J L Koul Jalali
Pakistan recorded a new low even in its perennial hostility towards India on sixteenth of December when in an unbecoming and shameful manner its Foreign Affairs MInister BilawalBhutto Zardari made personal and uncivilised outburst against the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. He was alluding to comments of External Affairs Minister of India Jai Shankar. After chairing a special meeting of the UN Security Council focused on `global counter terrorism approach` Jai Shankar had told media that the world perceives Pakistan as epicentre of terrorism as it still shelters terrorist groups. Pakistan has been doing more than this. Apart from maltreatment of its minorities, It glorifies Osama bin Laden as a martyr and shelters terrorists like Lakhvi,Hafiz Saeed,Masood Azhar,Sajid Mir and Dawood Ibrahim and 126 UN designated terrorists and 27 UN designated terrorist groups.
Ever since it came into existence as a new country in August,1947, Pakistan has maintained hostile attitude towards its immediate biggest neighbour India. This is despite the fact that the author of two nation theory and founder of new nation of Pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah had advised the leaders of Pakistan to maintain good neighbourly relations with India but it has been hardly ever so from the very beginning. Despite being culturally also equally close to India,Pakistan linked its hostility towards India to the fault line of the world based on religion.
Just to mention a few lows in its relations with and actions towards India,the first low occurred in 1947 when the princely ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh offered stand still agreement with both India and Pakistan to allow him time to decide about accession. While India called for talks, Pakistan accepted it in breach and finally sent in armed tribals on twenty second October,1947 to force accession on the princely ruler. The Maharaja had no choice but to accede to India. At the same time, though born itself out of two nation theory,Pakistan made all out efforts to effect political partition of princely states of India.
After second world war the world had got divided into two blocks western block and Soviet block. Western block comprised mostly Europe and USA while Soviet block comprised mostly Russia and some countries in Asia and Europe known as USSR. India adopted non-aligned policy but true to its hostility towards India,Pakistan joined the western block.It entered into arms treaty with USA and received arms and ammunition from USA despite protests by India. It also joined pacts created to encircle Soviet Communist block.Pakistan did all this in the name of fighting against communism but the actual motive was hostility towards India. In 1959 the then Pakistan President General Ayub Khan declared that arms received from USA are not meant to be wrapped in wool clearly indicating that these can be used against India. This was so even when America had clearly told it that these should be used only for the specified purpose of fight against communism. Later during 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, Pakistan actually used these weapons against India.
The worst low level of Pakistan`s conduct and bankruptcy of its policy was witnessed when after General elections in Pakistan in 1970,East Pakistan as Bangladesh was known then got majority but its leader Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was denied the opportunity to form government in Pakistan because of supremacy of west Pakistan now known as Pakistan. To suppress the people of East Pakistan a reign of terror and genocidal crackdown was unleashed against ethnic Bengalis and Hindus there under orders of the then Pakistan military ruler General Yahaya Khan. The result was not victory for Pakistan but formation of Bangladesh and surrender of its ninty three thousand strong army before Indian army.
After break-up of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1973. Pakistan has been ruled by army every now and then and true to this rule Zulfikar Ali Bhutto too faced the same fate when the then Army Chief of Pakistan General Zia ul Haq seized power on 5.7.77. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was subsequently hanged in 1979. Apart from encouraging hard core Islam,Zia-ul-Haq turned Pakistan into conduit for American arms and ammunition for Mujahideen fighting against occupation of Afghanistan by erstwhile Soviet forces in 1979. Some of these arms were diverted to perpetrate cross-border terrorism in Kashmir. Erstwhile Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 1991.In its hostility against India,Pakistan wanted to turn Afghanistan into its backyard and encouraged creation and rise of Taliban in Pakistan. During this period mostly out of spite for India,Pakistan also acquired clandestinely know how for making atom bomb. Yet another low by Pakistan was demonstrated in 1989 when despite assurances of good neighbourly relations by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan,ground had been already prepared for cross border terrorism in Kashmir. In yet another low, in 1999 Pakistan army had occupied Kargil heights vacated by Indian army before onset of severe cold there which led to war and vacation of occupied area by Pakistan.
Apart from other repercussions, all these low negative actions of Pakistan also turned it into a bastion for international terrorism. After attack on World Trade Centre and Pentagon on 11.9.2001, Pakistan too joined the USA and NATO led war to hunt down Osama bin Laden responsible for the attack and eliminate ruling Taliban in Afghanistan. Public opinion in Pakistan was strongly opposed to west and when the then Army ruler of Pakistan General Parvez Musharaf was questioned for joining the war, his reply was that had he not done so America might have taken action against Pakistan too. Subsequently Osama bin Laden was pinned down in Pakistan itself and shot dead.
All these low actions have also had a cumulative effect too and have brought Pakistan virtually on the brink of moral, intellectual and financial bankruptcy.Pakistan needs to introspect and change its course and attitude towards its biggest neighbour India. Holy Quran clearly ordains that one should have best relations with neighbours. This writer has held opinion and expressed it in his commentaries and other writings for the last three decades that Pakistan has to change and give up its support to cross-border terrorism to prepare ground for mutual dialogue. In the present day globalised world beset with problems of climate change,stockpiles of nuclear weapons,terrorism and so many other similar pressing problems coupled with requirements of continued and sustainable development,dialogue and diplomacy are the only way to settle mutual differences and problems. This alone can ensure security and even survival of mankind. It can also help evolution of human civilisation and establishment of global Parliament. Pakistan has also to realise that hard core idealogies particularly based on religion are getting loosened and hostility has to yield ground to love and mutual respect. All religions and philosophies ultimately lead to the same goal.
(The author is former IIS Officer and freelance journalist)
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