www.punjabics.com

Home

 

The release that has shocked all

By M. A. Niazi

The release on bail of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the head of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, has not just sparked a highly negative reaction from India, but has also highlighted some of the reasons why Pakistan, supposed because of its British legacy to be an ideal place where the War on Terror could be fought, has become a place where the Western freedoms for which the War is being fought are reducing the ability of the state to be coercive.
Hafiz Saeed was detained without charge under the Maintenance of Public Order. He had been linked to the Kashmir Jihad, and most recently to the Mumbai blasts. India has waxed very furious over his release, and has threatened not to move ahead with the talks between the two nuclear-armed neighbours which it suspended when the attacks occurred, and which it has hinted at restarting now that the Indian elections are over, and the re-elected Manmohan Singh government has no real excuse to offer for not talking to Pakistan.
The USA, and those members of the international community that follow its lead, are interested in India and Pakistan reaching a settlement for two reasons. The first is that they are nuclear armed, and any conflict over Kashmir (and there have been four in the past) that went nuclear would not merely be a bilateral or regional disaster, but a global one. Second is the War, which Pakistan says it cannot contest fully until its issues with India are sorted out. However, the USA does not want a solution in line with internationally acknowledged principles of justice, or according to the UN resolutions on the subject, but in accordance with the Indian aims, even though such a solution would still leave Kashmir as a festering sore on the Indian body politic. Having thrown aside the principle of fairness, the USA has simplified the problem down to finding a government for Pakistan which will deliver such a solution to India and sell it to the Pakistani public as a splendid victory.
Hafiz Saeed and his party won favour because of a proven readiness to engage in activities which the army wanted done, but did not have the time for. One example was the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, when the Jamaat was very active in the relief activities. For its pains, it was left to carry on the mission of the Lashkar-i-Taiba, its parent organisation, which was banned in Pakistan in 2002, along with several other organisations as terrorists, as part of the Pervez Musharraf contribution to the War. One aspect as to convert the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination into terrorism against India. This was the result of the War on Terror which India worked hardest on. Pakistan under Musharraf furthered this by declaring repeatedly that Pakistan would not allow its soil to be used for terrorist activity. Pakistan thus provided India guarantees of protection.

The Nation: June 5, 2009

Back to Previous Page                                                                                                                                                Home