“The Taming of the Shrew”

 

With breathing ambience of high tension in South Asia, India’s bigoted act of emitting arrogance for a long-term peace in the blistering South Asian region, the newest outbursts of the New Delhi warlords, is nothing except an awful act of colossal scale, especially when frenzied global efforts are under way to de-escalate the Indo-Pakistan conflict. Besides routinely indicting Pakistan for Tuesday’s molest on Hindu yatrees in Pahalgam é a picturesque vicinity in Indian Held Kashmir, the militant Indian Defence Minister, George Fernandess has come out with a grotesque mind-set that the ‘ Americans have no role to play in Kashmir.’ Chatting with newsmen after chucking into the market in New Delhi Friday, a fouled piece é’Mission to Pakistan” — authored by an ex-police man Maloy Krishna Dhar éFernandess, setting asides the universal disquiet vis-é-vis the perilous course in South Asia é uttered an atrocious view about the recent visits by leaders of the influential world by saying “they are coming here because they like India’. What a cynical posture of Frenandess? The extent of perils to peace has been acknowledged even by the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Tyronne Fernando é who has made a firm call in the Indian Capital on Friday that ‘ India and Pakistan must é at once — return to the dialogue table to bring down the sizzling temperature in the region’. ‘The escalating relations between the two nuke-countries are imposing an adverse impact on the smaller nations in South Asia’, he observed by making a fervent call for peace ‘in the best interest of the mankind.’ It is not a singular call from a dazzling Island with a petite populace of 20-million souls, the world-at-large is constantly coercing India to bow before the ground realities by getting onto the path of a face-to-face dialogue with Pakistan to avert a possible skirmish which when erupts ‘would be worst than the awful episode of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.’. But Vajpayee-cum-fanatic Advani-led Indian headship continues to eschew the popular will of the living beings by going for a choice which would be more luckless for the billion-plus Indian population than any where else.

Pakistan has justifiably been voicing strong concern over the frequent chauvinistic Indian ventures. The utterances é like the one made by Fernandess Friday — are more ominous as such a pose will eventually exacerbate the tension that grips the region. One hopes that the comity of nations will come out é in a big way é to indict New Delhi for pointlessly keeping the pot boiling in a nuclear battlefield when forces are facing each other in a stand-off position. As far Pakistan, it has capabilities to match those of India. Pakistan also has abundant means to defend its soil. However, Islamabad will not be provoked into abandoning the course of restraint and responsibility, a hallmark of its approach that has always been much-admired by the peace-loving world. The fact is that with narcissistic and blind amassing of troops é by India — along the borders and LoC in Kashmir, clouds of a soaring tension continue to overcast the horizons of the South Asia region with a ray of hope that the enormity of a catastrophe éemerging from the constant Indian arrogance – may jolt the New Delhi rulers to accept the global voice for solving all the problems with Pakistan through a process of instant dialogue. This, if happens can pave a solid way for opening vistas for an ideal scenario for a lasting peace in this part of the World. In spite of the earnest initiatives by Pakistan to de-escalate the existing tension, the Indians have, so far callously opted to pop in utmost pressure on Pakistan to generate a perilously volatile situation in the whole region. The waft towards war is also being prompted by the dynamics of war hysteria, unleashed in the first instance by the lashing tongues of the Indian hard liners.

On the hand, Pakistan continues to make é with optimal zest — its resolute efforts for ensuring that the peace in the region does not get disturbed. The President, General Pervez Musharraf in his worldwide-watched address the nation on January 12 and again on May 27 had made a most frank, straight and prolific statement of policy by affirming that Pakistan is strongly opposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. This was an explicit commitment which he fulfilled by taking stern action against the extremist groups, which were banned, their offices sealed and all means of their resources plugged. President Musharraf also emphatically declared that the moral, diplomatic and political support by Pakistan to the Kashmiris cause would continue. He made an avid appeal to the global community to step forward and help bring the state terrorism, let loose by India in Kashmir to an instantaneous end.

Of-course the nucleus of the President’s speech was to help facilitate steps for defusing the tension, heightened by the Indian armed forces build-up However the Indian stance, so far remains glum. The BJP set-up –riddled with scandals and obsessed with clinging to power — does not seem to be ready to bend before the bona fide facts. It fully knows that Kashmir is the core issue between India and Pakistan which is required to be solved in line with the United Nations resolutions, reflecting the ultimate will of Kashmiris. New Delhi is, in sync aware of the fact that even with a despotic era, based on horrors, atrocities, brutalities, third rate intimidations and above all flagrant violations of human rights, it has shamefully failed to win over the souls of the valiant Kashmiri people, engaged in an indigenous resist too make the invaders quit the dazzling Himalayan state in a jiffy.. Hence the only feasible option left for India is that it should give up its decades-old disinclination by fitting acquiescent to the universal call for the solution of problems through meaningful talks. At the same time, it is the duty of the international community, especially the United States to avow its pressure on India for ensuring a stable peace in South Asia, which can be made possible only through an early solution of the Kashmir dispute. It is, therefore perfect time for Mr. Vajpayee and his colleagues to confess the ground reality that the affluent future of South Asia rests solely in amity, as has been reminded to them é time and again – by President Pervez Musharraf through his well-acclaimed gestures and truthful desire for talks in the best interest of peace and tranquility in this part of the world. One can simply hope that sanity may enclose the Indian leaders to acknowledge the lofty impact of the cordial propositions é time and again é made by Pakistan. Such a scenario, if takes place can usher in an era of everlasting prosperity in South Asia, which has remained deprived so far only because of egotism and flimsy attitude of India towards the solid facts. Pakistan, on its part has all-the-time advocated it’s adore for peace in the best interest of the mankind. It does not want war é which otherwise means ruiné yet, let no one dare infer this outlook as an icon of weakness. If war is imposed, each and every Pakistani é irrespective of age, cast or credo é will step in jointly to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the heroic, valiant, courageous, gallant, chivalrous, daring and undaunted Armed Forces of Pakistan to frustrate the evil designs of the enemy by defending each and every inch of the sacred soil of Pakistan. Hence George Fernandes and his masters Vajpayee-and-Advani must recognize the global anxiety é manifested by recurrent voyage by the stalwarts of the influential world — lest a course for ‘taming of the shrew’ erupts due to the unending Indian ferociousness.

The author is a noted journalist, political analyst and ex-Director News Pakistan TV.