INDIA'S 9/11....OR PAKISTAN'S

Events that have been unfolding after Mumbai blasts have been as intriguing as the blast itself. In India, the political flip-flops, institutional blame game, the now-here-now-there kind of policy measures, under preparedness of the security apparatus, intelligence of the intelligence machinery etc have all been reviewed or ridiculed at some point or another. While this has been the story in India, more astonishing stories are emerging from our neighborhood.

From the looks of it, Pakistan is really in bad times. Whether the Nation would ever be able to emerge out of their dark military shadow should be the question that must be haunting every self-respecting Pakistani, of which, I am sure, the country is plentiful of. Why have these people not found their voice is something that is as amazing as it is astonishing. If they don’t find it now, perhaps a little later it might be too late. I am sure that Pakistan is full of men and women who can see that their nation is fast degrading into an abyss.

Look at the turn of events – A democratically elected nation’s President promises international audiences that one of its top ranking Government servant would visit India for helping in investigation only to retract it later after the servant along with top Military brass met the President and ostensibly “convinced” him that it is not essential! In another related event, the same government feigns ignorance about a banned organization having restarted its usual business (or more dastardly one) under a different name (was it a ban of the organization and its activities or was it a ban of its name??... one wonders) only to ban the organization after UNSC pressure is mounted. So much for the fact that Pakistan nation, being a victim of terrorism, is trying to put an end to terrorism in all forms, Uncle Sam till recently would urge us to believe.

Every Pakistani appearing on the Indian television, be it a writer or former bureaucrat or army officer or journalist – to a person they swear that accusing Pakistan is not correct despite the veracity of mounting evidences. All accuse India of Pakistan-bashing and some even wax eloquent stating that Pakistan never indulged in such tactics when their hotel Marriott attack took place but none make any honest effort to unearth the truth behind India’s assertions and expose India if they are really bluffing their way through. And we all know what happened to one media House that tried to do – GEO TV.

The trigger for this blog is the media report that Geo TV was prevented by people of Faridkot from investigating the ancestry of Kasav – the terrorist caught and interrogated by the Indian Police. These people who prevented were reportedly policemen dressed in plain clothes. In fact, the village is in a kind of siege from these men and there was no one willing to talk on camera about the links of Kasav to the village. Some of course spoke on candid camera. Why is the situation so tragic if the country is truly on its democratic path and fighting terrorism? Why are people afraid of talking the truth..is there a fear psychosis? And is it the same fear that is gripping the elite as well that which makes them do the improbable, defend the indefensible and put on a façade that everything is fine with the country. These worthies..well, dont they realize that this is the greatest disservice they can do to their Nation.

Well.. it might be easier to sermonize from an Indian view point but one doesn’t have to be brilliant to conclude that Pakistan’s words and deeds are not matching to the enormity of the issue and the disconnect with the ground reality is near total. The intellectuals and the leaders and visionaries will have to stand up, find their voices, speak up and be counted. They owe it to themselves. As Friedmann has urged in his news column after the Mumbai’s night of terror, Pakistan has to do it for itself. They have to fight oppression by their military and ISI which is dictating what to do to the puppet democratic government. Not many decades back men and women of stature from India & Pakistan (undivided then) stood up and fought similar oppression by ruling elite during the Indian freedom struggle against British. It is hard to believe that Pakistan and its people have lost it somewhere in the intervening period. Pakistan is slowly sliding onto an abyss and the Military & ISI is leading them there. Only a popular uprising can save the Nation now. Such a show of strength would beef up the poor weak-kneed government that is in office today and will make it stand up to the military and be the real masters. Pakistani people cannot rest on their haunches after casting their vote. Their fight is long and they will have to enduringly fight it. This is their opportunity to seek to integrate with the international community having failed to do so in the last six decades after their formation. The world is surely losing patience and despite Pakistan’s strategic value it clearly runs the risk of being isolated.

Therefore, I wonder whether it is India’s 9/11 or Pakistan’s!!!