Today, Lahore and Tomorrow, ?

My IS tutorial had ended and I was on my way to the 1st floor of Old Building when news started pouring in that the Pakistan touring Sri Lankan Cricket team who were on their way to the Gadaffi Stadium have been ambushed by terrorists. Various disturbing reports were rising and it was hard to differentiate between truth and rumour. Many of us dashed into the CA Lab, our special anti-nuke bunker( well i do imagine it!) to log onto the Internet and verify the news.

The attack was a myth buster that cricketers would be the last people to be attacked in Pakistan. It is sheer luck and the Sri Lankan Team bus driver's presence of mind that averted a cataclysmic hostage drama and diplomatic humiliation for Pakistan. Evading bullets, rolling grenades and rockets is no simple matter! Recent reports speak of 11-12 terrorists well trained and equipped to create a hostage situation as the perpetrators. 

The dust has not even settled but mud slinging has already begun. The Pakistani Minister of Shipping and many others including many Pakistani media persons have started pointing fingers at India! Western Media compares the Pakistani finger pointing to India's 26/11 accusations in the same light. I fret and fume over this unjust hippocratic perception and cannot understand how people easily forget the past or take it for granted when they compare India and Pakistan. There has never been any shred of proof to substantiate Indian government or its people being involved in any conspiracy to attack or disturb the peace of our neighbour. In fact, India has always been complacent in its External and Foreign Affairs. Compare this to Pakistan, a country where an AK-47 is easily available than food or water or education. It has a history of state sponsored terrorism and has been a serious headache for the entire sub-continent and even the world when the A.Q.Khan nuclear proliferation nexus was uncovered. The fact is Pakistan has always escaped from international radars especially the so called bastion of peace - The West for a long period. Either they are a failure or have closed their eyes every time Pakistan has given signs of the intended turbulence in coming future. Pakistan has nursed and bottle-fed the demon Taliban and nurtured the ticking time-bomb thereby allowing diffusion or Talibanisation of its armed resources and its people. Pakistan has always has a skewed view of the world and always has a single critical objective of surpassing India and emerging from its shadows. This erroneous policy has resulted in the balknisation of Pakistan, constant and continuous turbulence in administration, and increasing influence of extremists over its people.

Pakistan has always lived in self-denial and never realised the enormity of the task it is facing and the limit up to which international government can help in cleaning domestic mess. It refuses to understand that India is on the right side, geographically and righteously! It fails to come out open on its commitment over War on Terror. It feels Indian RAW is behind the Baluchistan separatism movement (I earnestly hope so! Why ? simply because I feel unlike other western nations Indian IB and RAW have no feathers in their porous cap).

Numerous reports are emerging of Talibanisation reaching even the Pakistani waters near the volatile Karachi. Most of Pakistan is burning from administrative instability, terrorism, insurgency, and severe financial paralysis. It has lost SWAT and many other regions in FATA, NWFP, Waziristan and others along the Afghan border to Talibani elements. It was forced to accept sharia law and Taliban superiority in SWAT in the previous month. Pakistan is a sick nation and refuses to accept it has the sickness. The distance between India and the volatile regions to its west is less than the Mumbai-Goa distance. It won't be long before the contagious disease will be at India's doorstep. A time no far in future will come when India will have to decide whether it will opt for silence and face annihilation or take preventive steps to check the spread of the malady!

My penultimate closing thoughts for 2008 - (2)

One more exam and I will fly off for my catalyst regeneration.

It has been more than a month after the Mumbai Terror Attacks and still I feel insecure like majority Mumbaikars. Railway Stations are still porous, with reports emerging that Home guards who have no weapons guarding the entry/exit points of the stations logging imaginary ghost names in the register, merrily chatting away, and sleeping on duty. Today the TOI. has reported the condition of Government Ammo (worse than "Made in China" Tag). At least, give them Bow and Arrow and Swords! Train them in Stone and Baton throwing. Airports are a balcony view from the high rise palatial Slums that greet travellers arriving into Mumbai. The Airport Fencing and Wall perimeter have more craters and cracks than the moon!

Many have forgotten about Accountability from Babus and Politicians. Today the government has successfully steered all attention from personal accountability towards Pakistan. We must force the government to remove this blanket covering for the cronies that rule our nation.

On the other side of the border, Pakistan has gone from defense to all out offense in the PR war between Indian and Pakistan.
It continues with its Deny everything and play War jingoism mantra.
It has neglected, denied or maybe even might have erased the Ajmal Kasab's Pakistani links like his parents, National Database Record, etc. It doesn't believe in Satellite Phone records and other substantial proofs. It is steadily beefing up positions along eastern border while India has not done so. Pakistan's PM, Foriegn affairs minister, Generals, President are all over the Indian channels explaining their position while Indian diplomats, Home ministry and others ( I am excluding our PM and president both Kaccha Limboos) are slow on PR attack.

Even the media turf war is getting hotter and fouler. Pakistani News channels point fingers at Indian counterparts for war-hyping while I personaly feel they are themselves to blame. Their caustic and bitter language is unbelieveable. Ugh! I dont know how media reporting can be so cheap and dirty! Indian media channel Times Now has disappointed me very much. They were working like sensationalists. (I donot think Aaj Tak, VOI, Live India, etc can be called news Channels. They are soap operas runing live)

India must force Pakistan to rise above neo-patriotism and make them understand that denial or just the gesture of joint co-operation wont work this time. How many times should India trust Pakistan? Lahore Bus trip is still in the back of every Indian mind! Since actions speak more than words, Pakistan must curtail the non state actors and hand over the fugitives! for future co-operation.

God knows where this crisis is leading us to! The western nations have again shown they are just vermins. Zimbabwe, Dafur, Iraq, Iran, N-Korea, Russia and the US Weapon Shield, Afghanistan every crisis has been mismanaged by them and their irresponsible media partners. Investigative and Righteous journalism is at its ebb! While i write Israel is busy pounding Gaza strip after weeks of Economic blockade. I consider it miscarraige of the western just policies. US has reiterated it considers only Israel causalties as causalties. I have no hope from such bigots. I just remembered Junior Bush's Axis of Evil statement. I understand from history, this world has never been a just world!

But I did manage to laugh today!
Today, Singhvi of Congress in his article in TOI had written, "halve the mourners had come to confirm that He is dead while rest have come to make sure he is buried !" and what Churchill said about Atlee, "He came to 10,Downing St in an empty cab" Less but Well Said :-)

Pakistan : Friend or Fiend ?

I am forced to ponder, when and where, India will draw the Line and say "Pakistan, this is it. One more step and pay the price". I am no extreme rightist or nationalist, but a peace loving countryman wishing to live alongside Pakistan amicably. However, I am deeply concerned over the growing ISI and Pakistan sponsored militancy in India. Not a month passes when an Indian common-man or armed personnel is not killed or hurt by I.S.I. sponsored activities.

Pakistan is my country's biological sibling who left the family in 1947 after years of spilling blood over separation and ownership. In 1947, after the old, stubborn tenant - Britain was evicted and the old house was brought down; two new houses were constructed next to each other, namely India and Pakistan

Partition or division of ancestral wealth was not enough. Pakistan wanted the princely states to side with Pakistan and went to great lengths to accomplish so. Kashmir is one such example. When Hari Singh of J&K princely state was not willing to side with Pakistan, it dispatched Pakistani tribal warriors and rangers to capture Kashmir by force.

Pakistan has never grown up or matured. It envies India's glory, diversity, liberalism, democracy and stability. Pakistan always blames India for the religious, political, social, economic unrest in Pakistan. Pakistan fails to differentiate a friend from a foe. It considers India as its foremost enemy in all fields. All its policies are meant to act as deterrence against India. It spends a whooping portion of budget on arms & ammunition meant against India when its economy is crumbling. It uses the double edged sword of terrorism against India when conventional wars couldn't succeed. This terrorism is now backfiring. It has virtually lost all control over North West frontier provinces, SWAT, Waziristan, Baluchistan to name a few. It faces Al-Qaeda menace after decades of supporting and harboring their activities in Afghanistan and westen regions. It faces constant brutal suicide bombings by rival Muslim sects. Pakistan has always acted against the Geneva Conventions. It never recognizes Human rights and brutally treats POWs. Infact it still hasnt reclaimed bodies of rangers and of armymen who had fought the Kargil Proxy war. Its ISI has constantly beaten Indian consulate members and has implemented diabolical acts of terrorism. against India.

Pakistan's democracy is a failure. Multiple Military coup is the proof. It is a country where Army is the king maker and major player. It fails in the field of IT and other fields while India flourishes. Indians and Pakistanis have the same blood running in their veins. Both speak same dialects, languages, follow same traditions, customs and culture and share the same PAST. Indians and Pakistanis share the same brain and soul, after all we are brothers! Then why is Pakistan in such an horrible mess ? The country faces an ever lasting dillema as to who is the actual head ? Why is India excelling while Pakistan is plumetting to new lows?

Pakistan suffers from skewed vision. It fails to reconcile with India and come out clean. It misinterprets Islam and has misused the wonderful religion to spread hatred. It needs to alter its constitution to prevent another democratic miscarriage. It needs a complete religious, social, political and economic make over. It must focus on Industrial revolution rather than terrorist revolution. It must stop interfering in Indian matters and start minding its own matters. It must change its attitude and strategy to prevent an all out political, social, religious and economic turmoil.

But will it ?