By ASIF HAROON RAJA

IT IS now an established fact that PPP as a party claiming to be champions of democracy, rule of law and rights of the poor is in actuality anti-democratic, lawbreaker and anti-people. PPP and democracy repel each other since the two are synonymous. PPP leaders have remained too engrossed in filling their coffers with ill-gotten money and in striving to complete their five-year tenure by hook or crook. The only change the PPP leaders have brought in them from their deleterious conduct from 1988 till 1999 is to adopt a policy of selective reconciliation. Under this policy, those cooperating with them or suiting their psyche are to be shielded and protected from the hand of law and rewarded. They have been merrily working on the concept of making hay as long as the sun shines. Their closeness with Army leadership was a marriage of convenience to ensure their survival. The moment they suspected that they could be evicted from power by the Army, they became officious and belligerent.

Having remained out of power for 12 years and gone through trials and tribulations, PPP leaders have turned into hungry predators with ravenous appetite for power and wealth. They consider it their right to plunder because of their prolonged suffering. 12-year inaction has made them languid and inefficient. They swing into action only when their self interests are involved. During their period of exile the runaways had developed contacts with foreign agencies and in their greed to return to corridors of power and to further their selfish interests they sold their souls and agreed to accept any number of demands howsoever injurious to national interests.

Among many blunders committed by Gen Musharraf during his nine-year rule, secret deal with Benazir Bhutto (BB) hatched by USA and UK in July 2007 which paved the way for issuance of black law known as National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) on 5 October 2007 was his gravest sin. It resulted in takeover of power by the NRO washed vultures as a consequent to massively rigged elections in February 2008. Notwithstanding her flaws, BB was charismatic, visionary and had earned a place among world comity. Her sudden death generated a huge sympathy wave which enabled the PPP to capture power. Those in good books of BB were sidelined and the hypocrites adept only in misusing power, disregarding rule of law and multiplying wealth through corrupt practices took up top slots. They befool the jayalas by raising emotional slogans in BB’s memory but have taken no steps to locate her murderers or to fulfill her mission of providing food, shelter and clothes to the poor.

It was owing to over three million bogus voters and programmed pre-poll rigging that the dream team of the US comprising three liberal parties assumed power. Although the manifestos and ideology of PPP, MQM and ANP were different, corruption became the unifying factor. Above all, the master coordinator made the three bedfellows. JUI-F was also shoved in the same bed since greedy Fazlur Rahman was Maulana in name only. Since PML-N’s victory in Punjab was not in the script, Salman Taseer was appointed as governor to keep Shahbaz ministry under pressure. No sooner the government was formed under PM Gilani; the legislators and bureaucrats pounced upon the body of Pakistan and started eating its flesh voraciously. While PPP politicians feasted upon state corporations and foreign aid, MQM milked Karachi and ANP devoured railways. While ANP has remained a steadfast ally of PPP, MQM has been coming in and out of coalition quite frequently. Divided PML-Q is the recent ally.

In accordance with the given agenda by Washington, the ruling clique had consented to denuclearize and secularize Pakistan; minimize the role of military establishment in Pakistan’s decision making processes and to convert Pak Army into a counter terror force only; to place ISI under interior ministry; to push Kashmir issue on backburner or accept Indian plan to make Line of Control as permanent border; to accept India’s hegemony and to virtually convert Pakistan into a compliant state. They agreed to appoint Washington nominated persons on key posts. These included Maj Gen ® Mehmud Durrani as Defence & Foreign Affairs adviser to PM, Husain Haqqani as Ambassador in Washington, Wajid Shams as Ambassador in London, Rahman Malik as interior minister. They agreed to make Pakistan’s economy subservient to IMF; to fight war on terror unquestioningly with full force; to allow drone strikes in FATA from Shamsi airbase; to abide by written and unwritten secret agreements between the US and Mush regime.

Making Zardari as the most powerful civilian president in August 2008, making the legislature under Gilani as a dummy and keeping judiciary under PCO judges were part of the plan to maintain one-window operation between Presidency in Islamabad and power centres in Washington. Slogan of supremacy of parliament was designed to bring heads of three services and ISI completely under the effective control of executive head and supreme commander. Grant of 3-year extension to Gen Kayani and one-year to Lt Gen Pasha on persuasion of Gilani were aimed at making them do as told to do and also to ensure safety of PPP’s fulltime tenure.

When Kayani thwarted government attempts to place ISI under Malik and not to restore sacked judges, and after Raymond’s arrest when he and Pasha started taking preventive measures to safeguard Pakistan’s security interests and that of the two premier institutions, ‘Operation Get Geronimo’ was conceived by CIA. British PM, Zardari, Haqqani, Wajid Shams, Rahman Malik and Salman Faruqui were taken into confidence. False-flag operation was undertaken to belittle Army, ISI and PAF and to undermine the credibility of heads of these institutions so that they could be made pliant. Rulers gladly accepted the US plan since they lacked moral authority to keep the military under their thumb because of their involvement in mal administration and mal practices and loss of confidence of the people.

Since the top leaders were part of the conspiracy, instead of feeling shocked and finding out who were responsible for the security lapse, Zardari and Gilani declared the US intrusion on 2 May as ‘historic’ and ‘great victory’. Haqqani and Wajid’s statements to the media were meaningful. However, when they found that the Army and ISI had taken the incident too seriously and were groping for clues to get to the bottom of the stealth incursion by an ally, and the public was on a rampage, Zardari panicked fearing his involvement might not get exposed. The reason why he got nervous was the intelligence fed to him on 4 May by US Ambassador Munter on the advice of CIA that Army was contemplating a coup. He suggested to him to approach Pentagon since in his view Admiral Mullen could be the only one to restrain Kayani.

When jangled nerved Zardari approached sneaky Haqqani, the latter suggested that unless the yearning desires of Washington were fulfilled it would be difficult for him to convince the US CJSC to twist Kayani’s arm and tell him to keep his hands off civilian government. Getting a nod from him, Haqqani hastened to draft the memo containing six offers and took his old friend Mansoor Ijaz into confidence. He selected him to deliver the explosive memo to Mullen since he like him was anti-Army/ISI and both had been exchanging notes since 2005. Mansoor had also written several articles in newspapers against Pak Army and ISI. Another reason of confiding in him was his close associations with high officials of US military establishment.

Whether Haqqani himself chose him, or someone else advised him, or whether Zardari told Haqqani to draft and deliver the memo, or Salman Faruqui conveyed the message of Zardari to him, or Haqqani suggested to him; or Haqqani did it at his own accord, or Mansoor approached him and fed this idea to him at the behest of CIA are some of the puzzles yet to be solved. My hunch is that memo was engineered by CIA to pitch Army against the government and compel Kayani to takeover power.

Whatever be the hypothesis, it is a proven fact that memo is a reality which was conceived and formulated in early May. It is also a fact that Haqqani and Mansoor traveled to London on 9 May where their meetings with two British senior officials were arranged by Wajid Shams and they flew back to Washington the same day. Mansoor delivered the memo to James Jones and the same was forwarded by him to Mullen on 10 May. Both Jones and Mullen have confirmed receiving the memo on prescribed dates. It is also known that Mullen didn’t take any action on the memo since he had not been fed with intelligence by CIA about the possibility of a coup as feared by Zardari. Mullen was otherwise in no position to caution Kayani who in that timeframe was in black mood and Pak-US military relations had dipped low. Another known fact is that between 9 and 11 May, Haqqani and Mansoor had extensive chats on Blackberry cell phones and also exchanged messages on laptop.

Once the 2 May crisis cooled down and things began to normalize, Zardari and Haqqani forgot about the memo. In their bid to gain confidence of the two generals under fire of media and politicians, Gilani went out of the way to bail them out when they attended All Parties Conference and explained their point of view on 14 May. It was another attempt to make them submissive. Rather than getting defensive and acquiescent, Kayani and Pasha went about dismantling CIA’s network which had tentacles in all important urban centres and also got hold of CIA’s informers. ISI had a mammoth task to locate thousands of CIA agents that had sneaked in on the quiet with the help of Haqqani and Malik and with the blessing of Gilani. Besides CIA, Blackwater and five other intelligence agencies operating from Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan were also to be taken care of.

The US and UK trainers involved in espionage were booted out. Diplomats and NGOs engaged in subversive activities were kept under scrutiny. Security forces continued to maintain offensive posture to keep foreign paid terrorists in FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan on the run. Cross border terrorism from Kunar and Nuristan was plugged. These tough measures were not to the liking of Pakistan’s adversaries who had spent colossal amounts to get closer to nuclear sites and destroy them. Not only they were not succeeding in taming Pak Army and ISI, Afghan Taliban were getting more and more stronger. Series of offensive attacks by Taliban in and around Kabul in August-September unnerved the US military and intelligence leadership.

CIA then decided to play up memo that was lying in pending tray of the new CJSC. This time the purpose was to provoke the Army and ISI to topple the government or as a minimum spoil civil-military relations and then keep provoking both sides and create favorable situation for a headlong clash. Fame hungry Mansoor was nudged to leak the story in Financial Times on 10 October and to gradually heat it up. His story came as a rude shock for Haqqani but he, Zardari and Gilani played it down thinking that Mansoor being a chronic Army basher would not pursue it and also that none will believe him. However, memo case took a dramatic turn after Gen Pasha held a secret meeting with Mansoor in London on 22 October. The meeting convinced the spy chief that memo was not a fantasy but a reality and someone had made a dangerous plan to cause immeasurable harm to Pakistan with the help of US military.

Promises made by the architects of memo had grave implications upon security interests of Pakistan and gave an insight to vile intentions of the authors of memo. The very sovereignty and integrity had been bartered away just to restrain Gen Kayani from launching a perceived coup to let the gang of corrupt remain in power. Playing the film fast forward, Haqqani has been sacked, put on exit control list and a three-member judicial commission is presently investigating the case in response to the petitions filed by seven petitioners including Nawaz Sharif who himself appeared before the SC to submit his petition. While Mansoor has surrendered his rights of his phones, Haqqani has not done so for obvious reasons and has hidden his Blackberry sets saying he has misplaced them.

Haqqani wants the case to be closed forthwith and allowed to proceed abroad since he imagines that he may be killed, but Mansoor wants the probe to reach its conclusion and is ready to come to Pakistan despite threats to his life. The government is also striving hard to dissuade the Supreme Court (SC) to terminate the probe and is also creating hurdles for Mansoor to block his entry in Pakistan thereby heightening suspicions as to why it doesn’t want to ascertain the truth. Mansoor is expected to present himself on 26 January, but being a CIA man, he cannot be fully trusted.

When the memo case took an ominous turn for the schemers and not only put the government in the dock but also Haqqani - the blue-eyed boy of USA, and the Army kept up its defiance against the US dictates, the US military in collaboration with Afghan military attacked Salala Army border posts on 26 November killing 24 soldiers. This blatant intrusion meant to intimidate the Army also backfired. Vital NATO supply lines to Afghanistan remain closed; military and intelligence cooperation has almost ceased. Pakistan Army has rejected US military report on Salala terming it as biased and a mixture of half-truths. Closure of Shamsi base has drastically reduced drone strikes. In two months, only two strikes have taken place. Parliamentary Committee has formulated new terms of engagement with USA. A strategic shift of the government is on the cards. This can be discerned from five-day visit of Gen Kayani to China and Foreign Minister Rabbani’s intended visit to Moscow.

Finding itself in a fix, the US once again fed false news to the government that Army had got aligned with the judiciary and was contemplating a coup. It baffled the already jittery duo owing to closing jaws of memo and NRO and on two occasions with short intervals Gilani spoke offensively against the COAS and DG ISI. Sacking of Secretary Defence was also a knee-jerk reaction which reflected poorly upon Gilani’s conduct particularly when he blew hot and cold and chewed his own words repeatedly. While maintaining an aggressive posture against the Army, Gilani and his legal team also adopted a non-cooperative attitude towards the SC hearing implementation of NRO case.

Gilani and Babar Awan stubbornly maintained that no letter would be written to Swiss courts to reopen money laundering case pending against Zardari since he enjoyed immunity. The President emphatically stated that he will not allow trial of grave of Benazir Bhutto and that he will accept Parliamentary Committee’s decision on memo and not that of SC. When the judicial commission gave itself six options to proceed against the delinquent on 10 January and fixed 16 January as the cutout date to deliver the hammer, Gilani tried to counter the dual threat of judiciary and Army by seeking fresh vote of confidence in National Assembly and to pass a resolution authorizing him to confront the two institutions frontally.

The allied parties however opted reconciliation over confrontation and rendered support for continuation of democracy only. On the 16^th, the SC finally struck and issued a show cause notice to Gilani on the charge of contempt of court and asked him to present himself on 19^th to explain his point of view before the final verdict was announced. Gilani may either be disqualified or imprisoned unless he renders apology to SC and agrees to write a letter to Swiss court, or resigns. Notwithstanding his last minute theatrics, for all practical purposes he has cooked his goose. Chairman NAB who had been behaving arrogantly has come down to earth and submitted his unconditional apology to SC which has been accepted. Babar Awan’s legal license has been temporarily suspended. Decisions of the SC have been hailed by all and sundry except for beneficiaries of NRO who number 8041.

Whatever the decision of the SC on the next hearing, it will not help in stabilizing the political situation which is in a flux, nor in steadying the continuously plummeting economy, or in alleviating the problems of the people, or in ending the war on terror. Although SC will reestablish that it has teeth and can bite, but clash of institutions will benefit the adversaries of Pakistan only. It will be in fitness of things if the government honors the decisions and directives of SC gracefully rather than continuing with its confrontational attitude and making a mockery of itself. Instead of wasting its energies in belittling premier institutions, the government should divert its defiance towards the adversaries of Pakistan. It should sincerely concentrate on solving multitude of problems of the state, or else throw in its towel and let a better team to steer the country out of multiple crises.

The writer is a retired Brig, author of several books and a freelance columnist. Email:asifharoon7751@yahoo.com

Former foreign minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri reacts to crowds as Imran Khan and others look on.

THE career of Imran Khan, a cricketer turned politician, is full of colours, contradictions, and controversies. Since his debut in cricket in 1971 initially, and later in 1976 onward, he became known as a socialite due to his non-stop partying at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp and further gained notoriety in London gossip columns for romancing young debutantes such as Susannah Constantine, Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant. Then came Sita White; her paternity claim in NY court of law for Tyrian Khan, to be the daughter of Imran Khan, that fully exposed the former World Cup winner in the eyes of common Pakistanis beside being his philanthropic work of Shaukat Khannum Hospital.

With this flamboyant past, he entered the politics in 1996 with emphasis on anti-corruption policies, formed Pakistan Tahreek e Insaaf (PTI) and tried to broker a deal with the then dictator, Pervaiz Musharraf to take the powerful portfolio. It didn’t work well even with all foreign blessings; hence he walked out from National Assembly (2002-7) where he had only one seat. Partially his involvement in Lawyers Movement, to restore Ifthikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had given PTI and himself a life line to take some ground in active politics and gain some popularity. His initial stance over missing persons, Dr. Afia Siddiqui’s disappearance, her unlawful detention & then single-sided trial in US, drone attacks in tribal areas of Pakistan, and louder voice over Baluchistan issues, have transformed him from power-hungry aristocratic drawing-room politics to people’s politics!

After the success of his Lahore political-cum musical show, number of his supporters often called him as Prime Minister-in-waiting, had gained some extra confidence by calling himself as the third political force in Pakistan who would sweep coming general elections. He termed his success as Tsunami – a pseudo name given after 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that was the deadliest natural disaster in human history that killed around 230,000 people in 14 countries, likely calling his upcoming political gains as Tsunami against traditional politicians.

Unfortunately, even before this Tsunami begins, Imran Khan started taking U –turns against his own pre-defined political policies and opened PTI doors wide for all feudal politicians of past, especially close aides of former dictator. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Khurshid Kusuri, Jehangir Tareen, Sardar Asif Ahmed Ali are few old friends of Musharraf, to name with the exception of Javed Hashmi, joined hands with Imran Khan to become the part of upcoming political Tsunami. Someone rightly pointed out that “with the induction of so many Musharraf’s ministers in today’s’ Imran PTI looks like that Imran has joined Q league.” In coming years, this might turn out to be a real threat when Imran Khan’s voice -in his own PTI- would be considered feeble due to the presence of large number of Musharraf friends.

Those who watched Khurshid Kasuri’s PTI joining ceremony, has noticed an amazing act of chairs snatching by the participants. Rather than guiding the voters, this shameful-act was shamelessly endorsed by PTI secretary information Shafqat Mahmood and chairman Imran Khan, as an act of “innocent people” because they are fed up of Zardari regime; so “they might take away chairs of govt. office bearers.” This is a clear indication that how Imran Khan will be swept by Musharraf’s friends when the need of time would come!

His second u-turn came when he had brokered a ‘silent deal’ with Altaf Hussain, leader of MQM who controls Karachi from London, to arrange his public meeting in Karachi on 25 December 2011 leaving behind all the hot conversation he has had against MQM founding leader and an ambition to file a case against him in London court. It was learnt that he had an out of court settlement with MQM and agreed that “Sita White case” will not be brought to justice in US by MQM and in reply he will not file petition against Altaf Hussain in London. This “settlement” was visible in Karachi while addressing his supporters; Imran Khan did not utter single word about MQM leader, forgetting his own previous statements about later and MQM atrocities on 12 May 2007, when numbers of PTI workers were killed by Mutahidda terrorists! His stance against MQM self-exiled leader has created doubts that “hidden” hands are brining MQM and PTI closure for upcoming electoral alliance against PML (N) and ruling PPP.

In past, Imran Khan had always raised his voice against the drone attacks in tribal areas of Pakistan. Under the shadows of “Salalah check post attack by US & NATO forces,” recent statement of US ambassador, Cameron Munter that “Imran Khan is not against US” has astonished large section of society in Pakistan who foresees Imran as hardliner against US policies in the region. However it was observed that US ambassador statement came up only when Imran Khan has quietly visited US state department and expressed “his case” to Washington; an act known to very few in Pakistan and even in the folds of PTI. Probably, this was the reason due to that Imran Khan didn’t attend Difa e Pakistan rally, the public meeting arranged by 40 religious parties in Lahore on 18 December 2011, to pass a soft message to US at this crucial juncture of time when Zardari-led PPP government is shacking due to a small piece of paper penned by an American!

Imran Khan has always been at the forefront of highlighting missing persons issue including Dr Aafia's case. In one of his speech he had demanded that “the Government of Pakistan should tell us how Dr Aafia ended up in Afghanistan with her three children; how can a frail woman attack US marines; why has the Government of Pakistan not taken any active measures to bring her back home to face any trial. The Government needs to expose those who have aided and abetted the kidnapping of Dr Aafia,” while he was referring Pervaiz Musharraf govt. After that he has asked PTI members to actively participate in demonstrations, vigils across the globe. Upon his directive Mohammad Kassam, member of PTI, UK was one of the several people who had kept the seven days vigil outside the US Embassy, spending up to twenty hours in the wet weather of London. In recent days, the world has witnessed that the foreign minister of Pervaiz Musharraf regime who has joined PTI recently, while addressing one of the public meeting was sitting next to Imran Khan at the stage where as down among the crowd, there were one or two flags showing few slogans about the release of Afia Siddiqui but Imran Khan didn’t say few words about Dr Afia’s case or her release from US custody! Time has changed; a leader is born and gained popularity by using these burning issues and now no need to look upon these forgotten souls!

Could Imran Khan be the real savior of people of Pakistan or Pakistanis are going to witness same old wine in a new bottle with fancy cricket label having singers like Abrar ul Haq and Shahzad Roy selling his political agenda over popular Pakistani national tunes! Time will confirm that anti-corruption policies were just few words and slogans to gain popularity or actual agenda of PTI to implement, the shadows of flamboyant past are still visible or re born under the banner of musical nights, a real saviour of Pakistan has arrived or Mr. 20% has arrived after Mr. 10%, would history has repeated itself when someone has accepted the help of hidden hands of establishment or used the shoulder of common men to gain power!!!!

How a party -new or old- with slogan of “change” they could bring positive change in society when they have migratory birds like PPP former foreign minister, Musharraf’s former foreign minister or bunch of kings’ party holders, would have to think as why these traditional politicians are strengthening the hands of a gentleman who only won one seat in any general elections? The answer is simple. In Pakistan, the traditional politicians (vultures) are very “sensible”. Since then they realized that now the “powerful hand” is on Imran Khan’s head, and they know by sure that the power would fall on him, they started gathering around him to share the piece of flesh and bone of Pakistan. That’s what the political history of Pakistan of last 60 years!

While Pakistan is restructuring its foreign policy that had been tailor made to suit American interests only, the US is striving to normalize Pak-US relations but there will be no more business as usual. Process of peace with Pakistani Taliban should be given a push to end the self-destructive war on terror.

WHEN the US decided to invade Afghanistan and topple Taliban regime led by Mullah Omar since it had refused to hand over Bin Laden suspected of being involved in 9/11 attacks, all the neighbors of Afghanistan including near neighbors supported USA. Among the immediate neighbors, Pakistan was the only country which enjoyed cordial relations with Taliban but still decided to go along with the decision of the international community. Even Russia, China and Iran antagonistic towards USA didn’t raise any objection. The reason was that all the regional countries were averse to extremist policies pursued by Taliban regime. It’s Sharia based ideology had become a threat to the six Central Asian Muslim Republics ruled by secular leaders, Russia, China and Iran. Islamic movements in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Xingjiang had drawn inspiration from Afghan Jihad and Taliban movement.

Iran was averse to Sharia based ideology of Taliban since it posed a challenge to export of Shiaism in the region. At one stage, Iran had deployed its forces along eastern border and had threatened to attack but backed off when Mullah Omar warned that Iranian military would get stuck in the glue of Afghanistan. Like Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan provided airbases to USA. India was most affected since the Taliban had almost wiped out its influence in Afghanistan and was desperate to regain its lost influence and thus gain entry into mineral resources rich Central Asia.

While all the regional countries had welcomed the US military action in Afghanistan, except for Karzai regime and India, all other countries now want the US led forces to pack up and leave. At the same time, none other than Pakistan want the Taliban to regain power. Even the US which is desperately trying to convince the Taliban to sit and talk wants them to share power with Northern Alliance as junior partners. Pakistan is an exception since it has suffered so grievously at the hands of Northern Alliance heavy Kabul regime that it strongly feels that Afghanistan under Taliban would prove to be a much better neighbor. Pakistan under no circumstances can afford to have hostile eastern and western borders.

The Taliban also know that they are friendless and the only country which has some soft corner and human feelings for them is Pakistan and none else. Although Pakistan played a deleterious role by assisting the US to forcibly topple an elected government in Kabul in November 2001 and till late November this year it was providing logistic supply routes to NATO containers, yet the Taliban are somewhat malleable towards Pakistan. They understand that Pakistan had no choice but to comply with George W. Bush’s dictates. They also appreciate that people of Pakistan have suffered a great deal on account of war on terror and that great majority dislike USA and sympathize with the cause of Taliban. It is in the wake of these varying impressions that the Taliban distrust all but they may listen to Pakistan to talk and work out a negotiated political settlement. They know that Pakistan has hardly any friend among the stakeholders in Afghanistan and others that are trying to broker peace.

So far the Afghan Taliban were rejecting the US dictated three-point peace formula and insisted that all foreign forces must quit to allow the Afghans to decide their own future. The Taliban demand release of their five prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay. Their representative was not invited to Istanbul and Bonn conferences because of which the meetings proved inconsequential. Taliban have now agreed to open their political office in Qatar which is seen by western officials as a step towards reaching a negotiated political settlement. Afghan government and Afghan High Peace Council have welcomed it and said they have no objection to the Taliban-US getting engaged in diplomatic parleys. The US which till recent considered both al-Qaeda and Taliban as foes has now amended its stance by asserting that Taliban is not its enemy. In its keenness to expedite the process of reconciliation and early settlement, it may agree to release the prisoners to make the Taliban soften their stance. Sensing a change in atmosphere, a delegation from Hikmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami met Karzai in Kabul.

The Taliban in Pakistan who have sworn allegiance to Mullah Omar as their supreme leader would stop hating Pak Army the day they are convinced that that it is not fighting America’s war for dollars. They admire the valor and determination of Army soldiers and grudgingly admit that they are tough opponents. They have also learnt to their surprise that both officers and jawans are God fearing Muslims. The stiff stance taken by the Army and ISI in the face of America’s belligerence has brought a slight change in their perception and attitude and they are actively thinking of coming to terms with the Army.

Maulvi Faqir, commander of Taliban chapter Bajaur who is now based in Kunar after he and his militants were shunted out from Bajaur by security forces in 2009 has expressed his willingness to negotiate on Pakistan’s terms. This offer was made in the wake of decision taken by the resolution of the two Houses of the Parliament that dialogue with Pakistani Taliban should be initiated and also after seeing that security forces had started defying the US. On the eve of New Year, Mullah Omar issued a leaflet in North Waziristan (NW) directing Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and other affiliated militant groups to stop their fight against Pak armed forces and refrain from killing innocent people in Pakistan. He urged them to forge unity for a single cause and to focus attention against ISAF in Afghanistan since the war was in a decisive stage.

He expressed his displeasure over suicide attacks, kidnapping for ransom which he said were un-Islamic practices. A five-member Shura comprising members from various groups including Hakimullah Mehsud’s TTP, Maulvi Nazir’s group in South Waziristan (SW), Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s group and Haqqani network in NW has been formed to ensure stoppage of un-Islamic practices and to punish the guilty in accordance with Sharia laws. Hakimullah who is finding it exceedingly difficult to keep his sub-commanders under his control after his ouster from SW, agreed not to target innocent civilians but said suicide bombings and fighting against security forces would continue. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawar Hassan has exhorted Gen Kayani to hold dialogue with Taliban particularly when the US was holding dialogue with Afghan Taliban. He and Maulana Fazlur Rahman pressed the government to stop toeing America’s line and strive to enhance Pakistan’s prestige. Imran Khan who is riding the crest of popular wave has promised to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state.

In 2010, violence was at its peak. 10,003 fatalities took place in that year. 2011 saw a decline in terror related incidents as well as in drone strikes and casualties which dropped to 7,107. Total of 2985 violent incidents of all sorts took place last year as compared to 3393 in 2010. FATA was the most affected area followed by Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Fatality toll of 820 in KP in 2011 was the highest. 300 suicide attacks have occurred since 2004 and in this highest rate was in 2009. While the security forces remained committed in all the agencies of FATA and some parts of KP in 2011, their heaviest involvement against the militants was in Mohmand, Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber Agencies. All told, 144 attacks were launched in which 1016 militants were killed, 4219 arrested and 279 surrendered. 57 teenagers trained by Swat militants under Fazlullah to become potential suicide bombers have been rehabilitated by Mashal Institute opened by Army in Swat.

Politically motivated target killings in Karachi that had peaked in 2011 were brought under control in September after the intervention of Supreme Court and grant of police powers to Sindh Rangers at the behest of Gen Kayani. In Balochistan, the Frontier Corps has managed to keep the Baloch separatists on the run without launching any operation while the Army has kept itself aloof and is concentrating on development works in interior Balochistan including enrolment of Baloch youth in Army and converting Sui town into an educational city. Likewise, development works in war affected SW is going on under the direct supervision of Army. After inauguration of Wana Cadet College, another one will be launched in April this year in Spinkai Raghzai. Mohmand and Bajaur Agencies will also have cadet colleges.

Troublesome regions in Upper Orakzai and Central Kurram Agencies are being cleared of the presence of militants and substantial progress has been achieved. As a consequent to sustained efforts of security forces, incidents of terrorism in urban areas have almost ceased. Since the closure of NATO supply lines in reaction to Salala attack on 26 November, no drone strike has occurred. Visits of hard nose intrusive American officials have terminated and the people have not heard the nauseating do more demand for the last six weeks. While Pakistan is restructuring its foreign policy that had been tailor made to suit American interests only, the US is striving to normalize Pak-US relations but there will be no more business as usual. Process of peace with Pakistani Taliban should be given a push to end the self-destructive war on terror.

The writer is a retired Brig and a defence analyst. Email:asifharoon7751@yahoo.com

By ASIF HAROON RAJA

PAKISTAN’S adversaries huddled in Kabul had chalked out a comprehensive covert game plan in 2001 to destabilize, denuclearize, de-Islamize and fragment Pakistan spread over several years. They had pinned high hopes in Gen Musharraf and his King’s Party to help them in the realization of their hidden objectives. Massive expansion of media channels was part of the program to promote secularism and to damage Islamic identity. When they found that Musharraf was not allowing them to gain access to nuclear program, he and his political set up was changed in 2008 and they brought in new leadership totally submissive to Washington’s commands. With their cooperation, the schemers started weakening the economy and public sector enterprises and energy sector.

Six topmost intelligence agencies led by CIA were pitched against the ISI to discredit and defang it. Considering the Army to be the chief bottleneck, they had held high hopes in TTP in FATA, TNSM in Swat and BLA-BRA in Balochistan to enfeeble it. These militant groups had been provided huge funds, training facilities, arms, explosives, sophisticated communication sets, technical know-how of making suicide jackets, techniques of brainwashing suicide bombers and making improvised explosive devices together with intelligence support to enable them to confront major part of the Army, fix and possibly defeat it. Swat, Bajaur and South Waziristan were prepared as killing grounds to trap and annihilate security forces.

When the Army and ISI poured coldwater on the designs of the adversaries in 2009, the latter then laid out another trap in North Waziristan (NW) where they hoped all the militant groups in FATA as well as Afghan Taliban would jointly confront Corps size force and contain it. Use of additional troops to beef up existing force in NW in addition to 145000 troops already operating in trouble spots would have been at the cost of losing balance along the eastern front. This imbalance would have then been exploited by India by launching its Cold Start doctrine.

When the Army leadership parried the pressure and made its position clear that the new front will be opened only if it was in Pakistan’s interest, the US decided to discredit the Army chief and DG ISI. 2 May helicopters assault to get Bin Laden was aimed at giving a crippling blow to the reputation of the Army and ISI. Indo-US-western media in close collaboration with foreign paid journalists and media anchors launched a vicious campaign against Gens Kayani and Pasha. After Mehran naval base attack on 22 May, Naval chief was also brought in the firing line. Kerry Lugar Bill had an exclusive share of $50 million for Pakistan’s media. Loyalties of as many as 100 journalists and anchors had been bought who enthusiastically played foreign tutored themes.

Geo anchor Hamid Mir, Najam Sethi, Ahmad Rashid and several others like Asma Jahangir were in the vanguard of propaganda brigade undermining the élan and image of the leadership of Army, ISI and Navy. Pseudo intellectuals Hamid, Najam and Rashid spread half-truths and created misgivings in their bid to get into good books of their paymasters. They are continuing to cast aspersions on Army and ISI even today in the aftermath of memo scandal which erupted in October and Salala incident on 26 November. Najam has shifted to the home of his patrons and is spewing venom against the military and ISI from his new abode in USA. Fame hungry Hamid’s allegation that he is being threatened by intelligence agencies on phone (implying ISI) and that he has telephone numbers seems absurd since Army telephone numbers do not appear on the recipient’s phone. Rashid didn’t deem it proper to express sympathy or offer his condolence over the tragic martyrdom of 24 soldiers at Salala at the hands of NATO. Instead of condemning the attackers, he picked on Pak Army and projected it as an impediment to peace in Afghanistan. There is no dearth of suchlike snakes in the grass in Pakistan who have sold their souls for material benefits.

In order to further intensify pressure, Pakistan’s adversaries sitting in Kabul heated up its western border from May 2011 onwards and runaway militants from Swat, Bajaur and South Waziristan were launched from Kunar to make Mohmand, Bajaur, Dir and Chitral turbulent. Pak Army not only put an end to cross border forays but also refused to jump into the cauldron of NW. It ignored the US shrill alarms that Haqqani network (HN) had become a grave threat. Besides, the Army and ISI started taking emergent measures to checkmate the unwanted influence of US spy network.

While the US and UK military trainers were repatriated, movement of diplomats outside their place of duty was kept under observation. Finding their freedom of action in Pakistan getting curtailed, the US in sheer exasperation directly pointed fingers at ISI that it was linked with HN and had jointly planned and executed attacks in Kabul on 13 September and murder of Burhanuddin on 20 September. In addition, the US froze $ 800 million Close Support Fund (CSF) which was to be paid for services rendered by Pak Army in war on terror and threatened to stop aid altogether. Threats of unilateral action were also hurled. Karzai regime stood alongside the US in accusing Pakistan.

When Pak Army didn’t budge and maintained its defiant stance, ISAF and ANA jointly planned the attack on Pakistan’s two military posts in Mohmand Agency that were obstructing the movement of infiltrators from Kunar. The helicopters assault was carried out on 26 November to give another mortifying blow to the credibility of Army. Instead of weakening the resolve of Army’s leadership, the massacre of 24 officers and men further steeled the tenacity of Gen Kayani.

The government and the Army jointly took series of actions to express their anger which included closure of supply routes and Shamsi airbase, boycotting Bonn conference, calling back military liaison officers from Afghanistan and refusing to take part in ISAF’s inquiry because of predisposed opinion given by the US/NATO senior officers that it was accidental and not deliberate. The investigation report opines that mistakes were committed by NATO but both sides are to be equally blamed for the tragedy. Pakistan has rejected the biased report and wants the inquiry to be done by an impartial body. The sad incident has created a wide gulf between the two armies that have remained on friendly terms since early 1950s.

While Pak-US relations have hit rock bottom and so far chances of recovery is slim mainly because of the US egotism and refusal to offer apology, memo affair has also taken a serious turn. The case is in the Supreme Court and the President, Army Chief, DG ISI, Husain Haqqani have been made respondents. Possible linkage of memo affair with 2 May episode has made the situation dicey. Submissions of replies to the Supreme Court by COAS and DG ISI independently led to serious misunderstanding between the government and the Army and for sometime it seemed as if a showdown was round the corner after the PM’s diatribe against Army chief, DG ISI and Secretary Defence on 22 December.

Memogate has become the bone of contention since the government has taken the plea that it was a non-issue and must be ignored, while Kayani and Pasha maintain that memo was a reality and the issue was of grave nature and must be probed to get to the bottom of it. The matter has for the time being been defused by the PM by lauding the services of the heads of the two institutions and explaining that his tirade was not against the Army or ISI. He disappointed Army bashers by dispelling the rumor that he may sack COAS and DG ISI. Notwithstanding his assurances and apparent normality in government-Army relations, things are not as smooth as they were prior to memo scandal and their relations will remain tense. The government is already under extreme stress owing to disturbed political situation, collapsing economy, the sword of NRO hanging on its head and Tehrik-e-Insaf, PML-N and religious parties demanding early mid-term elections.

The writer is a retired Brig and a freelance analyst and columnist. Email:asifharoon7751@yahoo.com

MADRASAH ( Islamic

But, many in the Deoband campus were surprised by his statement. They viewed it as a tactical move by the V-C to shed his ultraconservative image for wider acceptability. The appeal to Hindu religious heads to extend similar support to Muslims pointed to his cautious approach lest he was misunderstood and misinterpreted, sources said.

"Allegation portraying Gita as extreme literature are totally baseless and highly objectionable," Nomani said. No religion in the world promotes violence and terrorism.

"This ban amounts to violation of the freedom to practise religion of choice enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The Russian highhandedness deserves to be staunchly countered," he said.

The Maulana in turn expected a similar support for Muslims from Hindu gurus on ban on hijab in several nations. " Affront to religion from foreign shores needs to be opposed by both communities together for maximum impact," he said.

Maulana Khalid Rashid, head of Lucknow's Firangimahal, also denounced "Russian arrogance" and said Muslims must offer their unflinching support to Hindus in what he called a direct attack on their private space. "We appeal to the government to take a firm stance so that such blasphemous interference is not attempted in future," he said.

Times of India

In Afghanistan, it is well known that the government’s writ has no authority outside of Kabul, if there. But then, that is the point. The role of the governments imposed on Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, like the one they are trying to impose on Syria, is not to govern or provide for the population at all – even that most basic of functions, security. It is simply to provide a fig leaf of legitimacy for the occupation of the country and to award business contracts to the colonial powers. They literally have no other function, as far as their sponsors are concerned.

THE economic collapse that began in 2008, that was duly declared unpredictable and thoroughly unforeseen across the entire Western media, was, in fact, anything but. Indeed, the capitalist cycle of expansion and collapse has repeated itself so often, over hundreds of years, that its existence is openly accepted across the whole spectrum of economic thought, including in the mainstream – which refers to it, in deliberately understated terms, as the “business cycle”. Only those who profit from our ignorance of this dynamic – the billionaire profiteers and their paid stooges in media and government – try to deny it.

A slump occurs when “capacity outstrips demand” – that is to say, when people can no longer afford to buy all that is being produced. This is inevitable in a capitalist system, where productive capacity is privately owned, because the global working class as a whole are never paid enough to purchase all that they collectively produce. As a result, unsold goods begin to pile up, and production facilities – factories and the like – are closed down. People are thrown out of work as a result, their incomes decline, and the problem gets worse. This is exactly what we are seeing happen today.

In these circumstances, avenues for profitable investment dry up – the holders of capital can find nowhere safe to invest their money. For them, this is the crisis – not the unemployment, the famine, the poverty etc (which, after all, remain an endemic feature of the global capitalist economy even during the ‘boom times’, albeit on a somewhat reduced scale). The governments under their control – through ownership of the media, currency manipulation and control of the economy – must then set to work creating new profitable investment opportunities.

One way they do this is by killing off public services, and thus creating opportunities for investment in the private companies that replace them. In 1980s Britain, Margaret Thatcher privatised steel, coal, gas, electricity, water, and much else besides. In the short term, this plunged millions into unemployment, as factories and mines were closed down, and in the long term it resulted in massive price rises for basic services. But it had its intended effect – it provided valuable investment opportunities (for those with capital to spare) at a time when such opportunities were scarce, and created a long term source of fabulous profits. This summer, for example, saw the formerly publicly owned gas company Centrica hiking its prices by another 18% to bring in a £1.3billion profit. The raised prices will see many thousands more pensioners than usual die from the cold this winter as a result, but gas – like all commodities in capitalist society – is not there to provide heat, but to increase capital.

In the global South, privatisation was harsher still. Bodies like the IMF and the World Bank used the leverage provided by the debt-extortion mechanism (whereby interest rates were hiked on unpayable loans that had rarely benefited the population, often taken out by corrupt rulers imposed by Western governments in the first place) to force governments across Asia, Africa and Latin America to cut public spending on even basics such as health and education, along with agricultural subsidies. This contributed massively to the staggering rates of infant mortality and deaths from preventable disease, as well as to the AIDS epidemic now raging across Africa. But again the desired end for those imposing the policies was achieved, as new markets were created and holders of giant capital reserves could now invest in private companies to provide the services no longer available from the state. The profit system was given a new lease of life, its collapse staved off once again.

The World Bank’s closure of the Indian government’s grain rationing and distribution service, for example, meant that a scheme providing affordable grain to all Indian citizens was closed down, allowing private companies to come in and sell grain at massively increased prices (sometimes up to ten times higher). Whilst this has led to huge numbers of Indians being priced out of the market, and a resulting 200 million people now facing starvation in India, it has also led to record profits for the giant private companies now holding the world’s grain stocks – which is the whole point.

This round of global privatisation from the 1980s onwards, however, was so thorough that when the 2008 crisis hit, there were few state functions left to privatise. Creating investment opportunities now is much trickier than it was thirty years ago, because so much of what is potentially profitable is already being thoroughly exploited as it is.

In Europe, what is left of public services is hastily being dismantled, as right wing political leaders happily privatise what is left of the public sector, and currency speculators use their firepower to pick off any country that attempts to resist. David Cameron, following the path forced on the global South over recent decades, for example, is busy opening up Britain’s National Health Service to private companies, and massively cutting back on public service provision for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the jobless.

In the global South, however, there is little left for the West to privatise, as successive IMF policies have long ago forced those countries in their grip to strip their public services to the bone (and beyond) already.

But there is one state function which, if fully privatised across the world, would make the profits made even from essentials such as health care and education look like peanuts. That is the most basic and essential state function of all, indeed the whole raison d’etre for the state: security.

Private security companies are one of the few growth areas during times of global recession, as growing unemployment and poverty leads to increased social unrest and chaos, and those with wealth become more nervous about protecting both themselves, and their assets. Furthermore, as the Chinese economy advances at a rate of knots, military superiority is fast becoming the West’s only “competitive advantage” – the one area in which it’s expertise remains significantly ahead of its rivals. Turning this advantage, therefore, into an opportunity for investment and profit on a large-scale is now one of the chief tasks facing the rulers of Western economies.

A recent article in the Guardian noted that British private security firm Group 4 is now “Europe’s largest private sector employer”, employing 600,000 people – 50% more than make up the total armed forces of Britain and France combined. With growth last year of 9% in their “new markets” division, the company have “already benefited from the unrest in north Africa and the Middle East.” Group 4 are set to make a killing in Libya, following the total breakdown of security, likely to last for decades, resulting from NATO’s incineration of the country’s armed forces and wholesale destruction of its state apparatus. With the rule of law replaced by warfare between rival gangs of rebels, and no realistic prospect of a functioning police force for the foreseeable future, those Libyans able to manoeuvre themselves into positions of wealth and power will likely have to rely on private security for many years to come.

When Philip Hammond, Britain’s new Defence Secretary and a multi-millionaire businessman himself, suggested that British companies “pack their suitcases and head to Libya”, it was not only oil and construction companies he had in mind, but private security companies.

Private military companies are also becoming huge business – most famously, the US company Blackwater, renamed Xe Services after its original name became synonymous with the massacres committed by its forces in Iraq. In the USA, Blackwater has already taken over many of the security functions of the state – charging the Department of Homeland Security $1000 per day per head in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, for example. “When you ship overnight, do you use the postal service or do you use FedEx?” asked Erik Prince, founder and chairman of Blackwater. “Our corporate goal is to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did to the postal service”. Another Blackwater official commented that “None of us loves the idea that devastation became a business opportunity. It’s a distasteful fact. But that’s what it is. Doctors, lawyers, funeral directors, even newspapers – they all make a living off of bad things happening. So do we, because somebody’s got to handle it.”

The danger comes when the economic climate is such that the world’s most powerful governments feel they must do all they can to create such business opportunities. During the Cold War, the US military acted (as indeed it still does) to keep the global South in a state of poverty by attacking any government that seriously sought to challenge this poverty, and imposing governments that would crush trade unions and keep the population cowed. This created investment opportunities because it kept the majority of the world’s labour force in conditions so desperate they were willing to work for peanuts. But now this is not enough. In slump conditions, it doesn’t matter how cheap your workforce is if nobody is buying your products. To create the requisite business opportunities today – a large global market for its military expertise – Western governments must impose not only poverty, but also devastation. Devastation is the quickest route to converting the West’s military prowess into a genuine business opportunity that can create a huge new avenue for investment when all others are drying up. And this is precisely what is happening.  David Cameron is, for once, telling the truth, when he says “Whatever it takes to help our businesses take on the world – we’ll do it.”

As The Times put it recently, “In Iraq, the postwar business boom is not oil. It is security.” In both Iraq and Afghanistan, a situation of chronic and enduring instability and civil war has been created by a very precise method. Firstly, the existing state power is totally destroyed. Next, the possibility of utilising the country’s domestic expertise to rebuild state capacity is undermined against by barring former officials from working for the new government (a process known in Iraq as “de-Ba’athification”). Linked to this, the former ruling party is banned from playing any part in the political process, effectively ensuring that the largest and most organised political formation in each country has no option but to resort to armed struggle to gain influence, and thereby condemning the country to civil war. Next, vicious sectarianism is encouraged along whatever religious, ethnic and tribal divisions are available, often goaded by the covert actions of Western intelligence services. Finally, the wholesale privatisation of resources ensures chronically destabilising levels of unemployment and inequality.  The whole process is self-perpetuating, as the skilled and professional sections of the workforce – those with the means and connections – emigrate, leaving behind a dire skills shortage and even less chance of a functioning society emerging from the chaos.

This instability is not confined to the borders of the state which has been destroyed. In a masterfully cynical domino effect, for example, the aggression against Iraq has also helped to destabilise Syria. Three quarters of the 2 million Iraqi refugees fleeing the war in their own country have ended up in Syria, thus contributing to the pressure on the Syrian economy which is a major factor in the current unrest there.

The destruction of Libya will also have far reaching destabilising consequences across the region. As the recent United Nations Support Mission in Libya stated, “Libya had accumulated the largest known stockpile of Manpads [surface-to-air missiles] of any non-Manpad-producing country. Although thousands were destroyed during the seven-month Nato operations, there are increasing concerns over the looting and likely proliferation of these portable defence systems, as well as munitions and mines, highlighting the potential risk to local and regional stability.” Furthermore, a large number of volatile African countries are currently experiencing a fragile peace secured by peacekeeping forces in which Libyan troops had been playing a vital role. The withdrawal of these troops may well be damaging to the maintenance of the peace. Similarly, Libya, under Gaddafi’s rule, had contributed generously to African development projects; a policy which will certainly be ended under the NTC – again, with potentially destabilising consequences.

Clearly, a policy of devastation and destabilisation fuels not only the market for private security, but also for arms sales – where, again, the US, Britain and France remain market leaders. And a policy of devastation through blitzkrieg fits in clearly with the big three current long term strategic objectives of Western policy planners:

1. To corner as large a share as possible of the world’s diminishing resources, most importantly oil, gas and water. A government of a devastated country is at the mercy of the occupying country when it comes to contracts. Gaddafi’s Libya, for example, drove a notoriously hard bargain with the Western powers over oil contracts – acting as a key force in the 1973 oil price spike, and still in 2009 being accused by the Financial Times of “resource nationalism”. But the new NTC government in Libya have been hand picked for their subservience to foreign interests – and know that their continued positions depend on their willingness to continue in this role.
2. To prevent the rise of the global South, primarily through the destruction of any independent regional powers (such as Iran, Libya, Syria etc) and the destabilisation, isolation and encirclement of the rising global powers (in particular China and Russia).
3. To overcome or limit the impact of economic collapse by using superior military force to create and conquer new markets through the destruction and rebuilding of infrastructure and the elimination of competition.

This policy of total devastation represents a departure from the Cold War policies of the Western powers. During the Cold War, whilst the major strategic aims remained the same, the methods were different. Independent regional powers in the global South were still destabilised and invaded – and regularly – but generally with the aim of installing ‘compliant dictatorships’. Thus, Lumumba was overthrown and replaced with Mobutu; Sukarno with Suharto; Allende with Pinochet; etc, etc. But the danger with this ‘imposed strongmen’ policy was that strongmen can become defiant. Saddam Hussein illustrated this perfectly. After having been backed for over a decade by the West, he turned on their stooge monarchy in Kuwait. Governments that are in control can easily get out of control. However, for as long as these strongmen were needed for the services provided by their armies (protecting investments, repressing workers struggles, etc), they were supported. The crisis now underway in the economies of the West, however, calls for more drastic measures. And the development of private security and private mercenary companies mean that the armies provided by these strongmen are starting to be deemed no longer necessary.

Congo is a case in point. For three decades, the Western powers had supported Mobutu Sese-Seko’s iron rule of the Congo. But then, in the mid-90s, they allowed him to be overthrown. However, rather than allowing the Congolese resistance forces to take power and establish an effective government, they then sponsored an invasion of the country by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Although these countries have now largely withdrawn their militias, they continue to sponsor proxy militias which have prevented the country seeing a moment’s peace for nearly fifteen years, resulting in the biggest slaughter since the end of the Second World War, with over 5 million killed. One result of this total breakdown of functioning government has been that the Western companies that loot Congo’s resources have been able to do so virtually for free. Despite being the world’s largest supplier of both coltan and copper, amongst many other precious minerals, the total tax revenue on these products in 2006-7 amounted to a puny £32 million. This is surely far less than what even the most useless neo-colonial puppet would have demanded.

This completely changes the meaning of the word ‘government’. In the Congo, the government’s best efforts to stabilise and develop the country have so far proved no match for the destabilisation strategies of the West and its stooges. In Afghanistan, it is well known that the government’s writ has no authority outside of Kabul, if there. But then, that is the point. The role of the governments imposed on Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, like the one they are trying to impose on Syria, is not to govern or provide for the population at all – even that most basic of functions, security. It is simply to provide a fig leaf of legitimacy for the occupation of the country and to award business contracts to the colonial powers. They literally have no other function, as far as their sponsors are concerned.

It goes without saying that this policy of devastation is turning the victimised countries into a living hell. After now more than thirty years of Western destabilisation, and ten years of outright occupation, Afghanistan is at or very hear the bottom of nearly every human development indicator available, with life expectancy at 44 years and an under-five mortality rate of over one in four. Mathew White, a history professor who has recently completed a detailed survey of the humanity’s worst atrocities throughout history, concluded that, without doubt, “chaos is far deadlier than tyranny”. It is a truth to which many Iraqis can testify.

Dan Glazebrook writes for the Morning Star newspaper and is a member of the editorial board of OURAIM publications.

DISSIDENT VOICE

Babri Masjid Demolition on December 6, 1992

ON 19^th anniversary of demolition of Bari Masjid of Mathura, India a renowned Hindu religious leader Swami Agnivesh join Muslim Protestors and demanded  the rebuilding the Masjid and the arrest of those  Hindu zealots responsible for the demolition of the Masjid particularly leaders of Bhartiaya Janta Party including Lal Krishna Advani who incited the mob to demolish the Masjid. Muslim protestors and their leaders gathered at Jama Masjid, Delhi on Tuesday demanding reconstructing the Masjid that was razed on December 6, 1992.

Swami Agnivesh questioned the veracity of claims made by right wing activists about the birthplace of Lord Ram at the disputed site.

"In Ayodhya itself, priests of more than 27 temples claim Lord Ram was born in their temple. On the other hand, BJP leaders like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi claim that Lord Ram was born in the precincts of the demolished mosque. Did they see it? Were they witness to the birth of the god? Does Advani have any proof," said Agnivesh. To this, the hundreds of protestors wearing black bandanas and holding placards resounded with 'Advani shame, shame' and 'Babri Masjid - wahin banegi'.

In a rabble-rousing speech at the protest rally organized near Jama Masjid by Muslim leader and the MLA from Matia Mahal constituency Shoaib Iqbal, Agnivesh called for the arrest of top BJP leaders, including L K Advani, who he alleged incited the mob to demolish the mosque.

Due to Muharram, which coincided with the anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition this year, there was a huge crowd at Jama Masjid. Heavy police presence ensured there was no violence though.

Agnivesh said that the issue of propriety of the disputed land is with the Supreme Court and it is their test to set history right. He said BJP leaders like Advani Uma Bharti, and Murli Manohar Joshi should be prosecuted for inciting people to demolish the mosque and right wing organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and Bajrang Dal should be banned.

Agnivesh targeted the then prime minister, Narasimha Rao, and alleged that he colluded with the BJP and RSS and helped the perpetrators of the criminal act get away.

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MLA Shoaib Iqbal said that both the Congress and BJP were together playing with the sentiments of the Muslims and none of them really intended to take up the cause of the community. "It's been 19 years since the Babri Masjid demolition took place but no one has been arrested or jailed yet. Why has there been no politician from the leading political parties to stand with us in demand for rebuilding Babri Masjid?" asked Iqbal.

GENEVA

Galloway sketched the role of "Perfidious Albion" the British Empire in the creation of the Kashmiri suffering and compared it to the situation in Palestine, another British crime.

Except said Galloway the suffering of the Kashmiris was even greater. Eighty thousand had died in the more than twenty year freedom struggle, uncountable numbers had been wounded and maimed, mass imprisonment and exile and even the use of rape as a tool of occupation had been the lot of the Kashmiris said Galloway. And yet he said the only demand of the occupied people of Kashmir was for the right to vote. The same right the west claims to support in the Arab Spring, for the Libyans and the Syrians for example.

All Kashmiris want is what was promised to them by the UN he said. A simple plebiscite. Recalling the promise made by the great Indian Prime Minister Mr. Nehru to abide by this UN resolution, Galloway called on what he described as the great India to solve this issue by keeping Mr. Nehru’s promise.

Galloway hailed Arundhati Roy who was visiting London whilst he was in Geneva and her powerful messages to India on the issue of Kashmir. Listen to one of your greatest daughters, he said. She is not a Kashmiri and she is not a Muslim. She is though a jewel in the crown of India. She too is crying out for justice for the people of occupied Kashmir. And she too is saying that Kashmir was never the part of India.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council Kashmir Center said that 2011 has proved to be one of the most dramatic periods in recent history, and it is only half finished. The citizens in a number of countries (Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen) have protested long-entrenched oppressive regimes and have toppled them to restore democracy and governance of the will of the people. Citizen participation and engagement has also increased in established democracies, as people demand fair labor standards, transparency, and basic rights. There are several current struggles against oppressive regimes that are still ongoing, with varying levels of international action.

Fai said that there are several situations where protest against long-standing occupation and oppression remains frustrated in spite of the rights inherent with the right to self-determination and the will of the people as the basis of political power. A major case of this is the situation in Kashmir, where the citizenry has protested peacefully against the occupying Indian forces to no avail, in spite of UN Security Council resolutions giving them the right to a plebiscite under UN auspices.

Dr. Fai warned that some nations have exploited the war against global terrorism to deny democratic processes and democratic values to its people.  The global campaign against terrorism should not have lead us into a war to defend the tyrant regimes and dictatorial governments. Yet, that is exactly what is happening.  Many countries are misusing their support to the United States in her war against global terrorism by persecuting human rights defenders, and by terrorizing human rights activists.  One such example is that of India in Occupied Kashmir.

Dr. Fai quoted President Obama who said in the Indian Parliament on November 10, 2010 that India should not shy away from taking a hard position on human rights violations in Myanmar . But unfortunately, President Obama did shy away from taking a hard position on human rights violations in Kashmir, despite the fact that the United States was the principle sponsor of the resolution 47 which was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on April 21, 1948. This resolution clearly states that the future of Kashmir must be ascertained in accordance with the wishes and the will of the people.

Fai highlighted the duplicity of the world powers by saying Dr. Fai reiterated that on one hand, the world powers denounced Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait as it was against the norms and the principles of international relations.  But they are silent over the occupation of Kashmir by India which is a share violation of international norms and United Nations Security Council resolutions. If Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait was not justified and did not stand, similarly the India’s occupation of Kashmir is not justified and should not stand, Fai added.

Kashmir issue cannot  and must not be resolved militarily. It is a political issue and needs to be resolved only through peaceful political means.  So, the first step is that there has to be a cease-fire from all sides that must be followed by negotiations.  Negotiations cannot and should not be carried out at a time when parties are killing each other.   Kashmir must be demilitarized, on the one hand, and de-terrorized on the other, Fai said.

Dr. Karen Parker, IED delegate to the United Nations said that  The United Nations determined many years ago that the Kashmiri people have the right to self-determination and set up a plan for realizing this right and resolving what was then a political and military crisis between India and Pakistan over the
disposition of Kashmir. However, this plan was not implemented and the Kashmiri right to self-determine is as yet unrealized. India and Pakistan have continued to fight over Kashmir -- a fight that has generated several wars and many military skirmishes between them. Kashmir situation continues to haunt the world, especially now that both India and Pakistan are declared nuclear powers. The Kashmiri people continue to suffer from serious human rights and humanitarian law violations in the course of India’s military actions against them.

Parker said unfortunately, review of the current situation of the Kashmiri peoples’ right to self-determination shows that it has been reduced to political rhetoric or is even absent from discussion. However, ignoring the right cannot annul it. Further, it should be patently obvious that the crisis in and over Kashmir will not be resolved without renewed acknowledgment and commitment of the world powers to realize the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people. Then and only then can a peace plan go forward that has potential to succeed.

“Restoration of the right to self-determination to its proper status in discussions and actions to resolve the crisis and achieve a final disposition of Kashmir will not be easy, but there is no alternative: without the Kashmiri people deciding for themselves as promised by the United Nations this crisis will continue ad infinitum. As a minimum, both India and Pakistan would have to allow the Kashmiri people to make their choice -- politically difficult for both India and Pakistan and perhaps for the Kashmiri people themselves. For this to occur at all, the international community must return to the original plan with firm resolve and active leadership. Discussions should focus on how to establish conditions for the plebiscite and then on actually organizing it. At all stages the Kashmiri people and their leadership should be involved.

Mr. Altaf Wani, Representative of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference said that the principles of democracy and self-determination are related on more than just a philosophical level. The practice of self-determination usually requires a democratic process to determine the choice of a people when exercising that right.

Wani emphasized that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were given the right ot self-determination by no less an authority than the United Nations Security Council. The denial of the right to self-determination has led to a regime of human rights violations, rape, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitary arrests are every day affair in Indian occupied Kashmir. And India has maintained the policy of repression and subjugation and intimidation.

“The conspiracy of silence over gross affronts to Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir itself violates still binding United Nations Security Council resolutions. The silence of world powers has emboldened India to a chilling campaign of human rights atrocities against innocent Kashmir's” Wani concluded.

Dr. Marjan Lucas, Global Affairs expert from Netherlands said, that "Well aware of India’s stance on Kashmir, international diplomats and politicians hesitate to engage in direct talks with Kashmiri leadership and limit themselves to Pakistani or Indian politicians and diplomats, or at the most to the moderate Kashmiri acceptable by them. They fear that talking to the Kashmiri themselves means to risk very promising trade relations and close military cooperation with India (which stands for a gigantic economic market) and Pakistan (a crucial ally in the fight in Afghanistan)"

"To my opinion this is a serious mistake:   I think genuine civil society actors ‘on the ground’  are crucial to be acknowledged in their role in triggering socio-political transition.  The Arab Spring shows how important it is that people in the streets feel a sense of ownership in  the revolutionary  process.  I fear that If now the International Community chooses to furthermore merely address and negotiate with the usual elite,  the promising  Spring will soon turn into a sad Autumn and the people in the streets who risked their lives and were the main victims of deadly violence, will turn their back to the process and seek their own road maps to an uncertain future" Lucas added.

Dr. Suaad Alfitouri, Libyab expert from Britain said over the last 42 years, Libyan people have been living under one of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the world, headed by Colonal Gaddafi who came to power through a military coup.

She said that Gaddafi's rule over these decades was one of misery, sufferings and oppression of his own people, examples of which are too many to count. Self obsessed and intoxicated with power, he didn't hesitate from using fatal weapons and bombs against peaceful demonstrations. He bombed even houses and mosques killing thousands of people including children, women and elderly people.

Alfitouri pleaded to the world community that revolutionaries are in dire need of their support and help. These brave people of Libya are fighting courageously against the most tyrant regime of our time. Lack of support by the world is increasing their misery as more than 50,000 people have died so far and thousands are missing. People of Tripoli are under siege and have been made hostages while people of Zawia, Mistrata and Zintan are under direct attack. This situation demands immediate action by the world community as any delaying tactics could further harm our struggle and can strengthen Gaddaffi’s forces.

She said Libyans do not support any negotiation with Gaddafi regime as they have committed crimes against humanity.

Ms. Khanien Latif of Iraq could not attend due to the delay in her flight. However, her statement which was read by Taimoor Alliassi read that over the 90 years of the Iraqi Government's rule, Kurdistan has always bee the center of conflicts and political - military struggle with the central government in Baghdad. The population of Kurdistan has been subjected to policies of genocide and mass destruction. There is no guarantee that mass murder and genocide will not be committed against Kurds again. Obviously, these events have had negative impact on the progress of the democratic transition in the region.

The statement of Ms. Latif furthers read that the women equality, freedom of expression, civil rights are only provided when people feel safe in a stable country. However, what is happening in Iraq goes against this will. Under pretext of fear, people have been deprived from many of their rights. The seminar concluded after a lively question and answer session.

Kashmiri American Council

By DR. ABDUL RUFF

THE seemingly endless freedom struggle in India occupied Jammu Kashmir has only reduced Muslim population of the Kashmir valley, but has not effected the Indian terror regime even a bit in any manner. On the contrary, India, by using its terror-cum-genocides experiences,  has somehow managed even to enter the  notorious UNSC to pursue its illegal ambitions through immoral means, including bribing the big powers. The pro-India elements have seems to have endorsed even Indian occupation of UNSC as well.

Are the freedom fighters, then, struggle only get  themselves killed  by occupation terrorists from India in a sustained manner? They must consider soem of inherent weaknesses in their just struggle for sovereignty.

There as many freedom groups as there are Muslim leaders in Jammu Kashmir and all of them are supposedly fighting for freedom from Indian brutalities, its continued yoke, killing thousands of innocent people. Possibly these freedom organizations think speaking the made through  many voices could be audible in New Delhi and even could force the Hindu terror bosses to consider freeing Jammu Kashmir from its constitution made with entering illegal accounts.

Perhaps thee freedom groups would like to come together to form a unified  struggle forum to purse their goals  more vigorously and purposefully, but it seems both India and Pakistan have denied them the necessary permission to wage a joint struggle  that would look like a serious sovereignty effort by the defenseless Kashmiris. In effect India and Pakistan control the psyche of majority of Kashmiris who get killed by the post-paid Indian terrorists.

True, on its part, Pakistan is fully committed to a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and, most importantly, the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. All Kashmiris, like all other freedom loving nations,  acknowledge the great importance of a peaceful solution to the Jammu Kashmir dispute and also commend the commitment of Pakistan to the peace process and hope that occupying India through brute force would also show the same attitude in order to give the peace process a significant and positive push forward.

Indian violation of human rights in Kashmir is lawful. In recent months there had been an alarming increase in violation of human rights and indiscriminate use of force by terror India against Kashmiris in Indian Kashmir, which has resulted in the killing and injury of dozens of people. The occupying colonial power must realize that bullets and batons are not an answer to the demand of fundamental rights. Kashmiris can never accept their subjugation. It’s time to start a meaningful dialogue with Pakistan for the resolution of this longstanding dispute.

India uses Hindutva parties led by BJP and Co to pursue all anti-Muslim agendas in and around India, including in JK.

Hindutva parties, groomed by corporate world and fanatic media, are trying to create more problems to Kashmiris by trying to hoist flags in Sri Nagar against the wishes of Kashmiris there. The BJP party launched its yatra Jan 12 in Kolkata with an objective of unfurling the Congress-national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on the Republic Day. Jammu Kashmir government denied permission to BJP to ignite violence in already tensed nation. JK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also had spoken against the BJP's plan and ordered the state machinery to do everything to stop the yatra and foil the BJP move. Omar Abdullah had invited the BJP leaders to attend the Republic Day celebrations at Jammu or Srinagar. But they turned down the offer, saying it was a self-contradiction. They want to hoist the flag not for peace but for inciting violence so that Indian paid state terrorists could unleash terror operations in JK murdering Muslims at will.

The Jammu and Kashmir puppet government quickly withdrew all the cases against the Hindu extremists wanting to destabilize Kashmir by violating prohibitory orders in Kathua to facilitate their release. BJP said the central government and the ministries of home and railways were guilty of ' the crime of hijacking' by diverting the trains carrying the BJP workers on their way to join the 'Ekta Yatra' to fuel the crisis in occupied JK. Arun Jaitley, along with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Sawraj and Ananth Kumar, was detained at Jammu airport Monday and taken to Madhopur in Punjab. They again marched to Jammu and Kashmir with hundreds of the party workers carrying the flags. They were arrested and released from the hotel in Kathua, 85 km south of Jammu, where they were lodged. The leaders alleged they were denied even their basic facilities of toilet and drinking water for more than two hours at the Jammu airport.

Over 700, 000 (seven hundred thousand) paid Indian armed terror forces present in the territory, pouncing on the defenseless Kashmiris on fake encounters, and the media reporting this ugly fascism as Indian military achievement for special awards  and lacs of innocent Kashmiris have been killed since 1947.  Many secret graveyards are still kept secret treasures of Indian democracy.

UN long ago asked India to perform a plebiscite on Jammu Kashmir to determine the fate of this terrorized nation. But India has for years skillfully prolonged and in fact denied that mainly because they know India would lose and Kashmiri would get back heir sovereignty.  Not even the pro-India elements would support Indian case in ballot exercise.

Hence, the Kashmiris should not now have any fake hopes on “plebiscite” mainly because India is now a member of the notorious UNSC that has cleared the NATO terror attack on sovereign Libya and the USA-UK terror twins are solidly behind India, a regional state terrorist. Indian armed forces, in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred one innocent Kashmiri youth in Kellar area of Shopian during a siege and search operation. The Indian authorities also booked six illegally detained civilians under the draconian law, Public Safety Act.

India can kill any Muslim anywhere in the subcontinent and in Kashmir. The authorities have slapped the draconian law, Public Safety Act, on six illegally detained persons and shifted them to the jails outside the Kashmir Valley. Speaking in New Delhi at the session 'Kashmir - What next?' on India Today Conclave, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and the President of Jammu & Kashmir Tahreek e Hurriyat, Geelani had demanded holding of plebiscite in occupied Jammu Kashmir to give the people an opportunity to decide their future themselves.

Geelani said that the Kashmir dispute was all about broken promises by India and pointed out that miseries were piled on Kashmiri people and appealed to the people of India to heed the sufferings of the Kashmiris. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in a statement in Srinagar condemning the invoking of the black law against the civilians termed it as frustration of the authorities.

A delegation of the Amnesty International (AI) is visiting occupied Kashmir to launch a report titled ‘Lawless law’. The report would be made public in a press conference at a hotel in Srinagar on March 21. The report documents how administrative detention in the occupied territory is being used to detain people for years without trial, depriving them of basic human rights. The report also documents how authorities are using the black law, Public Safety Act to secure the long-term detention of political activists and a range of other individuals against whom there is insufficient evidence for a trial or conviction to keep them out of circulation.

It was on Oct. 27, 1947, two months after the end of British occupation of South Asia that Indian forces entered a free sovereign Jammu Kashmir and they have since been violating all established principles of law, justice, morality and politics.  Slaughtering of Kashmiris has become the right of Indian paid “solders”. While stressing the significance of commemorating the Kashmir Black Day every year on Oct. 27, Kashmiris living abroad are now trying to explore, through the OIC offices in New York and Geneva, the Human Rights Council, international human rights groups and humanitarian organizations to prevent further violations of the human rights of the Kashmiri people and work toward helping them realize their right to self-determination.

The passive disposition of Islamic world towards the brutalities unleashed on defenses Muslims the world over is the prime issue of serious concern.  Arab world does seem as much interested in Palestine issue as the Zionists are on illegal settlement proliferation with US backing; Now bulk of Arab leaders are behind anti-Islamic western terrocracies in terror attacking sovereign Libya. However, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) believes that the people of Jammu Kashmir, after so many years of suffering, deserve full respect for their legitimate right to self-determination, freedom for peaceful existence and prosperity. The OIC is examining all existing possibilities and authorities to help people gain their rights. In October the OIC asserted that the permanent inclusion of the Jammu Kashmir issue on the agenda of OIC’s summits and ministerial sessions is a clear indication of the Islamic organization’s strong support and continuous solidarity with its people.

In stead of harping on "Plebiscite", the Kashmiris must focus on regaining sovereignty from an unwilling, arrogant India. Plebiscite India would never like to take not only for fear of defeat, but more than that, a defeat would be a permanent self-defeat for Indian foreign policy and diplomacy. All these years India deliberately has been lying on the status of JK and killed over millions of Muslims , apart from  provoking wars, killing thousands. Pressing for Plebiscite would mean directly hurting the paid wounded soldier!

Today, India's main strength is that the anti-Islamic western powers as well as UNSC are not opposing a terror bed fellow India which supports them for terror attacking Muslim nations, now a sovereign Libya, by abstaining from voting on obvious payment basis!

India, essentially Hindutva,  no matter who rules, cannot digest any defeat at the hands of Muslims, whether foreign or local. India kicks Muslim employees out of services through conspiracies and steals retirement benefits from sincere Muslims who have worked for the country.  Now imagine, India losing to Kashmiri Muslims on Plebiscite gimmick!

E. mail: abdulruff_jnu@yahoo.com

ACCORDING to a 2009 study of the Purdue University, on the changing pattern of the climate, there would be an “eastern shift in monsoon circulation caused by the changing climate” causing “more rainfall over the Indian Ocean, Bangladesh and Burma and less rainfall over India, Nepal and Pakistan.”

Taking the contents of this study as the baseline, and otherwise growing anxiety of Pakistan over the Indian manipulation of Pakistani rivers, US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations issued a report, projecting likely wars in South Asia between two water scare countries; Pakistan and India. The Senate report entitled, “Avoiding Water Wars” in South and Central Asia, indicate that, each water dam or water storage by India on the Western rivers; exclusively dedicated for Pakistan would have long-term affect on Pakistani agrarian economy.

The report absolutely clarifies that; “The cumulative effect of these projects could give India the ability to store enough water to limit the supply to Pakistan at crucial moments in the growing season,”

Out of over a hundred of the large and small water dams and reservoirs, being built by India on the western rivers, over 30 projects are nearing their completion and are likely to cause serious water shortages for Pakistan, a lower riparian country.

Pakistani concern over Indian violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) are date back to 1980s, once India started constructing the Waullar Barrage over river Jhelum, a tributary to Indus river. Although the project was stalled on the Pakistani protests, but, India initiated many other projects of water storage and construction of dams on almost all the rivers of Pakistani share.

Some Major projects like Baghaliar dam on river Chenab have already been completed. This water dam has caused over 30 percent reduction in the flow of water on Pakistani side. Other projects like Kishenganga are on their way to completion, despite Pakistani protests and asking for arbitration.

While initiating construction of a dam or the water storage project on these western rivers, India have been quoting two excuses: first; Pakistan is unable to preserve its water by constructing dams and water storages in its territory, resulting into a huge quantity of water flowing down to Arabian Sea, therefore, it (India) is securing it.

Second; these water dams and storages are for the utilization of the people of Kashmir, under Indian occupation. Indeed, both excuses are without logics.  While this is a reality that we in Pakistan have not been able build sufficient water reservoirs to preserve the surplus water especially during the rainy season. Nevertheless, this does not give India with enough cause to encroach over the Pakistani share of water and in the long run plans to permanently deprive Pakistan from its share of water, thus converting the agricultural land of Pakistan into the barren fields.

Secondly; the current electricity requirements of the people of Occupied Kashmir is 5000 megawatts and only a limited portion of the land could be irrigated by the river’s water, mostly, it is the rain fed arid land. It means shifting of the water of these rivers to Indian Territory through a phased programmed.

Furthermore, practically, India is working on the projects through which it could produce over 40,000 megawatts of electricity, which means, the production of electricity would be much more than the requirements of the Kashmiri under Indian occupation. This electricity in turn would be used to sustain the heavy industrialization of the India, otherwise, causing environmental degradation in the region. It is because of the growing industrialization of India and some other countries that has affected the rapid melting of the snow of the glaciers in Himalayas.

As revealed in the research report of the Purdue University, the climatic changes in the East are a reality. India however, has started these projects much earlier. There are a number of reasons, why India is doing so. India, in fact, stopped water flow to Pakistan in 1948, within the first year of the independence of Pakistan.

Being a successor state of the British India, it had all the resources and international backings, whereas, Pakistan was a resource scare country. India indeed, has started creating these problems for Pakistan right from its inception, so that, it can undo Pakistan. Indus Water Treaty, concluded in 1960, stood the test of time for many decades. However, it is about time that India should stop manipulating with the treaty and interpreting it in its own benefit.

In fact, this Indian water manipulation has compelled the international community to analyse and forewarn the South Asians, regarding the dreadful effects of a war, emanating over the water crises. Rather, undesired manipulation with the waters of the Western rivers, exclusively dedicated for Pakistani use, as per IWT, India is bound to release certain amount water in the Eastern Rivers, to avoid the environmental degradation. But, practically it never did that, except to cause the floods during the monsoons.

The US Senate report on the projected water wars in South Asia, caused by Indian deliberate stoppage of water to Pakistan is timely and rational. Although, any conflict over this extremely essential commodity would devastate the region by itself, nevertheless, it would seriously hamper the US future interests in South Asia too.

This is indicative from the wordings of Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, while releasing the report. He said; “the report highlights how water security is vital in achieving our foreign policy and national security goals and … provides recommendations to foster regional cooperation and long-term stability."

The provisions of the treaty do not allow India with unconstrained space to manipulate with the water of the Western rivers. India therefore, is adamant to violate the treaty or else, it would not hesitate to abrogate it, to exercise it hegemonic power in the region. US Senate, however feels that, “A breakdown in the treaty`s utility in resolving water conflicts could have serious ramifications for regional stability.”

Pakistan appreciates a very timely and realistic assessment of the US Senate Committee report on the likely future wars in South Asia over the water resources. However, Pakistan would appreciate any US role for bringing India to a negotiating table for the result oriented talks between both countries over all the disputes, water being one of them. India must realise that, we are in an era, where international norms are to be respected. Gone are the days, once bigger powers used to overrun the smaller neighbours for the enlargement of the frontiers of their empires. Could America capture the tiny Communist state of Cuba?

Therefore, Pakistan is a reality; India must accept this in the first instance and start living as a peaceful and responsible neighbour, respecting the sovereignty, integrity and independence of Pakistan.  This would bring peace, harmony and stability in South Asia, rather the current instability, caused by hegemonic designs of India.

The writer is an analyst of international relations.

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