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| India-Pakistan | ||||
| Beyond the blame game | ||||
| 2008-08-07 | ||||
| By Talat Masood Relations between India and Pakistan have once again come under severe stress and are passing through a very difficult phase. India is blaming Pakistan and specifically the ISI for the terrorist attack on its embassy in Kabul. The US and Afghanistan seem to concur with the allegation, putting Pakistan in a defensive and awkward position, despite its claimed innocence. India also accuses Pakistan and the ISI of being directly or indirectly complicit in the spate of bomb blasts that recently hit several cities across India. There may not be an iota of truth in any of these charges, but Pakistan's internal fragility emboldens neighbours to scapegoat their failures, with the world believing them and ignoring our denials. What came to my utter dismay and surprise was that Iran too had joined the chorus demonising the ISI and attributing all its problems in its southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan to the intelligence agency. It is accusing ISI of harbouring the outlaw Jandullah group. Nothing could be further from the truth. Is it that gross neglect of Iran's eastern province over the years has given rise to social unrest and low intensity insurgency somewhat similar to what we find in our own Balochistan and Tehran finds it convenient to blame it on us? Just as we too blame India and Afghanistan for the unrest and turbulence in Balochistan. The logic is that they must be fuelling the insurgency in Balochistan and some groups in FATA/NWFP to lock up our military as a retaliatory response to their belief that we continue to support militant activity in Kashmir. But is it not true that the Indian security forces continue to commit gross human rights violations in Kashmir? India blames us for all the terrorist attacks and insurgencies without pausing to introspect. New Delhi or to be more specific South Block is not prepared to show any flexibility in coming to terms with either Pakistan or the real representatives of Kashmir in resolving the simmering problem that has bedevilled our relationship. At the same time it blames Pakistan or Bangladesh if radical groups of Muslims commit acts of violence in any of the states in India. This circular blame game has to come to an end. Certainly, more mature and dispassionate analysis of the security situation is warranted by each of the countries in the region. It is also important to realise that moves to destabilise each other will eventually engulf the whole region. Leaders of South and Central Asia are expected to break from past prejudices and focus on the shared boundaries and civilisational bonds that unite the region and not the converse. Pakistan and India cannot allow the peace process to be derailed. The price of failure at this time, especially for Pakistan can be massive. With an insurgency on the western borders and expanding internal militancy it would be highly detrimental to have the eastern border once again lapse into an active conflict zone. Apart from making an honest effort at resolving the less intractable issues like Siachen and Sir Creek and seriously addressing the problem of Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan will have to make some serious adjustments in their strategic calculus to be able to place the peace process on a solid foundation. India is a rising economic, political and military power in the region. The US in particular and the West in general are facilitating its ascendancy to advance their own national interests. The Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the 10-year defence agreement and enhanced cooperation in civil space and high technology commerce is going to dramatically shift the strategic balance in India's favour. The US is now providing India all the space to operate and advance its military, economic, commercial and cultural interests in Afghanistan. It was therefore not surprising when India established a host of consulates totally disproportionate to the requirements of diplomatic needs. In contrast, look at what Pakistan receives from US in return for all that it has done over the years: it provided support during the Afghan Jihad, gave sanctuary and succour to millions of Afghan refugees and suffered the ill effects of blowback on its society from the invasion of Afghanistan and the brutal 'shock and awe' campaign. And Pakistan continues to suffer. All our efforts, national resources and energy seem to go in vain and we are rewarded with "do more", only to sink deeper into a quagmire. Besides, there is such gross interference in our national affairs that our political and military leaders are no more the masters of the nation's destiny. It is shaped not within and by the people but through pre-arranged agreements. No wonder then that the Pakistani establishment wants to countervail this rising disparity by trying to play a proactive role in South Asia, Afghanistan and the Muslim world, sometimes creating influence through proxies and non-state entities that is at times clashing with state institutions and interests of regional powers.
In combating terrorism we not only have to apply all the major elements of national power but it is equally -- perhaps even more -- important to evaluate the role of the state. It is high time that the states of the region and the US start examining their role honestly and address their shortcomings on high priority instead of playing the blame game. The writer is a retired Lieutenant General of the Pakistan Army | ||||
| Posted by:john frum |
| #3 How many nukes, what is their yield, how portable are they? My guess is the nukes are not all that portable and thus mostly a problem for India. India, I should think, is well aware of the issues. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-08-07 12:07 |
| #2 More outbreaks of Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever? It is endemic there after all. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-08-07 10:48 |
| #1 Pakistan is headed toward being a failed state with nuclear weapons. How will we deal with it? Contrary to some here, you can't just nuke them all. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-08-07 10:42 |