Even as I write this, the US government is leveling serious accusations against the Pakistani government. They are now openly accusing the Pakistani state of supporting terrorist organizations. In fact, their statements are now sounding increasingly familiar, aren't they? Indian government, anyone?
So, USA, and in short, the 'civilized/western' world is now just short of formally declaring a fact long understood and said before only in hushed tones-'Pakistan is a terrorist state'. And as long as we speak of the people who really are in charge of Pakistan, i.e. the army, ISI, and various 'mujaheddin' groups, Pakistan can be declared a terrorist state. But, what about their civilian government, which the army uses as a front to meet various dignitaries from abroad while making all the core decisions without consulting with the same leaders. To me, Pakistani civilian leaders hold the same respect and admiration as the Indian politicians-none at all. They are just as corrupt and inefficient as the Indian leaders. But what they are not are supporters of terrorism. Terrorism is a state of mind born of extreme brainwashing and also an ignorance of world affairs and inability to understand them in a coherent manner. The Pakistani civilian leadership, if anything is well educated, and is well aware of the plight that their country is in.
But their voice has been silenced by the radicals and the army. They don't have enough power to change the official national policy on major issues like Kashmir and terrorism, on which the uneducated Pakistani(sadly,a vast majority) doesn't want to compromise. Most of you would be aware of the Asia Bibi case(regarding Pakistan's medieval blasphemy law) wherein 2 moderate voices of Pakistan, the governor of the Punjab province Salman Taseer, and the minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti were assassinated. All they did was speak out against the draconian blasphemy law which is highly unfair to the minorities as it can be used unfairly by a muslim party against a non-muslim and the advantage of doubt would go to the muslim person.
My thoughts may appear to be a bit muddled up by now, but I will now make my point. Now, I address all Indians. Our leaders spew just as much hatred as the Pakistani leaders. Groups like the Shiv Sena, RSS, and MNS generate a lot of unwarranted hatred against the Pakistani state in particular and against all Pakistanis in general through the medium of their fiery and provocative speeches. Again, it is the uneducated Indian(sadly a vast majority of the total population) who gets incited to resort to violence. The result of this would be the recently found Hindu hand in the Malegaon blast case. What I want to say is, that not all Pakistani's are bad, nor are all Indians. Among the vast majority who sit for the fiery speeches being delivered by the hate mongers of the respective countries, thankfully only a small minority is incited enough to act rather than just spew words. In the others, I would like to believe, better sense prevails.
Coming back to the point that I want to make, as one can see from the recent assassinations of the moderate voices of Pakistan , that more moderates are fearful of coming out and speaking their minds. As a result of which, a lot of Indians wrongly accuse all Pakistanis of harboring terrorists. Nothing can be further from the truth. But one has to only visit the discussions in various forums on ties between the two countries to get an idea of what I'm talking about. In order to remove this lack of understanding between our two people's, inter-population interaction needs to be increased on the lines of the TOI-Jang group 'Aman ki Asha' initiative. I believe that only by increasing such interaction can we truly understand each others world views and put a stop to this never ending conflict.
So, USA, and in short, the 'civilized/western' world is now just short of formally declaring a fact long understood and said before only in hushed tones-'Pakistan is a terrorist state'. And as long as we speak of the people who really are in charge of Pakistan, i.e. the army, ISI, and various 'mujaheddin' groups, Pakistan can be declared a terrorist state. But, what about their civilian government, which the army uses as a front to meet various dignitaries from abroad while making all the core decisions without consulting with the same leaders. To me, Pakistani civilian leaders hold the same respect and admiration as the Indian politicians-none at all. They are just as corrupt and inefficient as the Indian leaders. But what they are not are supporters of terrorism. Terrorism is a state of mind born of extreme brainwashing and also an ignorance of world affairs and inability to understand them in a coherent manner. The Pakistani civilian leadership, if anything is well educated, and is well aware of the plight that their country is in.
But their voice has been silenced by the radicals and the army. They don't have enough power to change the official national policy on major issues like Kashmir and terrorism, on which the uneducated Pakistani(sadly,a vast majority) doesn't want to compromise. Most of you would be aware of the Asia Bibi case(regarding Pakistan's medieval blasphemy law) wherein 2 moderate voices of Pakistan, the governor of the Punjab province Salman Taseer, and the minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti were assassinated. All they did was speak out against the draconian blasphemy law which is highly unfair to the minorities as it can be used unfairly by a muslim party against a non-muslim and the advantage of doubt would go to the muslim person.
My thoughts may appear to be a bit muddled up by now, but I will now make my point. Now, I address all Indians. Our leaders spew just as much hatred as the Pakistani leaders. Groups like the Shiv Sena, RSS, and MNS generate a lot of unwarranted hatred against the Pakistani state in particular and against all Pakistanis in general through the medium of their fiery and provocative speeches. Again, it is the uneducated Indian(sadly a vast majority of the total population) who gets incited to resort to violence. The result of this would be the recently found Hindu hand in the Malegaon blast case. What I want to say is, that not all Pakistani's are bad, nor are all Indians. Among the vast majority who sit for the fiery speeches being delivered by the hate mongers of the respective countries, thankfully only a small minority is incited enough to act rather than just spew words. In the others, I would like to believe, better sense prevails.
Coming back to the point that I want to make, as one can see from the recent assassinations of the moderate voices of Pakistan , that more moderates are fearful of coming out and speaking their minds. As a result of which, a lot of Indians wrongly accuse all Pakistanis of harboring terrorists. Nothing can be further from the truth. But one has to only visit the discussions in various forums on ties between the two countries to get an idea of what I'm talking about. In order to remove this lack of understanding between our two people's, inter-population interaction needs to be increased on the lines of the TOI-Jang group 'Aman ki Asha' initiative. I believe that only by increasing such interaction can we truly understand each others world views and put a stop to this never ending conflict.
