By Asif Haroon Raja One of the most read English newspaper of Pakistan, "The News" , controlled from Karachi projects mainly the views of liberals and so-called enlightened moderates. The bearded Muzaffar Iqbal is one of the lucky ones to find space in this prestigious paper. Articles of Masooda Bano are published under sub-heading ‘dissenting note’. Writers like me who at times show mirror to the liberal brigade cannot think of getting even one article published particularly after Omar Qureshi took over the charge of editorial wing in mid-2006.
Conversely Indian authors keen to convey their loaded messages from across the border are encouraged. Col (R) Harish Puri is among the selected ones whose articles appear off and on, each one with a tinge of sarcasm. Indian writers convey the message in a very subtle manner which appeals to the sensibilities of the liberal class and pro-Indian segment in Pakistan. His latest article published in this paper on 14 April is captioned ‘An open letter to Gen Kayani’. To begin with, he first refreshes the memory of Pakistanis about the surrender of Pak soldiers at Dacca on 16 December 1971 which he says that no Pakistani has been able to get over that humiliation. Having scored his point he then suddenly turns to the incident of a teenage girl flogged by the Taliban in Swat which he terms as an abject surrender by Pak army, much more disgraceful than 1971 debacle. He takes a dig at Gen Kayani by saying that the girl could have been his daughter, or the author’s. In his bid to project himself broad minded and affable, he hastens to eulogize Pak army that it had fought valiantly in the three Indo-Pak wars and had performed commendably in UN missions. In the next breadth he makes an about turn by recapitulating an incident of an infantry unit led by a Lt Col meekly laying down arms before 20 odd militants in South Waziristan. He had mentioned about this incident in one of his earlier articles and had sarcastically stated that Pak army had reduced itself to Gainti-Belcha party. He used this belittling term by referring to the article of his friend Ejaz Haider of Daily Times, espousing the cause of liberals only. Having said what he wanted to say he then prods Gen Kayani as to what restrains him from going hell for leather against the Taliban and annihilating them. He reminds him that Pak army had inflicted immense atrocities on the Bengalis without any remorse or inhibitions. To incite the sentiments of people of Bangladesh in which Indians are past masters, he quips “Is it because Bengalis were never considered as Pakistanis, or your troops are terrified by the Taliban”. He urges him that before the Taliban drag Pakistan back into the Stone Age, the Taliban which are an equal threat to India must be defeated at all costs without any further delay. Let us now carry out a dispassionate analysis of his write up. His theme revolves around the threat of Taliban which in his view is too dangerous having grave ramifications for both Pakistan and India. He has belittled Pakistan army by insinuating that it has got scared of the Taliban and is reluctant to grapple with them. He has tried to arouse Gen Kayani to show courage and save the Swatis from the cruel clutches of barbarian Taliban and get counted in history or earn life long ignominy. Had this letter come from Swat, it might have had some impact, but a letter from devious India could not have been written with noble intentions. The purpose is to further stimulate the liberal brigade within Pakistan, tarnish the image of the army and overturn Swat peace deal. His article will give an idea how flabbergasted and disgusted the Indians are feeling after seeing their sinister scheme of pitching Pak army against its own people failing. India had successfully implemented this scheme in former East Pakistan in 1971. It had worked strenuously in creating bad blood between the Bengalis and West Pakistanis and is keen to repeat the same story. India has invested heavily in stoking insurgencies in Balochistan, FATA and Swat and is now eager to reap the harvest it had sown in 2002. The bravado and professionalism of Indian security forces was put to severe test in Mumbai on 26 November when 12 terrorists had made the whole city of Mumbai hostage and it took 4000 troops including 1200 elite force three days to get rid of them. Conversely, similar attack on Sri Lanka team in Lahore could not last more than 27 minutes and the coach driver and the escort police saved the lives of visitors; attackers of Manawan police academy were overpowered within six hours by a small force. With regard to casual mention about Kargil by Harish that Nawaz Sharif had badly let down Pakistani soldier, let me remind him that the entire might of Indian army had been brought on its knees by a few hundred ill-equipped Kashmiri Mujahideen backed by few Pakistan irregular Northern Light Infantry units and India had to seek US intervention to bail itself out of the perilous situation. The G-8 countries led by USA stood behind India and threatened Pakistan to pull back its forces or face dire consequences. Voluntary pull back of our forces from the occupied heights of Dras-Kargil enabled India to convert its defeat into victory on the media plane. It was Gen Musharraf and not Nawaz who had let down the army since the former failed to exploit the vulnerability of Indian army. From these events it is now to be unemotionally judged as to whether Pakistan army or Indian army is the Gainti-Belcha party. In the aftermath of Mumbai incident, when the Indian army menacingly marched towards our eastern border in December last to exploit the military defensive imbalance, India had hoped that after a firefight and blood spilling between Pakistan army and tribesmen for six years, the latter would not permit the former to pull out of FATA. Their high hopes shattered when the tribesmen vowed to fight the Indians along side the army. Peace deals in Swat and Bajaur have further disillusioned them having tried various means to disrupt peace. In desperation the said video clip of flogging was flashed and drum beaten all over the world. The liberals led by MQM made extraordinary hue and cry over the incident. So much so that our friend Harish also got affected and is shedding tears of sympathy. This letter was initiated after the so-called victim Chand Bibi poured cold water on the sinister designs of vested groups by stating that she wasn’t flogged. Despite her statement and that of the Swat Taliban, Commissioner Malakand and Chief Minister NWFP stating that no such incident took place in Swat and it was a fake video, and the Supreme Court taking suo moto notice of the incident, the mischievous people are not appeased. They have no love for Chand Bibi; their sole interest is to get the peace deal derailed and to discredit Islam and Taliban. Notwithstanding concerns of Harish which are ill-intentioned, one is amazed at the reaction of secular Muslims vehemently trying to defend adultery well knowing that this act is a crime in Islam and clear cut punishment has been prescribed for married and unmarried women as well as for the adulterers. While magnifying the threat from Taliban, he remains tight lipped on Balochistan where RAW has been successful to quite an extent in creating bad blood between Baloch nationalists and the army, government and non-locals residing in Balochistan. India, USA and the west cry out when any military operation is launched in that region. They don’t want a bullet to be fired against anti-Pakistan and anti-social elements in Balochistan but want to kill each and every extremist Pashtun in FATA and NWFP. The reason for this duplicitous stance is that the Pashtuns are by and large anti-American and pro-Pakistan. The recent unrest in Balochistan over mysterious killing of three Baloch nationalist leaders was stoked by CIA and RAW. Its involvement in the ruthless killings would soon be traced. In case foreign agencies fail to re-ignite FATA and Swat, Balochistan would be ignited through drone attacks and other covert means. Although the Indians claim to have earned a great victory in 1971 on the eastern front, the fact of the matter is that it was a one sided exercise in which all the odds were against the beleaguered defender cut off from the rest of the world and with all fronts hostile. Even the best army under best General would not have done any better. The catastrophe was a foregone conclusion since it was an international conspiracy to detach East Pakistan from the rest of Pakistan. I reckon, Harish doesn’t know that 90,000 Indian soldiers had surrendered to Japanese army in the battle of Singapore in the 2nd World War. He also forgets the humiliating defeat Indian army suffered at the hands of Chinese at NEFA in 1962. The victors after drubbing them well and proper returned all the weapons and equipment captured in huge numbers duly polished. The captured Indian soldiers were reluctant to return back to their homeland since they were treated so humanely by the Chinese as opposed to the rough treatment meted to them by their own officers. In the 1965 war, the high-sounding plans to decimate Pakistan were brought to a naught. Being an old soldier he must be fully aware of the fact that the one night military operation launched by Pak troops in Dacca on 25th March 1971 was described as the most harrowing genocide in the annals of human history. Is it not an acknowledged fact that majority of the Bengalis that fled to India after the operation were Hindus? Who doesn’t know that the Indians exaggerated the refugee problem out of all proportions and made it into a cause for invading East Pakistan? May I remind Harish about the perverse role played by the Indian army and BSF in training, equipping and launching the Bengali rebels from West Bengal for seven months prior to invading East Pakistan? It was India which made cross border terrorism fashionable in this region. I strongly recommend Harish to read my two books namely “Maarka-Hilli” and “Roots of 1971 Tragedy”. These books would help in clearing the cobwebs in his mind and clear his biased thinking. My first book would give him an idea how my unit 4FF, described by the Indians as the ‘crack battalion of Pakistan army’, fought the Indian army five times bigger in men and material for 19 days without giving an inch. All books written by Indian authors on 1971 war have paid glowing tributes to the defenders of Hilli in which I was one of the company commanders and Maj Akram Shaheed from whom I took over had earned Nishan-e-Haider. My second book which is a thoroughly researched treatise explains all aspects of this war in great details and also sheds light on the malicious propaganda warfare to demonize Pak army. Some of the popular myths created by India, like killing of three million Bengalis and raping of 300,000 Bengali women have also been exploded. It also brings to light the plunder and rapes by Indian army officers and soldiers after they captured East Pakistan and the rapes of thousands of Bengali girls in refugee camps in India. Unlike Indian books, it is an unprejudiced book since it bring to fore weak areas of both sides. I am more critical of our own civilian and military leaders who brought this indignity to this proud nation. So much so that the Army Book Club has regretted to publish this book since I am too critical of the Generals. I wonder why Harish is so oblivious about the shameless activities of Indian security forces in Occupied Kashmir since 1989 where rape is used as a weapon to break the will of the freedom fighters. Are the Muslim Kashmiris girls who are gang-raped not daughters, sisters and wives of some? Is he also ignorant about the barbarism of Indian soldiers in dozens of Indian states where insurgency and separatist movements are raging for the last five decades? I ask him as to why the fourth largest army of the world claiming itself to be best in Asia has been unable to quell even a single insurgency despite using massive force. Khalistan movement in East Punjab could never be crushed by Indian security forces had Pakistan not provided the list of Sikh leaders to them. May he apprise me as to why the Indian army has been seeking dialogue and peace treaties with the Assamis, Nagas, Mizos, Sikhs and so many other insurgent forces? Is the highly professional India army terrified of the insurgents of various hues? Why it sucks up to a super power whenever it wishes to pulverize a neighbor? The minorities living in India are treated as aliens and second rated citizens. It is now an established fact as proven by Indian agencies that a large number of Indian army officers are aligned with Hindu extremist organizations and BJP and actively working on the agenda of Hindutva and their major focus is on the Indian Muslims that are living in pitiable conditions. I ask Harish that has the Indian army ever picked up arms against Indian Hindus? Or are the Hindus “own people” and other minorities in India never considered as “your own people”. He cynically remarks that Pakistani soldiers led by Indian officers would be the most fearsome combination, since Pakistani officers are more into real estate than in professionalism. I am sure Harish has floated this weird idea in the backdrop of American Af-Pak policy in which the US intends to assign a pivotal role to Indian military. Rather than eying at Pakistani soldiers, why doesn’t India train Muslim soldiers from within 150 million Indian Muslims majority of whom are jobless? Do we not know about the doings of Indian army officers? I am sure Harish must be going through his own newspapers highlighting the clandestine activities of Lt Gen Hoon, Lt Col Purohit, Maj Shrama and hundreds of others engaged in terrorist activities including training of suicide bombers, smuggling and sex scandals. Respect and trust in senior leadership has waned and cases of insubordination are on the rise; and so are cases of suicides. Indian army is no more a professional army as claimed by Harish but a rogue army. With such a dismal record of Indian army of which Harish has been part and parcel, I do not know how many times the Indian army has surrendered because of countless disgraceful acts it has indulged in or allowed the insurgents to indulge in. In India and in Pakistan, abuse of women and domestic violence is a common phenomenon. Apart from gang rapes and molestation of women in work places, cases of acid throwing on faces, torching women after sprinkling kerosene oil on them, honor killings, women trafficking for prostitution, child abuse and mass suicides by mother and children due to poverty or lack of justice are rampant. New Delhi is notorious for large-scale broad daylight rapes and cases of Satti still take place. Exploitation of Dalit women in India by the Brahmans is a well known fact. So how come flogging of a girl who could walk away briskly after receiving 34 lashes has become the most horrifying spectacle? Yet, Harish has the brazenness to get so emotionally upset by the flogging that he decided to initiate an open letter to COAS of Pak army and tried to awaken his conscience and honor to serve Indian interests. He has reason to feel aghast since adultery among the non-Muslims is permissible and not considered disgraceful. I suggest, he should first advise his own army chief to put his house in order before peeping into the neighbor’s house. The ones living in a glass house have no reason to cast stones at others. To add to Indian and American anxieties, I may like to apprise them that ever since peace deal has been inked in Swat on 16 February, no case of suicide or bomb attack has taken place or any school torched. Life has got back to normal and boys and girls schools and colleges are functioning. Tents have been pitched where schools were razed. Most police stations and civil administration offices have become operational and so have Qazi courts to deliver speedy justice. The parliament has unanimously passed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation and the president has inked it. Maulana Sufi has asked the Swat Taliban to lay down their arms and extend fullest cooperation to the army. If they are really desirous of peace they should welcome this change of tide rather than feeling upset. Asif Haroon Raja is a retired Brigadier and a defence and political analyst based in Rawalpindi. Article Source : http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/16818 ------------------------------------ *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended: http://www.ikhwanweb.com http://www.islamonline.net http://www.islam-guide.com http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at islamcity-ow...@yahoogroups.com with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! 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