At a time when Pakistan is in turmoil, assailed by outraged Pakistanis' angry questioning, following the stealth operation by its strategic, long-time ally, the US, to kill the 9/11 terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden, in a hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, in an alleged violation of its sovereignty and territory, some pro-Pak Indian voices have come out in open. Known Pak apologists like Mani Shankar Aiyar-a compulsive one-have appeared in electronic and print media to plead for Pakistan. We must show our sympathy and hold Pakistan's hand in their hour of crisis, they insist. It is in our interest to make Pakistan a better place to live in, it is argued.
It is not clear what exactly these Pak lobbyists want India to do. How can an outsider, though a neighbour, make it a more enlightened, humane and tolerant society, at peace with itself and its neighbours? Isn't it a job that only its civil society can do? This is regardless of our past experience when such gestures and moves were spurned. For Pakistan, we are essentially an enemy country. Pakistani advocates like Aiyar presumably want us to forget all the crimes that the Pakistani establishment and the ISI have done to India, including illegal infiltration, cross-border terrorism, 26/11 mayhem, sleeping modules they have set up all over India, and tremendous loss of innocent lives. The resultant pain is unimaginable and colossal. Have they extradited even one Indian fugitive criminal like Dawood Ibrahim who has been given sanctuary in Pakistan? On the contrary, they are denying that Dawood is in Pakistan. Were they not similarly denying the presence of Osama in Pakistan? Have they dismantled even one terrorist training camp aimed at India, as a friendly gesture?
There is almost a one-way traffic of Pakistani artists and writers to India, some of whom make millions and go back. Some even stay and work in Bollywood. Is there any evidence of reciprocity? Are the Pakistani authorities, the army and other powerful elements really interested in genuine friendship and neighbourly relations? Any mention that basically we Indians and Pakistanis are the same people, have the same race, music, language, cuisine, etc., is generally frowned upon as a ploy to destroy their separate identity and nationhood! It seems a psychological problem-a sense of insecurity. We genuinely wish them well; we want them to prosper in peace and modernity, away from Islamic orthodoxy and bigotry. In effect, we are natural friends.
It is not clear what exactly these Pak lobbyists want India to do. How can an outsider, though a neighbour, make it a more enlightened, humane and tolerant society, at peace with itself and its neighbours? Isn't it a job that only its civil society can do? This is regardless of our past experience when such gestures and moves were spurned. For Pakistan, we are essentially an enemy country. Pakistani advocates like Aiyar presumably want us to forget all the crimes that the Pakistani establishment and the ISI have done to India, including illegal infiltration, cross-border terrorism, 26/11 mayhem, sleeping modules they have set up all over India, and tremendous loss of innocent lives. The resultant pain is unimaginable and colossal. Have they extradited even one Indian fugitive criminal like Dawood Ibrahim who has been given sanctuary in Pakistan? On the contrary, they are denying that Dawood is in Pakistan. Were they not similarly denying the presence of Osama in Pakistan? Have they dismantled even one terrorist training camp aimed at India, as a friendly gesture?
There is almost a one-way traffic of Pakistani artists and writers to India, some of whom make millions and go back. Some even stay and work in Bollywood. Is there any evidence of reciprocity? Are the Pakistani authorities, the army and other powerful elements really interested in genuine friendship and neighbourly relations? Any mention that basically we Indians and Pakistanis are the same people, have the same race, music, language, cuisine, etc., is generally frowned upon as a ploy to destroy their separate identity and nationhood! It seems a psychological problem-a sense of insecurity. We genuinely wish them well; we want them to prosper in peace and modernity, away from Islamic orthodoxy and bigotry. In effect, we are natural friends.
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