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Thursday, November 08, 2007


The Indian Analyst



   

Indo-Pak relations have been characterized by mistrust, suspicion, and conflict from the day the two countries emerged as independent and separate nation states in August 1947. Way back in 1948, the UN Security Council passed a resolution requesting India and Pakistan to take measures to improve the situation in Kashmir.

Fifty-six years later, Kashmir remains one of the most dangerous theaters of conflict, as the two nations, now armed with nuclear weapons, remain locked in confrontation. Over the last five-and-a-half decades, the two countries have tried to get a durable peace process going and resolve their differences, peacefully, and in a civilized manner. None of these efforts have yielded much - maybe the attempts have been too half-hearted, the positions too rigid, and the differences too deep. An Urdu poet had described partition as a 'blood stained dawn'. Unfortunately, Indo-Pak relations are littered with far too many false dawns.

 

In the last five-and-a-half decades, the two countries have waged four wars against each other: in 1948; in 1965; in 1971; and in 1999. Pakistan continues to blame India for its dismemberment and the creation of the independent state of Bangladesh in 1971. India, on its part claims that it entered the scene only after the mass genocide conducted by the Pakistani army in erstwhile East Pakistan, and the humanitarian crisis that was created in India following the large-scale influx of refugees into the country from that region.

India takes great pride in its secular credentials, and believes that it is possible for people of all religions to live peacefully and with mutual respect. The presence of a Muslim-majority Kashmir in India is testimony to India’s secularism, and a refutation of the two-nation theory. Pakistan, on the other hand, was founded on the premise that Hindus and Muslims were two separate people, and could not live together. Kashmir’s separation from India would vindicate that stand, and give ideological sustenance to the two-nation theory. To meet this objective, Pakistan foments cross-border terrorism, and provides financial support as well as safe haven to terrorists operating in India. 

Currently, the two countries are in the process of taking some tentative steps towards another attempt at peace making. The track record on this front does not give much reason for optimism.

 

 

Events in Pakistan have overshadowed recent developments in Sri Lanka and its impact in Tamil Nadu. (The Other Crisis, Times of India, Editorial, The Times of India, Nov 08, 2007)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto threatened today to lead a mass protest heading to the capital unless President Pervez Musharraf quits as army chief, holds elections and restores the constitution. (Benazir Ultimatum To Pervez, Telegraph, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Although Bollywood is much maligned for churning out mindless blockbusters, at times, it also obliquely depicts the ground realities. (Nation In Distress , Telegraph, Abhijit Bhattacharyya , Nov 08, 2007)

US President George W Bush bluntly asked Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to hold elections in January as planned and quit as army chief as patience in Washington wore thin. (Bush To Mush: Hold Elections Soon, Times of India, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Bhutto, who flew into the capital from the southern city of Karachi on Tuesday to consult other opposition leaders on steps to oppose the emergency, said a public meeting scheduled for November 9 in the nearby garrison city of. . . (Take To The Streets, Bhutto Tells Pak , Deccan Herald, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

It would not have been quite cricket. This seems to have been the Indian security establishment’s thinking when it advised against a visa to Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed for the cricket match at Mohali on Thursday. (Emergency, ‘Terror Camp’ Behind Denial Of Visa To Pak Minister, Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The last, wan defence but one is that Pakistan is too vast for any minority to rule effectively (Proud But A Failing State , Deccan Herald, Peter Preston, Nov 08, 2007)

With no signs of Left giving way on the India-US nuclear deal and expectations in the PMO of a shift in BJP's opposition to the pact proving unfounded, the November 17 AICC session will have just one omnibus political resolution which will mention . . . . (Congress To Play Down Us-India Nuclear Deal At Aicc, Times of India, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The decision whether to send central forces to Nandigram rests with the Prime Minister’s Office. (Force File With Pmo, Telegraph, BHAVNA VIJ-AURORA, Nov 08, 2007)

Islamic militants have seized more than two-thirds of a key tourist valley in northwest Pakistan, despite a state of emergency imposed to tackle extremism, the police and residents said today. (Militants Seize Over Two-Thirds Of Swat Valley , Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding today, calling for protests against President Pervez Musharraf’s state of an emergency. (Imran Issues Video Message From Hiding, Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The former Pakistan Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, Wednesday urged the people to hold mass protests against the Emergency declared by President Pervez Musharraf, setting up a showdown with the military ruler. (Benazir Calls For Mass Protests, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistan on Wednesday denied that it had withdrawn thousands of troops from its border with India to deploy them against militants in the restive tribal areas. (No Pak Pullback From Loc, Asian Age, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistan has pulled tens of thousands of troops from its border with India in a bid to quell rising violence by pro-Taliban militants in the northwest, officials said here Wednesday. (Pakistan Pulls Troops From Indian Border, Frontier Post, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Inspiration and motivation, undoubtedly increases effectiveness and efficiency. (Print Pick, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

It may be that India remains the only stable democracy in this part of the world, but we are obliged to remember that our democratic habits and manners are under daily assault from different sources. (A Few Simple Lessons From Pakistan Statecraft, Hindu, Harish Khare , Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistan dismisses “excessive” foreign criticism (We’Re Keen On Early Elections: Kasuri, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said the United Progressive Alliance committed a “significant strategic blunder,” presenting the nuclear deal as an “icon of India’s relations with the U.S.” (A Strategic Blunder: Bjp, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is likely to end emergency rule, that has drawn widespread international condemnation, in two to three weeks, the president of the country's ruling party told Dawn newspaper. (Pakistan Emergency Likely To End In 2-3 Weeks: Official, New Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

From India's point of view, what can be the worst case scenario in Pakistan? It is the replacement of President Pervez Musharraf by a coalition of the Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat) and its allies, the Taliban-Al Qaeda combine and the fundamentalist . . . (Draft A Plan Of Action, Pioneer, Hiranmay Karlekar, Nov 08, 2007)

 

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