COUNT-DOWN TO INDO-PAK SUMMIT--II
by B.Raman
As part of his policy of taking people into confidence
on his proposed visit to India, General Pervez Musharraf, the self-styled
Chief Executive of Pakistan, received Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, the chief
of the Alliance For the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), on June 14,
followed by dinner.
It was stated after the meeting that the General would
also be meeting individually Raja Zafarul Haq of the Pakistan Muslim
League (N), Makhdoom Amin Fahim of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and
Qazi Hussain Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI). Thereafter, he would meet
other politicians in a group on June 22, the Ulema on June 24 and senior
media representatives on June 26. He has already met Mian Azhar of
the anti-Nawaz Sharif faction of the PML.
It was reported that differences have cropped up between
the PML-N and the PPP on the one side, which continue to question the
legitimacy of the General's negotiating with India on Pakistan's behalf,
and the other constituents of the ARD over the advisability of doing
anything which might be projected by the military regime as support of the
political leadership for his visit to India. There has been a toning
down by the others of their criticism of the General's proposed visit.
The critics point out that despite his being in power
for 18 months now, he has not been able to secure the support of the
mainstream political parties, except the small anti-Nawaz faction of the
PML, for the continuance of his rule, that for want of political support,
he has not so far been able to secure the passage of an act of indemnity
through a reconvened National Assembly to have himself and his colleagues
pardoned for the act of treason under the Constitution committed by them
by overthrowing a duly-elected government and that, in the absence of this
pardon by the National Assembly, he would be travelling to India as one
who is guilty of an act of treason. According to them, the judicial
endorsement of the military take-over is not adequate to cover up his
crime unless there be a formal act of indemnity by the National Assembly
and the Senate.
In the face of such attacks on his legitimacy, there has
been speculation in Islamabad that before going to New Delhi, the General
might ease out President Mohammed Rafique Tarar and have himself sworn in
as the President under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), and
issue an ordnance of indemnity pardoning all those who had participated in
the coup.
Earlier, talking to pressmen after a meeting of the ARD
on June 12 to discuss its future programme for the restoration of
democracy in Pakistan, the Nawabzada said: "We welcome the process of
dialogue. However, things would have been different had their been
an elected government in Pakistan. A meaningful dialogue for the
solution of the Kashmir issue should be held between the two
countries. It was regrettable that leaders of public opinion had not
been taken into confidence by the Chief Executive. Kashmir was not a
personal or a business issue of any individual but it is a national
issue."
A delegation of the ARD led by the Nawabzada met on June
13 the US Ambassador in Islamabad, Mr. William B. Milam, and then 10
Ambassadors of the European Union countries in Pakistan and reportedly
told them that only an elected leader from Pakistan could hold talks with
India from a strong position and, hence, it was necessary that such talks
were held after power was transferred to an elected government.
Talking to the Prime Minister of Pakistan-Occupied
Kashmir, Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, at Islamabad on June 14, the General
reportedly assured him that no solution of the Kashmir issue would be
accepted if it did not fulfil the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
In the meanwhile, there are no signs of the
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), the militant wing of the Markaz Dawa Al Irshad,
relenting in its opposition to the General's actions. However, its
hard-hitting criticism has been directed against the General individually
and not against the Army as an institution. It has also reiterated
its determination to continue the jehad till India withdraws its troops
from Jammu & Kashmir and not to call off its activities in support of
the Muslims living in other parts of India.
In a statement issued on June 5,Hafiz Mohammad Saeed,
the Amir of the Markaz, warned the General that friendship with Mr.
Vajpayee would be very costly for him. He added: "Musharraf
should avoid remarks against Mujahid groups because such statements would
be considered as wastage of 80,000 Mujahideen's blood. The Lashkar's
attack on the Red Fort in New Delhi brought the Kashmir issue on top of
the international agenda and it gave new courage to Mujahideen.
After the attack, the Indian rulers feared that they could be the next
target in their homes and that is why now they are ready for talks with
Gen. Musharraf on the issue of Kashmir. "
In an editorial in the
journal of the Markaz, he said:
* "If it is the Jehad that has obliged India to take
this initiative then no safe exit from the situation should be provided
to it. If it is an attempt on the part of India to damage the
burgeoning confidence of Pakistan and the Kashmiri people, then again
the Pakistani leadership needs to take some time to think it over.
* "The talks with India can impress the
international community, but will hurt the confidence of the Kashmiri
people. This is the opportunity to push India into a tight
corner. One has to resort to direct action to teach a lesson to
the aggressors.
* "India is in a tight squeeze and is looking for
a way out. It is looking for a fresh round of talks or a new
agreement to put the issue in abeyance again. Obviously, these things
are harmful for us. The situation has tilted in our favour for the
first time after 1948. Are we going to make the same mistake? In
fact, after so many sacrifices, there is no room for any bungling of the
problem. Therefore, we advise the Pakistani leaders that they
should not hasten to go to New Delhi. They must see through the
Indian tactics and should take the Kashmiri people into confidence and,
instead of yielding to any pressure, they should keep in mind the
national interest. Remember that this is Jehad, not a political
pantomime.
* "Political problems are solved through
political methods, but once a struggle for independence starts, nothing
can take precedence over the sacrifices made during the struggle.
Gen. Musharraf should keep in mind the sacrifices made during the
struggle and he should represent the feelings of those who laid down
their lives.
* "We are showing the leaders the real gravity of
the situation and reminding them of their responsibilities and warning
them of Allah’s grip which is very tight and which does not
discriminate between military and civil governments. Whoever
violates His rules, cannot escape His wrath.
* "Under the Holy Koran (Muhammad: 4-11), once
Jihad starts, it does not cease until the disbelievers are completely
overwhelmed and lay down their arms, and agree to the conditions of
Muslims. It is only after that that any negotiations can be
possible with them. The Government should decide in the light of
these verses whether talks are permissible or not. "
In a statement issued on June 11, the
Amir of the Military wing of the Markaz, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, said:
" The Mujahideen of the LET have vowed that they will fight inside
India and that the flag of Islam will be hoisted in the whole of India.
Even if India leaves Kashmir, we will not abandon our jehad."
In an interview to the BBC, Saeed
claimed that the LET has brought the Indian army to its knees and rendered
it helpless and that, as a result, efforts were being made to isolate and
malign it. In response to a question regarding the LET using mosques
as hideouts he said: "The situation in Kashmir is such that the
Mujahideen cannot walk without weapons because they are always likely to
face the Indian army. In Islam, the Mujahideen are always with
weapons. In the battlefield they have to keep their weapons with
them even in mosques."
Terming the Indo-Pak summit as a gimmick by
India, he said that, on the one hand, they had called off the ceasefire
and, on the other, they have invited Gen Musharraf for talks.
He added that when the Indian army was present everywhere equipped with
arms and oppressing the people, how could it be expected of the LET that
it would stop its activities. "In this connection we have a
very clear policy that the Indian army should stop what it is doing at the
moment and it should pull back; then the Mujahideen would immediately stop
their jehad activities."
Meanwhile, Maj.Gen. (retd) Zaheer-ul-Islam
Abbasi, who had announced in March the formation of a new organisation
called Hizbullah, has reportedly been going round contacting serving and
retired military officers and seeking their support for setting up a true
Islamic state in Pakistan.
Maj.Gen.Abbasi used to be the New Delhi
station chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the late 1980s
when Lt.Gen. (retd) Hamid Gul was the DG, ISI. He was considered the
blue-eyed boy of Lt.Gen.Hamid Gul and was also close to
Gen.Musharraf. He was expelled by the Government of India for
indulging in espionage.
In September 1995, he was arrested along
with some other Army officers for allegedly plotting, in collusion with
the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), to have Mrs.Benazir Bhutto, the then Prime
Minister, and Gen.Abdul Wahid Kakkar, the then Chief of the Army Staff
(COAS), assassinated, seize power and proclaim an Islamic caliphate.
While his HUM accomplices were released without being prosecuted, he and
other Army accomplices were court-martialed and sentenced to various terms
of imprisonment.
It is not known whether he has completed
his term of imprisonment or has been released on parole. He has not
so far come to notice for any statement relating to the forthcoming
summit.
(The writer is Additional Secretary
(retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director,
Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-Mail: corde@vsnl.com)
