been many incidences in the past where foreign agents were involved in destabilizing governments and installing unpatriotic and corrupt regimes.

Disagreement with other governments should not lead to jumping to the doctrine of ‘regime change.’ It is also surprising that some individuals in the USA should be considering encircling the fast rising global power China by arming and supporting India. It is urged that the new administration work with China and Russia in bringing peace and prosperity to the world. It is agreed that President Obama will certainly address economic and financial problems, environmental degradation, and depleting natural resources. But he can truly succeed if more urgent issues of international security are resolved. The whole world will greatly benefit if he takes on these issues with absolute seriousness and earnest commitment.

http://pakobserver.net/200812/30/Articles03.asp

India's double standards

Kapil Komireddi

While India blames Pakistan for inaction after Mumbai's terror attacks, it turns a blind eye to a dangerous terror organisation

"There should be no double standards in the global fight against terrorism," the Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh declared last week. The message was intended for Pakistan, but if Dr Singh is concerned about double standards, he should look closer to home.

Earlier this month Sri Lanka's state-run Sunday Observer published an interview with the country's army chief, Sarath Fonseka, who, while expressing solidarity with India after the Mumbai attacks, severely criticised some Indian politicians for supporting the LTTE. Fonseka had particularly harsh words for the powerful Tamil Nadu politicians Vaiko Gopalsamy and P Nedumaran, calling them "jokers" and accusing them of being venal mouthpieces of the LTTE. He wondered why these men would support an organisation that had assassinated an Indian prime minister, and warned that they were a threat to India's own integrity.

Within hours of the interview's publication, Tamil Nadu's political establishment united in condemnation of General Fonseka. In a letter to the Indian prime minister, Vaiko demanded that New Delhi seek an apology from the president of Sri Lanka. "In a democracy," he wrote, "army generals do not criticise leaders of a foreign country." Sensing trouble, Sri Lanka's president issued a statement "regretting" General Fonseka's remarks, and last week the Sunday Observer's editor Dinesh Weerawansa was summarily sacked. But all of this, far from diminishing General Fonseka's claims, only casts light on India's own irresponsible role in the vortex of terror that threatens to consume Sri Lanka.

The LTTE could not have grown without the support of successive state governments of Tamil Nadu in India. Founded in 1972, the LTTE was among the many groups formed to resist the majoritarian constitution of Sri Lanka which imposed Sinhala as the "sole official language" upon the country. Tamil Tigers used Chennai as a safe haven, and their activities, as the Indian historian Ramachandra Guha wrote, "were actively helped by the state government, with New Delhi turning an indulgent blind eye". The 1987 pact signed by Rajiv Gandhi and JR Jayawardene put a temporary halt to this, and India agreed to send peacekeeping forces to Sri Lanka to help Colombo disarm the LTTE, an adventure so disastrous that one Indian journalist at the time called it "India's Vietnam". The Tamil Tigers retaliated by assassinating Rajiv Gandhi.

The LTTE is arguably the world's most dangerous terrorist organisation. It is the only terrorist outfit to have successfully carried out assassinations of two heads of government. Its international cadres regularly extort money from Tamils in Canada and Australia and even Britain. By imposing the "one family, one fighter" rule, it has enslaved the very people whose liberation it claims to fight for. It has its own air force (Air Tigers), its own navy (Sea Tigers), an elite fighting unit (the Charles Anthony Regiment) and a dedicated suicide squad (Black Tigers). The Tamil Tigers make al-Qaeda look amateurish. But because the LTTE's victims are not western, it does not elicit the same kind of response that Islamist terror groups do.

India banned the LTTE in 1992, but a report released by Jane's Information Group last year identified Tamil Nadu as the principal source of LTTE's weapons; and Fonseka was not exaggerating when he said that the Indian politicians who support the LTTE are a threat to India's own integrity—much as the men who supported the Mumbai attackers are a threat to Pakistan's. Vaiko, the LTTE's fiercest Indian supporter, was recently arrested for suggesting that India's unity would be jeopardised if it supported the Sri Lankan government against the Tamil Tigers.

New Delhi did not intervene on behalf of Tibetan protesters—even though their leader, the Dalai Lama, was described by the Indian prime minister as the "personification of non-violence" — and it was conspicuous in its silence over the protests in Burma. It has accepted that Tibet is an integral part of China, and it has struck lucrative petroleum deals with the Burmese Junta—even though protesters in both nations have relied mostly on non-violent means to make their voices heard.

But it has consistently meddled in Sri Lankan affairs, stymieing Colombo's efforts against an adversary that has used almost exclusively violent means to achieve its ends. Much of this is no doubt a consequence of coalition politics: the government in New Delhi has to do certain things to keep its allies happy. But New Delhi dismisses Pakistan's messy internal problems as an excuse which Islamabad invokes to justify its inaction against Islamist terrorists based on its soil. How can it use the same excuse to carry on its do-nothing policy against Tamil terrorists based on its soil? After the Mumbai attacks Singh stated in emphatic terms that there can be no negotiations with terrorists; then, kowtowing to pressure from Tamil Nadu politicians, he agreed to send his Foreign Minister to Colombo to push the Sri Lankan government to do exactly that. If this does not amount to double standards, what does?

The killing fields

The tragic scenes from the Gaza Strip say a great deal about the kind of world we live in. It is an unjust one, a brutal one, where the mighty can kill and maim at will and the so-called protectors of human rights in Washington sit back and twiddle their thumbs. Is it then any surprise that Muslim radicalism is rising across the Islamic world? Can it indeed be held back when we see images of wounded women and children crying in agony as they lie sprawled in blood-stained mud?

Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip was the most intense military action in the area since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. For many Palestinians it was the worst attack in living memory. Over 275 people are reported killed, nearly 1,000 injured in the aerial strikes on Saturday and Sunday. Tanks were reported to have also been brought into the area. Israel, which began the action as an uneasy truce reached in June 2008 with Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since the militant group swept to a 2006 election victory and defeated rival Fatah in a brief civil war, broke down, claims it was responding to sporadic missile attacks from Gaza. Washington has backed this line, blaming Hamas for violating the ceasefire. Israel’s Defence Minister says specific targets were picked for the attacks. This is obviously ludicrous. The narrow Gaza Strip, one of the territories to which Palestinians have been driven since 1948, when Israel was created and an ethnic cleansing of Arabs initiated, is among the most over crowded territories on Earth. It is impossible to drop bombs on police stations and Hamas buildings without killing innocent people. The Israelis and their allies obviously know this. It seems apparent that the ruthless attack is intended to bolster support for the government in Israel before the country goes to polls in February. There is speculation that Tel Aviv also hoped to take advantage of the friendly Bush administration, in its last days in the White House.

What is awaited now is a response from the world. The UN is said to be discussing a statement drafted by the Russians. Arab and European leaders have slammed the attack. The reaction must however not be confined to rhetoric. The Middle East has been a global flashpoint for over six decades. Through these years, the people of Palestine have suffered repeated massacres and constant oppression. These acts have given birth to angry extremism in a part of the world where Islam took its most liberal, moderate form for centuries. The bravery of young men, women, even children, shouting out their defiance from the beds of overwhelmed hospitals must be lauded. Their courage over the decades has been extraordinary. It must now, in the face of this latest atrocity played out before the world by TV cameras, be rewarded by initiating action against Israel and ending the injustice that has given rise to so many of the intense problems we face today.

Over 50 arrested for violence in Bihar

PATNA: More than 50 people were arrested and about a dozen injured in clashes with police in Bihar on Saturday in protests against attacks on non-Maharashtrians in Mumbai, police said.
Various student organisations have given a call for a Bihar shutdown to protest the attacks in Mumbai and elsewhere by Maharashtra Navnirnam Sena (MNS) activists on non-Maharashtrian candidates appearing for railway recruitment examinations.
Protesters vandalized railway stations, blocked rail and road traffic and caused shops to shut down in the eastern state of Bihar, as police struggled to control street violence for a sixth day in a row. ( Watch )
Migrant workers from Bihar said they were attacked and thrown out of Mumbai over the last week by supporters of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS).
Protesters in one district of Bihar squatted on railways lines and unscrewed the engine of a passenger train, demanding the punishment of the MNS leader, who was arrested on Tuesday for rioting and provoking attacks on migrants but later released on bail.
The protesters were later dispersed by baton-wielding police. "The protesters tried to take possession of a train engine and blocked railway lines but we have driven them away", senior police official Rajesh Kumar said.
Police sources said that hundreds of students virtually laid siege to Shekhpura railway station, 100 km from here, and ransacked it. Police used batons to charge at the crowd after the students threw stones at them, district police officials said.
In Patna, things were normal since morning with heavy deployment of security forces. Traffic on the roads was normal, but most educational institutions remained closed. Anticipating trouble, the district administration had deployed extra police and security forces all around.
"We have deployed 5,000 police personnel and directed them to use force against trouble makers and not allow anyone to create violence," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar said.
On Wednesday, students' organisations had demanded that ministers and parliamentarians from Bihar resign en masse over the issue.
On Friday, hundreds of slogan shouting students blocked roads and attempted to forcibly shut down shops in Patna. Protests by students were also reported from Motihari, Bettiah, Sheikhpura and Gaya districts.
After three days of widespread violent protests that saw railway stations being ransacked and the movement of at least 200 trains affected, a semblance of normalcy had returned on Friday.
Railways started operating most trains from Patna and Danapur railway stations. But they continued to run behind time.
In the last five days, over half a dozen complaints have been filed across Bihar against MNS chief Raj Thackeray. The father of Pawan Kumar, a youth who was allegedly killed by MNS activists in Mumbai, filed a murder case against Raj Thackeray Friday in the court of chief judicial magistrate in Biharsharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda, about 100 km from here, court sources said.
Earlier, the police at Patna railway station filed a first information report (FIR) against Raj Thackeray and his supporters for the assault on students from Bihar.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Over_50_arrested_in_Bihar_over_violence/articleshow/3639823.cms

US-NATO-ISAF Must Punish All Hindu Terrorists Who Killed Christians

By Chad Hazlett

(InformPress.com) - The terror attacks on Mumbai made headlines aroundthe world. When the dust settled, we found ourselves asking the samequestions: "How did this happen?" and "What could we have done toprevent this?" But while India and the world contemplates the causesand consequences of these attacks, we ignore India's Hindu Terrorism:From late August through October 2008, organized Hindu extremistgroups committed systematic attacks killing more than 100 people,mostly Christians, in the eastern India state of Orissa. Mostworrying, the Hindu terrorists responsible for Orissa's violenceremain at-large and have explicitly threatened to repeat their attacksafter December 25, 2008.

Three Hindu extremist groups - the RSS, VHP, and the Bajrang Dal - areresponsible for this autumn's violence, destroying some 4500 homes andburning 147 churches in India. The dead are mostly Christians and somemoderate Hindus. Father Akbar Digal, a Christian, was beheaded afterthree times refusing to convert to Hinduism. Gayadhar Digal, a Hindu,was hacked to death, and his wife and son nearly killed for appearingsympathetic to Christianity. Others have been burned alive and beaten,then buried alive. Some 40,000-60,000 sought refuge in the forestswhere they were further hunted. Hundreds remain missing. Over 11,000remain displaced and the attackers have threatened to kill them uponreturning if they do not convert to Hinduism.

The attacks have been alarmingly systematic. Repeating tactics used bythese Hindu terror groups in similar attacks last year, the Augustattacks began with cutting down trees to block the roads and cuttingphone lines to block communications. Mobs led by these Hindu extremistgroups were armed with guns and machetes, shouting slogans such as"Christians must become Hindu or die. Kill Them. Kill Them. KillThem." The same Hindu terror groups have organized related attacksacross the country, the best known being in Gujarat, India, in 2002where about 2000 to 5000 Indian-Muslims were killed.

In each of these cases, violence continued for weeks withoutintervention by the state and the Hindu perpetrators have enjoyedimpunity thereafter. Six years after the Gujarat killings, there hasbeen only one conviction. There were no convictions after the December2007 violence. Without any punishment, we can expect these Hinduextremist groups to continue terrorizing civilians as a tactic toimpose their will on the state and drive out minority religiouscommunities.
In fact, threats of renewed violence in the coming weeks are so clearthat if we ignore them and violence escalates, nobody can say we"didn't know." The Hindu extremists remain at-large and have demandedthat the Orissa Government pass several laws to further suppressChristianity. Failure to impose these laws, they threaten, will resultin more violence through a ban on all public activity after Dec. 25 -enforced by club-toting members of these Hindu terror groups -effectively prohibiting Christian festivities.

Responsibility for preventing further violence lies with the IndianGovernment. The attacks in Mumbai have shown that when terroristsstrike at Westerners and expensive hotels, Indian security forces canreact and kill or arrest the terrorists within days. In Orissa, bycontrast, two months into the violence, victims of Hindu terrorismwere still being burned alive.

Orissa's Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, does not appear to be a Hindunationalist zealot. But he is politically beholden to Hindu extremistparties that use this violence to rally votes. At the national level,federal security forces finally came to stop the violence - after twomonths. However, [Indian-Sikh] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has notbanned all Hindu terrorist parties responsible despite calls fromadvisers to do so, perhaps because doing so could be bad for politicsin this Spring's election. This element of Indian Government sympathyand political hedging make international condemnation all the moreimportant. The international community should do its part to ensurethat banning violent Hindu extremists and ending impunity for them isto India's political and economic advantage. However, if the West isto speak more loudly on this issue, it must do so in the name ofcounter-terrorism, religious freedom and the fundamental human rights,not because it is Christians who were attacked this time.

The U.S. public response has been almost entirely the result ofmobilization by Christian groups with close ties to churches inOrissa. But the public coalition that can and should unite behind thisis much larger. Darfur's atrocities provoked an unprecedented Americanconstituency for stopping genocide. While this constituency continuespressing for peace and protection in Darfur, situations like Orissathat are more tractable and still in their formative stages offer anopportunity to achieve the most important goal of fighting genocideand atrocity: prevention.
This issue must not be swept aside in the aftermath of Mumbai'sattacks, but raised as an important part of India's role in fightingterrorism within its borders. The U.S. Government should considernaming the individuals responsible for leading these Hindu extremistgroups as Hindu terrorists by adding them to the U.S. TreasuryDepartment's list of "Specially Designated Nationals" (SDN). The U.S.Government should add all Hindu terrorist organizations to the U.S.State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Itshould also begin investigating Hindu-American charitableorganizations that appear to be providing funding for these Hinduterror groups and ask that India investigate Hindu terror financing ontheir side in parallel. [Read: SFH: http://www.stopfundinghate.org ]

U.S. President George W. Bush and U.S. President-elect Barack Obamashould end their silence on India's Hindu terrorism. Every U.S.Government official, whether in the U.S. Congress or theAdministration, should raise Orissa in the course of his/her otherdealings with Indian officials and ask what their plan is for endingimpunity for domestic Hindu terrorism. How will they investigate andpunish all those Hindus who plan and lead these terrorist attacks? Howwill the state and federal governments in India ensure that next timeit does not take two months to stop the killing? It is not too late tohead off mass killing of Christians by Hindu terrorists in Orissaafter this Christmas and to prevent it [the genocide of Christians,Muslims, Kashmiris, Bengalis, Sikhs, Dalits and other nations]elsewhere in India where it is sure to recur if Hindu terrorism againgoes unpunished.

Hindu Extremists' Reward to Kill Christians, as Britain Refuses to BarMembers
http://www.fiacona.org/newsdetail.php?catid=100&newsid=705

[Mr. Chad Hazlett is Protection Director of the Genocide InterventionNetwork (GIN) based in Washington DC, USA. He has lived and worked inIndia. http://www.genocideintervention.net ]

Open Letter with Resolution to UN Secretary General

Saturday, December 27, 2008
Dear Friends:
In the interest of contesting the India’s current rush to war, we have composed the attached "Open Letter withresolution to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and to Representatives of the Member States, on theDeclared Intention of the India to Commit Aggression Against Pakistan."

The Letter calls into question the legality and justice of the Indian war plans as well as the U.N. role in dealing withthem in the recent past. It concludes by urging the U.N. and its Member States to act now to prevent this war inaccord with both the U.N. Charter and the desires of the vast majority of the world's people.

We plan to disseminate this Letter widely to individuals, groups, and the media.

We urge you to sign this Letter and to pass it along to others to sign.

Should you agree to sign it, PLEASE indicate your name, affiliation or occupation and/or location (city, country).Then please return your signature to Imran Aziz at: imran@radf.org.
Open Letter with resolution To United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and to Representatives ofthe Member States, on the Declared Intention of the India to Commit Aggression Against Pakistan.

download complete file : http://drive.freevirtualservers.com/F/3319657-300530917

The Madmen of India

Fatima Rizvi

Bal Thackeray of India was on TV proclaiming his joy that domestic Hindu terrorism had come to India. Babu Bajrang was on TV telling the world how much he liked killing Muslims in India. With faces like these is it any surprise that Dalit women are raped, nuns gang raped, Christians burnt alive and Muslims slaughtered. These are the faces of Hindu extremist terror that now stalk India threatening to eat it from within.

It is no longer a secret that Hindu terror has supporters and collaborators in the armed forces, the bureaucracy, and the police and among the politicians. The ties with India’s powerful underworld are also not hidden. If this were not so then how could Mody, the Chief Minister of Gujerat, get away with his role in the carnage that led to 2000 Muslim dead? This is also why Hemant Karkare was killed—he was investigating Hindu terrorism.

Bal Thackeray and Babu Bajrang should not be the only ones thrilled by Hindu terror. Equally thrilled should be those struggling against Indian atrocities in Kashmir and the North Eastern states because where there is domestic terror there can be exploitation of that terror to pay back in kind for the rapes and the atrocities.

Folly Compounded

Ahsan Waheed

A bit more sophisticated than the shrill war cries of the Indian media is the December 11 cover story of ‘India Today’. Simply stated it is a crude attempt to create a rift between the government and the military in Pakistan. What comes across is India’s obsessive fear of the Pakistan’s military and it’s Inter Services Intelligence Agency. The more these institutions are targeted by India the greater becomes the public resolve to defend them. US chiming in with India multiply this resistance manifold.

Why should the military not give advice to the government? It is Pakistan’s military and Pakistan’s government so what is the fuss about. Maybe there are some faint hearted souls in Pakistan who live in fear and voice their fears. There are also some doomsday writers who pander to the West because they are considered traitors in their own country and avoided like the plague. Apart from this lunatic fringe the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis are solidly behind their military and the ISI. So anyone falling in with attempts to create rifts would be seen as an enemy of Pakistan. In fact without involvement in politics the military and the ISI are more powerful than ever for their real work---perhaps this is what is giving the jitters to many.

The message from all quarters in Pakistan should be that Pakistan’s government and military are working together to strengthen and defend Pakistan from all threats. The military and all institutions are under civilian control but they have their own spheres of influence that each respects. They have healthy interaction that leads to considered decisions or reconsideration of decisions taken in haste. Outsiders and their sidekicks inside should take note and set up their business elsewhere---Pakistan does not need them.

The Instigators

Abbas Jafari

A writer for a commercial ‘intelligence’ peddling outfit has taken it upon himself to nudge India into attacking Pakistan and Pakistan into retaliation. Maybe he is doing this on instructions or to please his masters—whoever they are—but the fact is that he comes across as naïve and rather shallow. Others of his ilk are playing the same game and the media on both sides is also being as sensational as possible. One Indian TV channel described in graphic detail the ten steps that the Indian military would take to dismantle Pakistan. The graphics were laughably poor and the content bombastic, with retaliation by Pakistan no where in the picture. Such is the stuff that dreams are made of.

There was a constant refrain about ‘deadlines’ by India as if to make an action after the deadline inevitable. Fortunately the Indian Foreign Minister has put paid to such amateurish thoughts by categorically ruling out talk of deadlines and military deployments. In fact the response orchestrated by the Indian Foreign Minister has been good for India and his statements have been mature and responsible considering the irresponsible hype by the Indian media. Pakistan’s offer of a joint investigative mechanism should be considered seriously and this arrangement could be institutionalized beyond the Mumbai episode.

The re-opening of the bombed Marriott Hotel in Islamabad should have led to some serious re-thinking on the issue of terrorism. Both India and Pakistan have domestic extremists with violent agendas and an underworld infrastructure that terrorists can use.. Both cannot afford to be hostage to non-state actors whose international aims exploit domestic structures and organizations. It is through uninterruptable dialogue that India and Pakistan can defeat such forces and work for the betterment of their people. Stepping away from seemingly simple military solutions advocated by lunatic researchers would be an excellent idea. This may lead to more creative ideas.

The latest thought being peddled is that India is deliberately using deception to lull Pakistan into complacency before a sudden military strike. With Pakistan preparing for the worst the danger is that such a strike may end up losing more than it gains and do the kind of collateral damage that will make a response inevitable.

To Defeat India, Understand The Mindset

India follows the 'Chankaya' Ideology.' that all of India's neighbors are its enemies. And all of the neighbors of India's neighbors are India's friends. This was the first time in Pakistan that the private Pakistani media countered the Indian media warfare. The Indians admit this. Sadly, as always, Pakistan has lost ground at the diplomatic front.

By Talha Mujaddidi
Tuesday, 23 December 2008.
WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

KARACHI, Pakistan—We need to understand that the Indian foreign policy, military and intelligence doctrine work on 'Chankya's ideology.'

The synopsis of that ideology is that all of India's neighbors are its enemies. And all of the neighbors of India's neighbors are India's friends. That's why India has bad relations with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and even Bhutan. India has always had very good relations with Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia.

Chankya ideology also states clearly that India is the super power of the region (Bharat Mata), and all its neighboring countries are its proxies or satellites. This is from where the rhetoric of regional economic bloc, regional zone and South Asian economic zone originates from.

After the Mumbai attacks India has started exerting tremendous pressure on Pakistani government. Pakistani government on the other hand has shown amazing weakness in dealing with this critical situation. This was the first time in Pakistan that the private Pakistani media countered the Indian media warfare while the state-run media (PTV+APP) were weak. Times of India, The Hindu, and other Indian newspapers had to acknowledge that the Indian media onslaught was ripped apart by Pakistani media. Sadly, as always, Pakistan has lost ground at the diplomatic front. This has been Pakistan's failure since Tashkent Agreement. This is because of our incompetent and corrupt governments. India has cornered us diplomatically, and is pressurizing us militarily. They enjoy the sympathies of U.S. and the rest of the world.

What are the main objectives of India, Israel, and U.S.?

With regards to Pakistan, these three countries form a nexus. They want to finish off our nuclear program, disband our eyes and ears i.e. the ISI; break Pakistan into three or four smaller parts since it is easier to govern a country with 180 million people if its broken down into smaller pieces, disband our army, make Pakistan a satellite state of India, just like Nepal or Bangladesh.

India is now a strategic ally of U.S. India is moving its troops into Afghanistan, so that it can corner Pakistan from both fronts. U.S. wants Indian troops to support its troops in Afghanistan against Taliban. The intelligence arm of any country is the nation's first line of defense. It's the eyes and ears without which any military force can't function. All western and Indian propaganda against ISI is baseless and ridiculous. All officers of ISI are taken from the armed forces. There can be no political appointee. Whereas the Indian RAW has political appointees. The Hindu fundamentalist government of BJP back in the 1990s inducted political appointees into RAW en masse. If ISI is disbanded Pakistan will become an easy target for Indian military. The important thing to keep in mind for all the Pakistani peaceniks, pacifists, and candle light vigilantes and artists like Sameena Pirzada and others is that the peace process between India and Pakistan only started after Pakistan became a declared nuclear power. That is when India understood that war between two nuclear power countries is no longer an option. That's when confidence building measures, trade links, cultural exchanges, sports, took place. As long as Pakistan was not a declared nuclear weapon state India maintained a threatening attitude towards Pakistan. Without nuclear weapons I can say confidently that India will leave no chance to annihilate us.

The problem with Western experts on South Asia is that they don't understand the dynamics of Pakistan-India conflict. The root cause of conflict between Pakistan and India is Kashmir. Without the resolution of this conflict permanent peace between India and Pakistan cannot be achieved. There is peace in Europe today because they have resolved their problems and disputes and all countries treat each other with equal respect. Not to forget that two brutal world wars were fought in Europe that completely devastated Europe. After such devastation Europe got together and realized that mutual peace is must for coexistence. Peace between two countries can only be on equal terms. The U.S and Soviet Union were able to co-exist because both had nuclear weapons. If Pakistan is destabilized then it's not possible that India will remain intact and enjoy exponential growth rates.

When experts come on TV and say that extremists on both sides don't want peace, this is utter rubbish. Only extremists in India don't want peace with Pakistan! Why? Because in order for Pakistan and India to have lasting peace, Kashmir dispute must be resolved according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Does anyone in Pakistan not want resolution of Kashmir dispute? No. Is there anyone in India who doesn't want resolution of Kashmir? Yes, their military establishment, their foreign policy establishment, BJP led extremist parties, and a majority of the Indian people. Why do they not want the resolution of Kashmir dispute? Firstly, they call it their internal issue and say it is our 'Atut Ang' [integral part]. Secondly, there are so many independence movements going on inside India that they can't afford setting an example of Kashmiri independence. Recall that India functions on Bharat Mata ideology and they will never give up Kashmir. Everyone in Pakistan is ready to resolve the Kashmir dispute so it's baseless to say that hawkish elements in Pakistan do not want good relations with India. RSS, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, and even members of BJP have openly said again and again that Pakistan must be destroyed. These are not just small groups; these parties have formed governments in India.

Writer is a Communications Engineer, and independent analyst based in Karachi, Pakistan. He can be reached at tamujadd AT gmail.com

© 2007-2008. All rights reserved. AhmedQuraishi.com. & PakNationalists
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium
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Conflict Between Pakistan and India: Realizing RAND’s Plan for World War Three

Kurt Nimmo
According to the New York Times, Pakistan has moved troops away from its western border with Afghanistan while India has issued a warning to travelers to avoid Pakistan. “The redeployment came as Indian authorities warned their citizens not to travel to Pakistan given the heightened tensions between the two nations, news agencies reported, particularly since Indian citizens had been arrested there in connection with a bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore,” the newspaper reports. The Associated Press quoted two Pakistani intelligence officials as saying that the Pakistani Army’s 14th division was being sent to Kasur and Sialkot, near the Indian border, and that around 20,000 troops were being redeployed.
Pakistan’s troop redeployment comes on the heels of its warning India that it would face a “stern response” if it engaged in surgical strikes in response to the Mumbai attacks, now demonstrated to be a false flag attack. “Pakistan did not want war but is ready to defend its frontiers, Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan. If India made the “mistake of carrying out a surgical strike”, Pakistan will deal sternly with such an eventuality. Pakistan has purportedly moved its tenth brigade to Lahore and ordered its third Armed Brigade to march towards Jhelum,” ZeeNews reported on December 25. “A lot of military movement is being noticed in districts just across the international border for the last few days, which is not normal,” said RC Dhyani, DIG of Rajasthan frontier BSF.
Analysts note that in the event of a war between the two nuclear armed nations, the Pakistani military would effectively abandon its part in the contrived U.S.-led GWOT and pull its troops away from the western border with Afghanistan, where they have been battling Pakistan ISI and CIA spawned militants, and deploy 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,” Reuters noted on December 24. “Public sympathy and support for militant groups would soar as they would be seen as national defenders against the ‘real enemy’, India.”
A war between Pakistan and India and Pakistan’s abandonment of the GWOT in its tribal regions would provide the U.S. with a near perfect pretext to attack targets inside Pakistan. Last August Barack Obama promised to launch just such attacks “with or without approval from the Pakistani government, a move that would likely cause anxiety in the already troubled region” and exacerbate any conflict between India and Pakistan.
Earlier this year Nisar A. Memon of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q alleged in the upper house said that the U.S. plans to foment civil war and strife in order to break up Pakistan, according to the Pakistan Daily. “He urged the government to take cognizance of a research report by Prof Michel Chossudovsky of Global Research (Canada) which said that the recent regime change would be followed by a ‘deliberate’ political impasse. The report said that the political impasse was part of an evolving US foreign policy agenda which favored disruption and disarray in the structure of the state.” An earlier report by the CIA predicted a “Yugoslavia-like fate for Pakistan in a decade with civil war, bloodshed and inter-provincial rivalries as seen in Balochsitan.”
A conflict between India and Pakistan, however, has the potential to escalate far beyond mere conventional and civil war. “No conventional war between India and Pakistan will remain limited for long and will gradually lead to a full-scale war and ultimately to a nuclear conflict,” a study by a Pakistani defense official warned in 2004, Space Daily reported. If India conducts surgical strikes against Pakistan, explained the official, “Pakistan is not going to sit quiet. It will be an act of war which will not remain limited and it can escalate to a full-scale war and ultimately it can lead to a nuclear conflict if Pakistan’s national interests are threatened.”
Earlier this month J. Sri Raman reported on India’s fanatical Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh party and its call for nuclear war in response to the Mumbai attacks. Kuppahalli Sitaramayya Sudarshan, leader of the RSS, believes “there is no other way left” to deal with terrorism and “that this terrorism may ultimately result in a Third World War. And this will be a nuclear war in which many of us are going to be finished.”
“According to reports out of top Chinese mainstream news outlets, the RAND Corporation recently presented a shocking proposal to the Pentagon in which it lobbied for a war to be started with a major foreign power in an attempt to stimulate the American economy and prevent a recession,” Paul Joseph Watson and Yihan Dai wrote for Prison Planet on October 30. “The reports cite French media news sources as having uncovered the proposal, in which RAND suggested that the $700 billion dollars that has been earmarked to bailout Wall Street and failing banks instead be used to finance a new war which would in turn re-invigorate the flagging stock markets.”
A war between India and Pakistan may provide an ideal pretext for U.S. involvement in the region. “Reportedly, the RAND proposal brazenly urged that a new war could be launched to benefit the economy, but stressed that the target country would have to be a major influential power, and not a smaller country on the scale of Afghanistan or Iraq,” Watson notes. “The reported RAND proposal dovetails with recent comments made by Joe Biden, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright and others, concerning the ‘guarantee’ that Barack Obama will face a major ‘international crisis’ soon after taking office.” As noted above, Obama has made a point of mentioning Pakistan as a target of U.S. intervention.
It now appears a brewing war between India and Pakistan is precisely the sort of conflict imagined by the RAND Corporation to stimulate the deteriorating American economy. It will also provide a pretext to declare martial law in America and put the finishing touches on the New World Order’s high-tech surveillance state and control grid.
http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2008/12/27/conflict-between-pakistan-and-india/

Shut Down CIA Station In Islamabad

A war with Pakistan is India's opportunity to legitimize action beyond its borders –which is what superpowers do – and launch its new career as a U.S.-propped [and Bollywood-propped] 'superpower'. Pakistan will have to match the challenge or accept Indian hegemony for the rest of the century. And while at it, time for Pakistani government and military to order the closure of CIA station in the Pakistani capital. The new American agenda in the region contradicts Pakistani interests. How can this be done? Please learn how the Saudis tamed Edward W. Gnehm.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan will have to learn from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other U.S. friendly Figure 1: Mr. Quraishi with Mr. Gnehm, NYC, 1996nations how to push back American interference. This is important for us to be able to also understand how to push back the Indians. India appears set to launch its new career as an interventionist power at Pakistan's expense. It will fall to Pakistan to help the Indian warmongers understand the limits of their designs. Pakistan will need a government that can match and not succumb. Indian provocations need to be matched. We need to also recognize that the rise in tensions in the region is happening with the direct nod from our ally, the United States. Pakistani appeasement has emboldened our detractors. Polite statements from the Pakistani leadership will not do. Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee must be put in their places. I saw this happen firsthand. Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm's aggressive interference in Kuwaiti affairs was the first sign of United States' coming preemptive policy in the Gulf region. It was 1992 and the U.S. military had just expelled Iraqi forces from the oil-rich emirate. 'Skip' Gnehm, as friends and colleagues called him, strutted all over the country encouraging Kuwaitis to limit the powers of the ruling family. He was so effective in exploiting Kuwait's insecurities and extracting concessions that Washington decided in 1996 to appoint him in Riyadh. That's when the coldest spell in Saudi-U.S. relations began. There was no American envoy in Riyadh for almost two years because the Saudis had put their feet down and refused to accept Mr. Gnehm's papers. Washington had to budge eventually. The Turks and the Egyptians have also survived many U.S. attempts at belligerent arm twisting. A word also about CIA presence in Pakistan. Several nations in the region moved after 9/11 to gradually limit the operations of secret CIA stations on their soil. That's because governments became suspicious of American designs to redraw the borders in the Middle East. An old Cold War ally, CIA had now become a threat. There was a conflict of interest. In Pakistan, we have long entered that stage. CIA's station office in Islamabad used to be one of the biggest. With the American policy of empowering anti-Pakistan elements in Afghanistan and the region in full swing, our American friends must begin to feel unwelcome in Pakistan's corridors of power. The current Pakistani government needs to show as much concern about CIA presence here as it has shown on ISI to appease the Americans. The Indian 'evidence' against Pakistan for Mumbai attacks is inadmissible in any court of law. Yet New Delhi is using it to bully Pakistan with full American and British support. Pakistani officials must understand that India wants to use Mumbai to launch a new career as an aggressive superpower. Mumbai is India's opportunity to legitimize action beyond its borders, which is what superpowers do. Evidence here doesn't matter. Pakistan will have to either match Indian bullying or accept Indian hegemony for the rest of this century. President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani's calm reactions to Indian provocations were partially acceptable in the initial stages. But there is no excuse now for turning the other cheek. Pakistani reluctance to call India's bluff and forcefully present its case has emboldened the Indians. Beginning with the Indian blockade on Pakistan's water from Kashmir, which is an act of war. Subsequent Indian actions, visa restrictions on Pakistanis, cancellation of talks, freezing sports events and harassing Pakistani visitors to India are all signs that New Delhi is convinced about Pakistani weakness. The weakness of the Pakistani government is feeding this misconception. Aside from some statements by our Foreign Minister, Pakistani officials are yet to pay the Indians in the same coin. We need to hear a stronger reaction to the childish and provocative statements of Ms. Gandhi and her foreign minister. Also, where is the government's media machine? Is it all reserved for PPP anniversaries and events? When will the state-run media wake up and realize we are staring into a possible war? Why our media and diplomats abroad have failed to show the world the immature and bellicose behavior of the Indian government? Why no Pakistani official has come out to condemn how Pakistani artists and visitors to India were harassed and turned back? And why Indian movies are still playing in a cinema hall right next to Pakistani military headquarters? It is also a matter of concern that the rise in Indian hostilities is coinciding with mysterious riots in Karachi, an ill timed attempt to generate controversy over renaming NWFP, and now the Balochistan chief minister's sudden challenge to the rest of the country to prove Indian interference in the province, whose evidence was shared with no less than the U.S. military chief himself.
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India Defeated in the First Round.

It is best to win without fighting.- Sun Tzu
With India and Pakistan stood eyeball to eyeball, it was India who blinked first, with its media and officials admitting defeat on the diplomatic front.
Times of India writes:
While the de-escalation should soothe the tense nerves of the international community, it was being feared that Islamabad, by raising the bogey of war, may have edged out India’s concerns. By feeding fears of an imminent conflict between two nuclear-armed rivals, it had ensured that the focus would shift towards conflict prevention. Indian security experts noted that Gilani made it a point to mention that “our friends are persuading India against aggression”.
While the government persisted with reminders to Islamabad about unkept promises, independent security experts sid Pakistan may have got away with almost no cost at all. “As of now, Pakistan has managed to divert attention from the Mumbai attacks to an India-Pak conflict,” said K Subrahmanyam.
It was diplomacy by fear, and Pakistan played it effectively. As it allowed passions to run high and let known terrorists join in the show of national belligerence, it was also playing victim. As part of the script, its foreign secretary, it now turns out, even summoned the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad, Satyabrata Pal, on Friday to lecture him on the need for India to bring down tensions.
The US and China had on Friday asked India - in a clear sign of Pakistan’s success - to engage in a dialogue with Pakistan. It’s becoming increasingly evident that India has so far nothing to show for all its diplomatic offensive in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.
How could things have gone so wrong, wonders Vir Sanghvi of the Hindustan Times:
I am now coming round to the view that they’ve only gone wrong for us. They’ve gone very right for Pakistan. Islamabad has got exactly what it needs, and what it always wanted.
Consider what’s happening today. The operation in the tribal areas has stalled. The Taliban have sworn to back the Pakistan army against India. Troops have been moved to the Indian border. The incoming Obama administration is talking about appointing a special envoy for India and Pakistan.
And forget about acting against those who organised the Bombay attacks. Pakistan isn’t even willing to hand over Dawood Ibrahim or Masood Azhar. Moreover, Washington seems largely content with this state of affairs.
I don’t want to sound like a pessimist or a war-monger — especially since I have always applauded New Delhi’s moderation and restraint — but it is beginning to seem to me that Pakistan has out-manoeuvered both India and America.
M K Bhadrakumar writes at Asia Times Online:
By gently holding out the threat to the US that the Afghan operations would grievously suffer unless Washington restrained Delhi from precipitating any tensions on the India-Pakistan border, Islamabad seems to have neatly pole-vaulted over Rice to appeal straight to the Pentagon, where there is abiding camaraderie towards the Pakistani generals.
With Pakistan’s recalcitrance and Mullen’s veiled threat of reopening the Kashmir file, a sense of frustration is gripping Delhi. Pakistan has ignored India’s tough posturing. The faltering Indian security agencies, which have been in a state of appalling decline in recent years, seem to have failed to put together any hard evidence of a Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
All indications are that Pakistan is not impressed by the Indian rhetoric. It seems to think Indian politicians are grandstanding in an election year. But, just in case Delhi may spring a surprise, Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kiani has warned that the armed forces would give an equal response “within few minutes” if India carried out any surgical military strikes. “The armed forces are fully prepared to meet any eventuality, and the men are ready to sacrifice for their country,” he reportedly said.
Just as we predicted, an all out war seems to have been averted and Indian media and officials are admitting defeat.
China, Saudi Arabia and Iran have come out strongly in the last couple of days which saw an intense diplomatic effort by all parties to make it clear to India that they not only remain unconvinced of Delhi’s allegations, but also that any attack could have serious consequences for India and the region as a whole.
Pranab Mukherjee was made to do an embarassing u-turn on India’s previous stance previously, admitting that terrorism - a global issue and not a bilateral one - should be fought jointly.
The Indian officials have also been made to backtrack from their earlier claims of deplying troops along the border with Pakistan.
Times of India, December 22nd:Even as India refused to take the military option off the table while asking Pakistan to rein in the terrorists, the Indian Army’s and IAF’s quick reaction teams (QRTs) were deployed along the borders in the Western Sector.
“Runways, hangars, main roads, ammunition stores and other sensitive places have been provided with additional cover. Sophisticated radars are installed at a few air bases and we are keeping watch on each and every cross-border activity,” said an IAF personnel.
Indian forces were on regular firing exercises at locations like Lathi Firing Range in Jaisalmer, Mahsan in Bikaner, Suratgarh and Ganganagar.
India Today, December 27th:India has informed Pakistan that it has not engaged in any sort of troop build-up along the frontier
In response to the ‘deadline’ set by India and the threats from Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee, Pakistan had gone on a diplomatic counter-offensive, briefing world powers and countries in the region on the deteriorating relations with India and the steps taken by it to address Indian concerns. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir met ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Britain , China , France and Russia . He also met ambassadors of Italy , Japan , Germany , Saudi Arabia , Iran and Turkey soon after returning from France where he had gone for annual bilateral consultations. However, his most crucial meeting was with Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal at the Foreign Office when he said that India should defuse tension.
Mr Pal was accompanied by his deputy Manpreet Vohra. The Indian side was categorically told that any ‘surgical strikes’ would be considered a declaration of war. India was urged to respond to Pakistan ’s proposal for joint investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
According to sources, the Indian diplomats looked sombre when they came out of the meeting.
As things stand, the possibility of war has been averted for now in which is being seen as a massive diplomatic victory for Pakistan.
This of course does not mean that we should let our guard down. In addition to the diplomatic counter-offensive, it was Pakistan Army’s seriousness that put India on the backfoot.
Once the realization set in that any further attempts to enter Pakistan Airspace will be punished severely by the PAF, the Indians had gone to plan B, with Mullen asking for a guarantee that PAF will not respond to Indian surgical strikes.
General Kiyani is said to have responded with showing Mullen a photograph of an IAF Mirage-2000 locked by Pakistan Air Forces’ F-16 taken on December 13th. ‘Next time, we’ll bring it down’, Mullen was told.
To make sure the message was loud and clear, Pakistan Air Force jets started patrolling the skies in hot mode and a red-alert was issued througout the country.
Failing to get that guarantee, the chance of an Indian strike was reduced significantly. For them it was never about a full war. A few surgical strikes on pre-agreed locations would have been enough to relieve some of the pressure the Indian Government faces domestically. Pakistan Army on the other hand made it clear that any action from India would be taken as a declaration of war, and the response would be swift and decisive.
India faces humiliation now on the diplomatic front having failed to achieve anything from this standoff.
In its attempts to isolate Pakistan by building what it saw as a definitive case, it is India that stands alone on the diplomatic front and is left with begging the Iranians and Chinese to put pressure on Pakistan.
We can now expect an intense and sustained terrorism campaign in Pakistani cities in an attempt to destabilize the country along ethnic / sectarian lines - New Delhi’s time-tested method.
On the diplomatic front India will be lobbying hard to have the ISI (and Pakistan Army) declared as terrorist organisations.
We can also not rule out another false flag attack in the next few weeks.
Pakistan needs to stay united.
Its not over yet.
http://pakistankakhudahafiz.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/india-defeated-in-the-first-round/

After Elections, What?

The Elections are over now and soon a new Government will be in the saddle but the moot question is what will happen after the elections in Kashmir?, writes M Ashraf.

The recent elections held in the State threw up many surprises. Firstly, against all calculations and assessments, there was appreciable voluntary participation by the people. The call for boycott had very few takers. No doubt the Hurriyat and other leaders who had given the call for boycott were detained, placed under house arrest, and physically prevented from canvassing for the boycott through countless declared and undeclared curfews, yet the turn out of voters demonstrated that the people had made their own decisions in regard to participation in these elections. They had a very strange argument. The elections were for good governance and "Azadi" was a separate issue. They wanted both, good governance and "Azadi".

Several theories are being advanced for this unpredictable behaviour of Kashmiris. The behaviour has been classified as two extremes, a revolution seeking salvation on one hand to a mass suicide on the other! Some say Kashmiris have always been unreliable, cheats, liars, selfish, timid, cowardly, and so on. Many foreign authors, explorers, and travellers are quoted for these unhealthy attributes of a Kashmiri. Moorcroft, Sir Walter Lawrence, Tyndale Biscoe, and others are supposed to have pointed out this behaviour in the writings about Kashmir. However, these writings have been quoted out of context. No one has pointed out that these authors have also stated that this behaviour of Kashmiris is because of their urge for survival drilled into their psyche after centuries of external subjugation. People have been pinning for "Azadi" for centuries, and "Azadi" for a common Kashmiri means complete and total emancipation. Even the present struggle is more than half a century old! The failure of the boycott leaders can be attributed to their inability to convince people about the blueprint for "Azadi" projected by them. In fact, they have neither a clear definition of "Azadi" nor a blue print to achieve it.

Everything is abstract and vague. Kashmir's greatest misfortune has been the vague and wavering leadership. One cannot preach "Azadi" sitting in posh bungalows, riding luxury four wheel drive vehicles, and enjoying all the goodies of life to a people facing all the hardships of day to day living. It is true everywhere. The Mumbai attacks can be taken as a parallel. As long as the common people in India faced various terrorist attacks, the intellectuals, the elite, the media controlled by the elite did not bother too much. It was only when the elite itself received a direct hit that all hell broke out for the top intellectuals, policy makers, and the media stalwarts (controlled by the elite). But the common man continued to remain more or less unaffected. In fact, they may be drawing sadistic pleasure from the discomfiture of the upper classes. Right from 1931, Kashmir's leadership has ditched the common masses at the most crucial periods in their struggle for total emancipation. No one has really bothered to give a practical and a realistic goal of "Azadi".

Mainstream, downstream, upstream, and the separatist or any other type of leadership has always kept its own short term goals in view. They have never tried to ascertain the true aspirations and needs of the people. They have mostly advanced their own aspirations. Recently greater Kashmir carried a story about the day to day living of some of the leaders of the popular movement for "Azadi" who have been confined to their homes for last few months. Any common Kashmiri would envy their life style in the present difficult conditions. No doubt there are dozens of other freedom lovers incarcerated in various prisons throughout India but as the proverb goes, out of sight is out of mind! The visible leaders do not seem to impress the common masses with their route maps to "Azadi". Moreover, the ego clashes coming into open must also be a discouraging factor. If the leadership cannot forge unity among themselves on such an important issue how can they lead others? Kashmir must be the only place in history where more than 30 different parties and organisations are trying to lead people to one and the same goal.

Normally all such freedom movements in history have had a single leader and a single party to guide and lead it to the final goal. It is only after the goal is attained that political parties mushroom to take over the governance. Here, we have a political struggle for leadership going on even before reaching the goal! This must have made "Azadi" look like a very distant goal for the common people. So much for the "Freedom" camp. As regards the "loyalists" and the "developers", they have been in the business of "development" for over half a century. Instead of projecting peoples' aspirations, they have been looking after their own aspirations. They have always had a one point programme. How to make hay while the sun shines? In the process of developing people, they have fully developed themselves. There has been no limit to the funds for development made available by the Central Government. So far over a couple of hundred thousand crores must have been pumped into Kashmir. This does not include the funds pumped in by various agencies on both sides of the divide. If all this money had truly gone into development and for the upliftment of the poor, Kashmir should have by now been the best welfare state in the whole sub-continent. It would have truly become the Switzerland of Asia or the Eden of the East! A Kashmiri has been continuously facing a dilemma. He has been trying to get the both, the good governance and the illusive "Azadi" and in the process he has got neither! His recent behaviour regarding both the massive upsurge for "Azadi" and the unprecedented turn out for voting is simply a revolt against the entire leadership whether for ultimate freedom or for development. This has confused all.

The political pundits and the forecasters, the pro-freedom sympathisers and the mainstream advocates. Let us forget all confusing situations and insoluble puzzles. There has been an election and a government would soon be in the saddle but the question is what will happen then? Will the government which takes over the reins of power be able to deliver the good governance the people have voted for? Will they be able to fulfil the promises they have made to the people? They have been promising more than the moon! The infrastructure, the employment, and above all the cessation of harassment and humiliation. Keeping in view the past experience it is not difficult to hazard a guess. The broth will not be any different when the cooks are unchanged! We may give them new names, new clothes, and even new implements but they will do the same cooking they have been doing for decades unless they get a new innovative Chef who means business. If this does not happen, the people who had been coming forward in hordes upon hordes to cast their votes will again get disillusioned and the leaders propagating "Azadi" will try to be back in business. However, this time they may have stiff competitors. The youth brought up by the conflict of last two decades will challenge them. They are capable of even leading the traditional leaders as was demonstrated during the last upsurge. They are tough, hardened, dedicated, and unrelenting. If they go into the mode of "Azadi", it will be a difficult situation for all. For peace to prevail something dramatic must visibly happen and that too very soon. Otherwise we may be in for a "hot" summer next year!

Feed back at: www.kashmirfirct.com or ashrafmjk@gmail.com(Some of the articles carried in these columns have been published in book form by the Gulshan Publishers, Srinagar)

Pakistan troop reports bad news for terror fight

December 27, 2008

WASHINGTON — Pakistan’s reported decision to relocate thousands of troops away from the Afghanistan border toward India threatens the critical U.S. foreign policy aim of relying on the south Asian ally’s military in the global battle against terrorism.

President-elect Barack Obama ’s campaign promise to turn around the stalemated war in Afghanistan could be the first casualty of Pakistan’s latest moves, and the frustrated American effort to decimate al-Qaida may be the second.

Pakistan’s sudden military shift catches two administrations in mid-transition, presenting Obama with a dangerous spike in tension that his predecessor has been unable to prevent.

As President George W. Bush found out, the United States can’t wage either fight alone and can’t always persuade even well-meaning allies to set aside their own agendas and domestic politics.

To win in Afghanistan rather than merely hold ground, the United States and its allies must find a way to seal off the militants’ redoubts across the forbidding mountainous border with Pakistan. The U.S. can’t do that without Pakistan’s help, and Pakistani and Afghan militants know it.

Bush administration officials have been shuttling to New Delhi and Islamabad for weeks following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, pleading with both sides not to let well-founded suspicions that the attacks originated in Pakistan become an excuse for new conflict. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and enmity against the other has been an organizing principle for leaders of each nuclear-armed country.

If Pakistan yanks fighting forces away from what the U.S. considers the good war against terrorism in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, it will bear out U.S. fears of a ripple effect and show how easily militants can exploit the old rivalry.

“We hope that both sides will avoid taking steps that will unnecessarily raise tensions during these already tense times,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Friday.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in Islamabad this week, after noting with approval earlier this month that neither side seemed to have mounted a military response to the Mumbai terrorism.

Mullen has made a particular project of Pakistan, visiting there more than a half-dozen times in the turbulent year since Pakistani political leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Mullen has established a rapport with the country’s powerful Army chief and made the argument that homegrown militancy and terrorism will rip Pakistan apart unless its national institutions make a strategic choice to confront it.

All of Pakistan’s leaders dating to Bush’s old ally, former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf, said they understood that argument and saluted it — to a point. In the tangle of tribal politics and loyalties, however, militants are not always clear-cut villains and there is broad public opposition in Pakistan to a serious military campaign against its own people.

That was true long before the attacks on India’s Western-oriented financial capital that killed nearly 170 people, or the dark prospect of new hostilities that emerged Friday. It’s part of the reason why analysts say Pakistan is at risk of coming apart as a state, with even bleaker prospects for the fight against terrorism.
“It would be really disastrous at this point if there was even a mini-war, because Pakistan is already overwhelmed with what’s going on domestically,” said Frederick Barton, a security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“They really have lost their ability to control large parts of their country,” he said.

U.S. intelligence and military officials were still trying to determine if the reported troop movements were true, and, if so, what Pakistan’s intent may be. And they cautioned that the reports may be aimed more as a warning to India not to launch missile strikes against militant targets on its territory, a response that some have speculated is possible.

Officials spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing matters of national intelligence.

South Asian intelligence officials said the Pakistani military began the troop movement Thursday and plans to eventually shift a total of 20,000 soldiers to the Indian border.

Stephen Cohen, an expert on the Indian and Pakistani militaries at the Brookings Institution here, said the early signs suggest a replay of past conflicts and bode poorly for U.S. interests.
“Both sides are playing the American card against each other,” with Afghanistan and the terrorism agenda quickly taking a back seat, he said. “It shows we’re all hostage to another terrorist attack,” Cohen added, meaning that any new violence in either India or Pakistan could provoke all-out war.

In the United States, intelligence and law enforcement officials warn that the risk of an attack at home may be greater during the period of political handover to Obama, who said nothing publicly about the Pakistan situation Friday.

“There is one president at a time, and we intend to respect that,” said Brooke Anderson, his national security spokeswoman.

U.S. leverage with India is complicated by its strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has included terrorist-hunting raids in Pakistan by U.S. forces based across the Afghan border. U.S. officials quietly justify the raids as a necessary if unpleasant means of protecting U.S. fighting forces.

The raids affront Pakistani sovereignty, and opened the door for India to argue that it has the right to take similar action against Pakistan-based militants.

CSIS’s Barton says the countries’ interconnected problems are a sort of sibling rivalry. India is the older, more stable brother, but not above picking a fight. Afghanistan is the youngest and most neglected, and Pakistan, he said, is stuck in the middle.

The United States is there, too.
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AP Military Writer Anne Gearan covers U.S. national security affairs.
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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Pamela Hess and Sebastian Abbot contributed to this report.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.