Indian Defence Review

Use of terror has created its own rules of the game. The initiatives have now passed beyond the hands of the state and the controller himself is being threatened.

This episode is reflective of the hard and solemn reality of Pakistan. Power resides absolutely in the hands of the military establishment there. No price, no sacrifice, is considered too great by them to preserve their interests. If a subjective, speculative and cynical conclusion can be drawn, it will be that the dialogue process got two top powerful personalities in Pakistan to lose their lives.

The third episode is equally telling, demonstrating that the combined powers of the head of state and head of the military establishment fall way short of challenges thrown up by public prejudices and religious propensities. President General Parvez Musharraf discovered this when he ordered surrender of unlicensed weapons and registration of madrasas in Pakistan soon after seizing power… The underlying clash was between the military might and the Islamic might. The former threw in the towel and beat a hasty retreat.

So, when Parvez Musharraf promised to US and India that he would not allow the territory of Pakistan to be used for cross border operations, the discerning knew that it would be a hollow promise as it indeed proved to be. The military and the extremist establishments were just not willing to abide by his diplomatic undertakings, underlying once again the acute limits of the dialogue process and the capability of any power centre in Pakistan to take unconventional decisions.

The Kerry Lugar enactment of the US Congress, just signed into a law by the US President, imposing conditionalities on US civilian aid to Pakistan of $1.5 billion yearly for five years, provided an occasion to the world to glimpse again at Pakistani reluctance to mend its ways. The law, among other things, seeks to ensure two red lines for the Pakistan Establishment; one, the military should remain under civilian control, and two, the territories of Pakistan should not be allowed to be used for terror against neighbours.

Events in Pakistan since its constitution when its founder Mohd. Ali Jinnah had envisaged Pakistan as a secular state, to present times when radical Islam seems to be in strategic control of the country, “¦ it has already crossed the borders into India.

The reactions of the military and the public in general, including the elite sectors, indicated that they had felt revolted by such conditions. In other words, the ruling structure and public opinion in Pakistan, by and large, spell out the message that they are unwilling to modify their ways, even if this US aid brings a great deal of succour to their faltering economy. Apparently, starvation is preferred to withdrawal of a policy of terrorism against neighbours. What hope can, therefore, be entertained for any dialogue process to reach any meaningful end?

Such a mindset is not a product of recent history. At least a millennium has gone by producing factors, contributing to the psychology of this frame of mind. There are Pakistanis who believe Pakistan started incubating when the first Muslim stepped on the shores of the Indian subcontinent. Muslim encroachments and pillaging expeditions into India and subsequent establishment of Muslim ruling dynasties in India sparked off dreams that the whole of India should rightfully be ruled by Muslims. Nobody in his right senses could agree to such an absurd proposition, but such formulations have been voiced again recently by leaders of terrorist organisations in Pakistan like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET). For them, the creation of Pakistan is just an intermediate milestone in the march of history.

Events in Pakistan since its constitution when its founder Mohd. Ali Jinnah had envisaged Pakistan as a secular state, to present times when radical Islam seems to be in strategic control of the country, holds out many lessons for our own country. National frontiers cannot hold back the spread of ideologies. Radical Islam has already crossed the borders into India. It is a phenomenon that, starting from a little spot in the deserts of Arabia, has spread across continents, ravaging and destroying empires, countries, religions and people.

As Pakistan sinks deeper into the clutches of Talibanised and Jehadi Islam, its threat to India as a nation with a composite culture and mult-iethnic society is assuming monumental dimensions. Today, Islamic radicalism using terror as a tool constitutes the most serious danger India faces, larger than the Naxal threat which has been publicly described by the government as the top most threat to India. Compulsions of politics prevent Islamic terrorism from being identified in its true colours… How can dialogue be a success with a party that sponsors Jehadi extremism against India?

Pakistan can not withdraw from its involvement with terrorism as it has converted it into a multinational enterprise, with theatres of operations spread through all those areas in the world where Islamic interests have been under pressure. The target is not just establishing an Islamic Caliphate in Delhi, but also all around the world. With the rate of growth of their populations in mind, the Islamic radicals have said that time is on their side and, sooner or later, Europe will become Euro–Arabistan, England Londonistan and so on.

Al Qaeda has invited the US to convert to Islam or run the risk of decimation. All incidents of Islamic terrorism in any part of the world have been found to have links with Pakistan in one way or other. As new potential terrorists are discovered and apprehended in US and Europe, Pakistani links surface again and again. Therefore to imagine that terrorism against India will be given up will remain an unrealistic hope.