Thursday 29 November 2018

Terrorism That Pakistan Must Eradicate, By N. S. Venkataraman


Terrorism That Pakistan Must Eradicate, By N. S. Venkataraman

While so many acts of terrorism have taken place on Pakistan soil in the last few years killing many people including more than 60 innocent school children, the present terrorist attack on Chinese Consulate is wake up call, that indicate that Pakistan government can not any more fail to tackle this grave menace ,which is virtually threatening the stability of the country and creating deep frustration amongst the country men. Rightly or wrongly, due to repeated acts of terrorism on Pakistan soil, the world now views Pakistan as a country where the terrorists have a free run and government unable to wipe them out.
Nothing can be more humiliating for any country , than a situation when most countries in the world refuse to send their sportsmen to play in Pakistan ,fearing terrorist attack. Pakistan is now facing an unenviable situation that Pakistan cricketers have to go to a third country like Dubai to play their matches against overseas team. Certainly, Pakistanis living in Pakistan and outside Pakistan in different countries should be feeling extremely sad and depressed about such state of affairs.
Whether Pakistan government would admit or not, the fact is that Islamic religious groups with extreme ideas are using Pakistan as a spring board to enforce their ideas, adopting violence as a way of life. Obviously, such extremist groups are not numerically large compared to overall population of Pakistan and large section of citizens of Pakistan do not approve them.
While Pakistan government has been repeatedly asserting that it is fighting terrorism on it’s soil and chief of army staff in Pakistan earlier promised that terrorists would be wiped out, many wonder as to why extremists indulging in acts of terrorism in Pakistan remain unchallenged to such an extent. US President Trump has now openly said that the government of Pakistan is not doing enough to put down the terrorists .
Afghanistan and India are two neighbouring countries which have been continuously blaming Pakistan of allowing its soil to be used by the terrorists to create unrest and disturbance in their countries.
In the case of Kashmir in India, Pakistan has not concealed it’s readiness to encourage and support those who are termed by Pakistan government as liberators of Kashmir and Indian government as terrorists, to operate from it’s soil to create unrest in Kashmir.
Pakistan is certainly now at cross roads, as it is facing extremely difficult economic conditions on the one hand and facing terrorism on it’s soil ,while Pakistan government is being accused of encouraging terrorism in neighbouring countries. It is necessary for Pakistan government realize that this sort of scenario cannot continue anymore, as it is causing serious harm to the future interest of Pakistan itself.
The recent accord between India and Pakistan to build the required infrastructure for visa free direct travel by Sikh pilgrims in India to Pakistan’s Kartarpur Saheb Gurudwara to mark the 550 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Day in November 2019, gives a glimpse of hope. It is good to hear a Pakistani minister hailing this accord as “victory of peace lobbies” in both India and Pakistan.
Pakistan has now a new Prime Minister, who is struggling hard to face the impending economic crisis in Pakistan by seeking loan from Saudi Arabia, China, Malaysia and International Monetary Fund. During the visit to these countries, Pakistan Prime Minister has been urging the investors to invest in Pakistan and also claiming that Pakistan is a place of high tourist attraction in view of it’s several natural and historical endowments.
The pre condition for Pakistan Prime Minister to drive Pakistan in the path of prosperity and progress is to ensure that Pakistan would not only fight and destroy the terrorists but also appear to do so in the eyes of the world. It cannot do this by fighting terrorism on it’s soil and directly or indirectly encouraging terrorists in neighbouring countries
Pakistan Prime Minister should clearly realize that Pakistan is in cross roads and it is up to him to take Pakistan in the right path, which is possible only if Pakistan’s commitment to wipe out terrorism in letter and spirit in Pakistan and elsewhere is total and complete.
Pakistanis deserve better and Pakistan Prime Minister can meet their well justified expectation by ensuring conditions of all round peace.


Tuesday 27 November 2018

Communalism dressed up as nationalism, Dr Shabir Choudhry


Communalism dressed up as nationalism, Dr Shabir Choudhry
It is sad that most Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir either don’t understand what is nationalism, or they are hypocrites; and they camouflage their communalism by wearing a ‘nationalist hat’.
To reach this conclusion, one only has to look at level of debate, and standard of nationalism they promote. In Speakers Corner programmes, which I anchored for 4 years, 99% participants were Muslims, some openly supported Pakistan, we allowed them to express their voice.
Dr Vivek Kaul, a Kashmiri Pundit from the Valley of Kashmir, came to few shows and some nationalist people got tummy pain or their masters did. They criticised me, and made allegations against me for inviting non-Muslims to the TV debates. They forget that these non-Muslims are also citizens of Jammu and Kashmir; and they also have rights to enjoy fundamental rights and express their views.
These communalists or their handlers, encourage and reward Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir State to wave Pakistani flags, chant pro Pakistan slogans, abuse India, condemn India, burn their flag; and even use weapons given by Pakistan to kill people, including men in uniform.
However, despite lofty claims of secularism, democracy and equal rights, they are not prepared to allow non-Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir to express their views. They cannot, and will not allow Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir to peacefully challenge the Pakistani agenda on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Pakistan agreed in the UN Resolutions that people of Jammu and Kashmir can join India or join Pakistan.  Despite this fact, they and their foot soldiers will not allow any person to even correct the false propaganda with fabricated stories and lies to fool people.
No sane person can support human rights abuses inside the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and I for one, condemn all human rights abuses taking place there. But does that mean Pakistan, and their foot soldiers should be given a right to tell lies to complicate the Kashmir dispute, make it a religious dispute that people continue to fight each other, just like they are fighting each other inside Pakistan?
This is called mental slavery
There is a country which has prefix ‘Azad’, meaning independent, the only one of its kind in the world. Its taxes are collected by a neighbouring country. Its Prime Minister is selected from the most loyal mental slaves by the neighbouring country. Once this ‘Prime Minister’ is in office he is fully controlled by Lent Officers and security agencies of that country. He begs that country to release a percentage of the money collected from our taxes; and foreign exchange sent by citizens of ‘Azad’ Kashmir. Sometimes to oblige him, the rulers of the neighbouring country, Pakistan, release some of the funds collected.
This Prime Minister cannot ask how much the neighbouring country has looted from his territory; how many billions they have made in foreign exchange sent by its citizens. Once when Raja Farooq Haider, the current loyal servant of Pakistan, was sacked from his post, he said, ‘Prime Minister of this territory has fewer powers than a peon’. Interestingly, later on, he agreed to accept the post which, according to him, has less powers than a peon.
Citizens of that country, Azad Kashmir, are so ‘intelligent’ and slavish that despite knowing some of the bitter facts that they endure worst kind of slavery, they proudly claim that they are independent. And sadly, they say they are happy too.
To best of my knowledge there is no other nation on earth that is happy with its slavery. Most people of Azad Kashmir, are mental slaves, these slaves are mentally conditioned, and they are unable to distinguish between slavery and independence. They have not developed conspicuousness required to appreciate benefits of independence; or harms of slavery.
Those who tell these mental slaves that you are fooled in name of religion, then they get angry and abusive. They start their tirade by accusing loyal sons of the soil for being anti Pakistan and traitors. How can one be a traitor, if he/she is loyal to his motherland? In reality, traitors are those who are loyal to our neighbours, and are working as their touts and collaborators.
Even the Stockholm syndrome does not explain their mental condition. It is difficult to say, what can be done with these mental slaves? One can only say that mental slaves are immune from logic and independent thinking.
Hidden agenda of communal groups
In so called Azad Kashmir, the occupying country does not allow us to publish books that tell true situation, depth of slavery and our suffering on this side of the forced division. They urge people to only focus what India is doing; and brainwash people in name of religion.
They discourage love of Jammu and Kashmir, and replace it with love of Pakistan, because Pakistan is a Muslim country, which is a ‘fort of Islam’; and, which is in danger. These misguided citizens of Jammu and Kashmir have developed strong sentiments of Muslim nationalism, and erroneously believe it is Kashmiri nationalism. All their political and social acts are seen with prism of what Pakistani rulers preach – Muslim nationalism, extremism, intolerance and religious hatred.
People of so called Azad Kashmir are not allowed to write or publicise about true history and culture of Jammu and Kashmir. Those who do, their books are banned; and authors face various kinds of social, political and economic problems. Those booksellers who dare to stock these books are severely punished with hefty fines on the spot. The books are confiscated and bookstore is locked up.
One man who claims to be a Kashmiri (I know he is a Pakistani, and is only fooling people on behest of the Pakistani agencies) said on social media: ‘I support Pakistan army.’
I asked, why do you support Pakistan army? 
1.   Do you get paid to support them? 
2.   Do you support them because they have not won any wars yet?
3.   Do you support them because they surrendered in East Pakistan, biggest surrender in history of human beings?
4.   Do you support them because they lost East Pakistan?
5.   Do you support them because they killed millions of Pakistanis in East Pakistan, in Balochistan, in FATA and other parts of Pakistan?
6.    Do you support them because they lost Siachin?
7.   Do you support them because they gifted away nearly 2000 Kilometres of territory from Gilgit Baltistan to China? 
8.   Or do you support them because they imposed Martial law in Pakistan 4 times?
Please clarify, why do you support them?
I know these are bitter questions and Pakistanis and their touts don’t like to hear them. Whether people like them or not, but all these questions are factually true, and many Pakistani writers agree with them.
As a result of my post providing factual account of deeds of Pakistan army, one Kashmiri group which is doing jihad against India with Pakistani money, Pakistani guns and Pakistani bullets, expelled me from that group. Instead of challenging these facts, many other Pakistanis and their Kashmiri touts generously used foul language against me.
This group is set up and run by Jamat e Islami, and claims that they will provide equal rights to non-Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir once they have defeated India with Pakistani weapons and guidance.
Look at their lofty claims; and look at level of their tolerance. They are not even prepared to give a right of expression to a fellow Muslim citizen, just because he differs with their views; and have shown a mirror to Pakistan.
My message to all of them: you cannot fool people anymore. Your agenda is a division of Jammu and Kashmir State on religious grounds. We will oppose that, and ensure that forces of communalism, extremism, violence and religious intolerance are eradicated.
Writer is a renowned writer and author of many books. He is also President Foreign Affairs Committee of UKPNP; and Chairman South Asia Watch, London.
Email: Drshabirchoudhry@gmail.com       Twitter:  @Drshabir