Imran Khan – Playing Poker with the Spent Cartridges
Sethi, the armchair “revolutionary “ of the 1970s, is jilted why Imran Khan got so much coverage in the world press during and after his address at the UNGA. Ironically, in the mental turmoil evident in his outbursts, perhaps Sethi expected a much bigger audience for Imran Khan’s speech than even the kaptaan’s supporters. He points out that the UNGA hall was only half full during the address, conveniently forgetting that this is nothing new and that this is what always happens at the UN. It is the electronic and print media that spread the addresses at the UN to the far corners of the world. The UN is not a boxing or wrestling arena where the contenders endeavor to physically knock out each other. It is the word of mouth through which world leaders try to outsmart their rivals. So, everybody, including the fretting Mr. Sethi, knows very well that world leaders go to the UN to make speeches. This is what his leader Bhutto did in 1971 – shedding crocodile tears after the debacle at Dhaka. After tearing the Polish Resolution, which would have facilitated the transfer of power to the Awami League, Bhutto blustered, “I will not be a party to it… we will fight; we will go back and fight….Why should I waste my time here in the Security Council? I will not be a party to the ignominious surrender of a part of my country”. While Bhutto, according to Sethi, “thundered” at the UN Security Council, Pakistanis, those who pondered, knew very well how he had manipulated the events by feigning illness for not attending the session till Pakistan Army surrendered at Dhaka. And while Bhutto “thundered” at the UN to hide his guilt for having stabbed his country, in contrast, Imran Khan was there to plead the case of the Kashmiri people before it is too late. And it was in the context of India’s intransigence and foolhardiness on Kashmir, that Imran Khan drew world attention to the dangers of the conflict getting out of control and spiraling into a nuclear holocaust. However, besides the rhetoric, Sethi draws attention to some serious issues also, such as:
The world doesn’t give a damn about the UN resolutions on Kashmir
This is not something new. Pakistan has been living with this truth, since 1948. During the first Kashmir war, Indian Army fought essentially against a ragtag force of tribesmen, locals, and retired/serving army personnel on leave. Pakistan Army entered the fray only when the Indian Army was threatening to advance beyond line Uri- Poonch- Naushera. Having failed in securing Jammu & Kashmir for Pakistan by force, subsequent Pakistani governments had to console their people by hiding behind the United Nations resolutions. In fact, the United Nations has never taken its resolutions seriously unless the national interests of the permanent members of the Security Council are involved. So, what is the big deal?
Pakistan’s intelligence and diplomacy failed to anticipate Modi’s moves and devise appropriate pre-emptive policy
Policies do not pop up, like the proverbial rabbit, out of a hat. They are the continuation of past policies which can be modified but not changed radically. In any case, Musharraf tried an out-of-the-box solution but failed. Our policy on Kashmir, till now, had been to make fool of the people by exploiting the issue as a stunt aimed at self-perpetuation. What better proof can this be that the Chairman of the Kashmir Committee, for the last 12 years, was a person who does not believe in Pakistan, and who calls the creation of Pakistan a sin.
The truth is the world is now ready to live with India’s annexation of Kashmir
Revoking IHK’s special status is a reflection of the mass paranoia and fear Modi and his cohorts are suffering from. Far from finishing the Kashmir dispute, it has brought J&K into the International limelight. Kashmir is there, and Kashmiris are there, only the perception of India’s ruling elite has changed. What is Modi up to? He wants to fragment the disputed state and annex each shard with a contiguous Indian state. This, he thinks, will scatter the Kashmiris to the four winds, break their cohesive national identity, and render them unable to unify for a common cause and struggle. This is easier said than done. The Israelis, for the last half a century, are working on a similar plan. They have splintered the West Bank, dotted it with Jewish settlements, and encircled the Palestinian cities and villages, reducing them into several Bantustans (A term used by the white rulers in apartheid South Africa for the Black African towns surrounded from all sides by white settlements). Israelis have failed to achieve their objective of cleansing the West Bank of Palestinians. The Palestinian population in the occupied Arab territories has swelled to more than one million people. Remember, the West Bank of River Jordan can sit easily into the Chakwal District of Pakistan’s Punjab province. On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir State, with eight million people, is larger in size than the Pakistani Punjab.
The truth is that Pakistan is internationally isolated
Pakistan is internationally isolated only in the pictures of Sethi’s schizophrenic mind. The fact is that Pakistan is not isolated today more as it was during Zardari and Nawaz's rule. These two past rulers had reduced Pakistan’s foreign policy to a farce, an extension of their respective businesses. One can find the difference by simply witnessing the past video footage – how the lowly US Mandarins dictated their terms to Zardari, and how Trump and the Petro-Sheikhs dealt with Nawaz. And how Nawaz was not even allowed to make a speech at Riad.
The truth is that Pakistan is bankrupt and desperately dependent while resurgent India is globally wooed
Again, thank Zardari and Nawaz for the rot Pakistan is in. If you seek their monuments, look around. Sethi’s masterstroke is in the last paragraph of his article. Says he: General Qamar Bajwa, the Pakistani army chief, tells everyone he wants to positively “reset” relations with the West, in general, and the US, in particular. That is a welcome dose of “strategic realism” long missing in Islamabad. But he must not forestall a national consensus to achieve Pakistan’s own tryst with democracy. That is not possible so long as Imran Khan remains obsessed with his brand of divisive, confrontational policy that weakens Pakistan. Dear readers, for “Divisive and Confrontation Policy that Weakens Pakistan”, substitute “ General Amnesty”, the much-vaunted parody of Nelson Mandela’s “National Reconciliation Ordinance” aka NRO. One wonders at the level of common sense of these pseudo-intellectuals of Pakistan who, while trying to prove their point, go to the extremes of stupidity.
Saleem Akhtar Malik
4 October 2019
The author is a Pakistan Army veteran who regularly writes on national and international affairs, defence, military history, and military technology. His talks on these subjects are aired on his YouTube Channel "The Observation Post". His blog "Sam1953.blogspot.com" features his articles. Tweets @saleemakhtar53.
Comments
Post a Comment