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DOST KHAN
JAMMU: For the past two days, prime time of Indian electronic media has gone waste over debates whether Pakistan Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharief will rake-up Kashmir issue in United Nations General Assembly or not and if so what should be the counter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to it. Of course, Sharief will not only take up this issue, he will be venomous and ferocious in trumpeting this bogey because Kashmir is not only the state policy of Pakistan but upon this lays very survival of theocratic and rogue nation in the neighbourhood. Indians will have to live with Pakistan parroting Kashmir as its jugular vein as long as it exists. Despite getting dismantled into two nations, Islamabad has not given up the issue. The Kashmir hangover is running so high that even the fourth generation of Pakistan gets euphoric while vowing to fight for thousand years to ‘take every inch of Kashmir’.
It is amusing to find high profile crews of national television channels on the US jaunt with so-called experts accompanying and airing their outdated analysis. They can be seen beating the bushes with their Pakistan counterparts, who are mentally so sick and overtaken by Kashmir mania that they have lost the sense of proportion between decency and stupidity.
The prime time of Indian television ought to have synchronised with the tone set by Narinder Modi in showcasing India’s prowess as a youthful nation with its 65 per cent population below 35 years yearning to grow as captains of business and industry. On the contrary, they too have fallen in the trap of sick mentality that sees nothing beyond Kashmir and nuclear flash point.
Why should Indians get peeved over Nawaz Sharief flagging Kashmir again and again? He did it last year ‘despite Indian requests through back channel that Islamabad should refrain from a direct reference to this issue at the 193-member world forum’ because Congress was going to election. The successive governments have not only appeased the anti-national elements in Kashmir but they have been doing so while dealing with their mentor too-Pakistan.
Secondly, why should Indians behave like ostriches and shy away from the issue that has been festering for the past six and half decades, much because of New Delhi’s weak policies than Islamabad’s boorish persistence. Pakistanis have never relented in their resolve to ‘annex’ Kashmir by hook or crook. They have done all that they could-fighting three wars and waging a proxy war apart from diplomatic offensives. India has all along remained in defensive instead of asserting in accordance with the standing policy on Kashmir, particularly with reference to the 1994 unanimous Parliament resolution.
The ‘integral part’ mantra of India has lost its meaning because those repeating it time and again appear to be themselves in doubt about its authenticity. This has bolstered the confidence of the erratic nation which keeps on twisting arms of Indians at will.
Last year Nawaz Sharief made a strong pitch for UN intervention to resolve ‘festering disputes’, saying the world body must remain attentive to the protracted issue as also the ‘full realisation’ of the right to self determination of the Kashmiri people. “The suffering of the people cannot be brushed under the carpet, because of power politics. The UN has to play a critical role to play in resolving festering disputes. As in the past, Pakistan calls upon the international community to give an opportunity to the Kashmiris to decide their future peacefully, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions”, is what the Pakistan Prime Minister said. This is what he is going to repeat tonight. This has been a Xerox copy of what every Pakistani diplomat or Head of the State is carrying in his pocket whenever embarking to the UN General Council.
Given Pakistan’s direct involvement in anti-India posturing, and more importantly terrorism, should India expect any miracle from the neighbouring country? One cannot call Pakistan as an epicenter of terrorism and also expect it to behave, particularly at a time when domestic politics has pushed Nawaz Sharief to wall. Pakistan has been using Kashmir bogey for survival of its democracy as also to keep intact the efficacy of its powerful military in the country’s murkier affairs.
This being the backdrop, India will have to grow beyond myopic phobia of Kashmir, as it will continue to haunt the generations unless a tough and decisive action is taken against the misadventures of Pakistan in terms of cross border terrorism and diplomatic warfare. Pakistan is not to be discussed; it is to be tackled without crying wolf.
