Pakistan wants to live in peace with India: Bilawal

	Quote:
	Please trying to figure out now, If MQM is solely responsible for Terrorism (as you said also) so Head of the MQM is also Terrorist.... so if indian govt is inviting a Terrorist and giving him VIP protocal then what it means? Why india is given such support to a terrorist

First of all india supports leaders who want peace with india...That guy may be terrorist but he was once used by ZIa and was used as an instrument by ISI to promote terror in pakistan...BUt now i read most of his comments,he wants peace and i have posted his many posts above.

Now u r dragging me into discussions:

1)IC814 was hijacked by some pakistani terrorists with aid of taliwan.They got Azhar masood who heads Jaise mohammad...That a** is still living freely in pakistan..He roams around freely...and gives speeches on tv.....what a country u all belong to!!!!
2)Dawood ibrahim:HE did bombay bomb blast.He operates freely in karanchi..HE has set up 2000 crore rupee real estate business in pakistan..why ur govt is supporting him...he is also in the interpole list...
There are many khalistan based terrorists living freely in pakistan/

See dude,pakistan main aim was to promote proxy war in india and afganistan.it got afganistan after russia left them by the help of taliwan..Then it kept on intervening into india matters by infiltration in kashmir,by doing bomb blasts in india....

After 2001 once musharraf was warned by Colin powll"Are u my side or not".and if u r not ,we will send u to stone age...That lead to change in pakistan policy...Till 2001 ur country was sponser of terrorism in india and world...

That guy may be terrorists but he doesn reside in our country..He just came here to visit and give his opinion..BUt we are not hiding him in our place..and see in pakistan,u r still hiding all our wanted terrorists.....
DOes he reside in india...We r tolerant people ...BUt we dont keep him here..he is staying in UK..so according to u ,UK is also terrorists sponsoring country..Its only coz UK MI5 and other agency know that this MQM leader is creation of ISI and he is not in interpole list...THats why he is staying in UK..

If u think he is a terrorists,why dont ur govt put him in interpole list.After all u r all part of "War against terrorism".
U r all allies of USA,UK and Nato forces..
The only reason is that UR agency still wants to protect him,But he cant be 100% safe in ur country coz other political party may get him killed(similar to what happened with Benajir bhutto).....

Altaf Hussein, 51, is loud and energetic, yet invisible. The supreme leader of the Muttahida Quami Movement, the third largest political party in Pakistan, Hussein lives in London and is a British national.

He has been in exile in the UK for nearly 13 years but continues to rule the hearts of Mohajirs of the Sindh district of Pakistan. The volatile metropolitan city of Karachi is his stronghold.

In Pakistan, migrants from India are called Mohajirs. They nurse a feeling of being culturally, politically and economically discriminated against when compared to the native Sindhis and Punjabis.

Hussein was a student leader in Karachi when he entered politics. A pharmacist by education, his career received a boost when he was backed by General Zia-ul Haq, who used him to divide the polity of Sindh. Subsequently, the Mohajir Quami Movement had a major confrontation with the Pakistan army, when Hussein's supporters killed a senior army officer. Eventually, the unbearable political pressure and attempts on his life forced him to flee the country.

By articulating the woes of Mohajirs, Hussein has built up a formidable front that which is sharing federal power and in Sindh. Lately, he changed his party's name to the Muttahida Quami Movement to enlarge its vote bank. His equation with the army has also changed after he opted to side with General Pervez Musharraf.

On his recent maiden trip to India, he refused to criticise General Musharraf and advised India to trust him.

The Indian tour, his first outside the UK in 12 years, attracted attention when he addressed Indian Muslims and advised them to be loyal to India. His father, Nazir Hussain, was an officer with Indian Railways in Agra before migrating to Pakistan after Partition in 1947.

Though on a private visit to India, he was given VVIP status, provided security cover and a lavish stay. Before his arrival dozens of his assistants came to New Delhi from Karachi and London to publicise his visit. Posters of him were pasted all over South Delhi.

In an exclusive interview with Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt, he told the story of his successful political movement that is remote controlled from London and the difficult choices he made along the way to survive in Pakistani politics.

How do you manage to run a dynamic political party while living outside your country?

The secret of my leadership is truthful instincts. I want to establish a true democratic institution in Pakistan. I run my party with the help of the telephone. I give lectures to study circles, district members, political lectures and contact millions of people through the telephone.

My party has an organisational structure divided into centre, sectors, zones and units. I talk to them collectively. At all times I remain in contact with my central committee. Now some Sindhis, Baluchis, Pashtuns and even Hindus have joined the MQM. At last, my message is going across other communities as well.

How is life in exile?

I miss my people. When I address them from London, I get totally engrossed. I feel as if I am standing in front of them and addressing them. I get completely lost. Once my speech is over, I regret I am not with my people. I wish I could speak to them as before. But no struggle is easy. It always asks for sacrifice.

I am fighting against the ongoing medieval feudal system of Pakistan. I want to establish the rule of the middle and poor classes who are suffering everyday and are burdened with hundreds of problems. Ours is the only party that has emerged from the grass-root level.

Why did you leave your country? Was it under pressure from the Pakistan army?

No, no. Before 1992, several attempts were made to eliminate me. A hand grenade was thrown at me. After that my central committee members requested me to go abroad and guide them from outside. After I left, in June 1992, the army started an operation in Sindh, including in Karachi, to finish the MQM leadership. More than 15,000 leaders, workers, office bearers and relatives of MQM members were extra-judicially executed.

Nasir Hussein, my 66 year old elder brother who was a retired civil servant and my nephew who was an engineer and just 28 years old, were arrested by the paramilitary rangers and police. They were tortured for three days. On December 9, 1995, they were assassinated. They were neither members of any political group nor part of MQM.

Because I was in London they wanted to break my resolve. In collaboration with the army, Benazir Bhutto who was then prime minister was executing my workers extra-judicially. It was the thinking of Bhutto and the army that if they kill my relatives I'll ask for mercy. I didn't. I didn't.

Isn't it true that you were quite close to General Zia who helped you in your early career?

Zia was so close to me that in 1997, during his martial law regime he arrested me and put me behind bars. His summary military court sentenced me to nine months of rigorous imprisonment and five lashes a day! You can judge how much we loved each other!

How and why did you pick up the cause of Mohajirs?

First, I formed a student body and then converted it into a political party. I had observed the discrimination that Muslims who had migrated from India faced in Pakistan. I came across many stories of victimisation. When my own friends suffered I felt this is too much. Nobody was raising a voice. I had to accept the challenge to raise my voice for the rights of Mohajirs. We are also citizens of Pakistan. We want equal treatment and a life of dignity. We had a confrontation with an organisation called the Sons of Islam. It was a religious body. They kicked us out of the education institution at gunpoint.

Like you, Benazir Bhutto is also in exile. Do you meet her? Have you overcome your differences?

Please don't compare me to her. She is a feudal lady. Her politics is to gain power, power, power. She raised the Taleban. And lives only for power.

How is your equation with the UK and the United States?

Neither do they support me, nor do they go against me. I appreciate that the British government has provided me a place to live.

Why have you become a British citizen?

Five years ago I applied for the renewal of my passport to the Pakistani high commissioner in the UK. Till today I am waiting [for it]. If they renew my passport and consider me a patriotic Pakistani, I'll certainly consider going back to Pakistan.

The Pakistan Army which persecuted you so much is now supported by you. Isn't it a political shortcut?

We haven't deviated from our demand for democracy in Pakistan. But one has to see the circumstances and situations and then decide. When General Musharraf took over power after removing Nawaz Sharif, we didn't support Musharraf. We have hardly any options now. After 9/11 the political scenario of the world has changed completely. In Pakistan there are forces represented by religious fanatics and suicidal jihadis, on the other hand there is General Pervez Musharraf!

We had only two choices -- either to choose the mullahs or Musharraf. We chose, not happily, you might say (pauses)... a lesser evil. At that time we saw that Musharraf is a liberal person. He is taking action against the religious fanaticism of Al Qaeda. We would not like to go with anyone in vardi (uniform) but we had no choice. We chose the liberal General instead of the religious fanatics.

Why don't you go back to Pakistan?

My party is against religious fanaticism. We are liberals and democratic. On one hand, we have against us feudalists who are against democracy in Pakistan and on the other hand religious fanatics and mullahs have issued fatwas against me and my party. They have alleged that my party is the party of infidels and kafirs. They alleged that we are the agents of India and America and we are agents of non-Muslims.

But why don't you fight head-on with your opponents?

My life is threatened by feudals who are in collaboration with army generals on one side and on the other side by religious people, jihadis, Taleban and Al Qaeda who are well equipped with lethal weapons and explosives.

The army, feudals and mullahs are a troika in Pakistan who have all the power. The troika is against me. You know well that two serious attempts were made to assassinate General Musharraf. Another attempt was made with the help of a suicide bomber to assassinate Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Also, the corps commander of the Pakistan army deputed in Karachi was targeted. The life of the chief of army staff and president, prime minister and corp commander is not safe over there.

I have no army to fight back. The MQM is a democratic party, we don't believe in violence. We believe in gaining power through the electoral process. We have been gaining seats since the elections of 1988.

The Management of Hindustan Times

Distinguished Guests and Honourable Speakers

As Salam'O'Alaikum - Namastay - Sat Sri Akal and Good Afternoon

On behalf of my party and on my own
behalf, I congratulate Hindustan Times for the Leadership Initiative series of lectures. I sincerely hope it develops into a successful forum to further the search for global peace and prosperity. I am indeed honoured and privileged to be invited to share the stage with some of the most eminent leaders of my generation and to offer my humble views before such a distinguished audience.

It also happens to be my first address in the land of my forefathers and I am, therefore, particularly mindful of the historical opportunity to try and place my views on partnership with this great country for a better world.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

There are more than 190 countries in the world today. They all communicate with one another directly or indirectly. In this age of Information Technology it is not possible to conceal facts for any length of time. Common folks are in a better position to assess facts from fiction. India has made giant strides in the field of IT and is recognised as the world’s largest democracy. Soon after independence India got rid of the prevailing feudal system thereby strengthening the democratic institutions. The development of this democratic process not only kept the armed forces at bay but also provided a boost to education among the masses. General education brought about a Middle Class, which started to play its crucial role in Politics as well as in Business. The democratic process in India proved the linchpin for its industrial advancement, particularly in the field of IT. It is forecasted that in the coming 15 to 20 years India will become one of strong economy in the world, if the rate of progress continues. For a country’s partnership and growth it is essential that the economy move in the right direction.

Before I proceed to take up the topic of the day, I would like to take the liberty of briefing you about the emergence, philosophy and the political journey of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) so far. We are the third largest political party in Pakistan. We stand for equal rights and opportunities for all irrespective of colour, creed, caste, sect, gender, ethnicity or religion. We strive tirelessly for tolerance, religious or otherwise and oppose fanaticism, terrorism and violence in all their manifestations. MQM is committed to the introduction of an entrepreneurial free market economy, good governance and independent judiciary capable of dispensing justice, transparent accountability, free Press and participation of women in all spheres of life. Our immediate political objective is to change the corrupt medieval feudal-military political system of Pakistan. We are, therefore, the only genuine party of the lower and middle classes, totally devoid of feudal lords and army Generals. The support that we enjoy from the people of Pakistan has been amply demonstrated in our performance during consecutive elections of 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2002. Having started in March 1984 as a Mohajir Quami Movement out of the frustration of Mohajirs in Sindh, our track record today encourages even the Sindhi-speaking people from the rural areas of Sindh, who were led to believe by the Pakistan establishment that we would end up usurping their rights, are joining us in large numbers.

Why then, you may well ask, are we a part of the Government, which perpetuates army rule by undermining democracy and its institutions. We have paid a heavy price for pursuing our political objectives in a country where democracy is controlled. Given the circumstances, which prevail, our desire to serve the helpless, deprived and exploited peoples of Pakistan have indeed led us into political arrangements which we are neither comfortable in nor would deem desirable in better circumstances. The choice before us in Pakistan today is not Musharraf or democracy but between army and even more army. The very religious parties created by the army facilitate to see through constitutional changes which debilitate democratic processes in the long term and on the very next day take to the streets try to make the world believe that they are the vanguard of the fight to restore democracy. To place our politics in context, I would also like to briefly touch upon the loot and plunder of the wealth and resources of Sindh and Balochistan, including the denial of their legitimate share from the federal revenues and ever so increasingly their due share of water, the consequences in terms of the stark poverty in the rural areas and the severe environmental damage are there to be seen in both the provinces.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The scenario is so depressing that leadership of the day openly admits that the country would fall apart if the army did not run its affairs. What does it tell you? To me it signifies a telling blow to the very idea of Pakistan, a homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent, and the two-nation theory, which continues to wreck untold miseries on the people of this region for the past five decades. Muslims are fighting and killing each other on the basis of tribal and linguistic affinity, sectarian strife is worse than ever before. Mosques and madarssas are but flourishing businesses. The less educated the Pesh Imam, the more popular and affluent he is likely to be. The advocates of Jihad, a medieval concept to tame the infidel, are wantonly killing followers of the faith as they leave places of worship. Perhaps the idea of Pakistan was dead at its inception, when the majority of Muslims chose to stay back after partition, a truism reiterated in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. If you need further evidence look at the plight of 300,000 Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh for three decades in their passage to the chosen land. Unwanted by both Bangladesh and Pakistan, led by an unknown destiny.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The rights of the people who migrated to Pakistan from Muslim Minority Provinces of the Subcontinent was usurped and they had to face highhandedness and injustices. We formed the Mohajir Quami Movement (MQM) against these injustices. To crush our Movement, baseless accusations were made and we were termed “traitors”. We were targeted through State oppression. In 1993, during the Army Operation against the MQM, General Elections were held. The Army imposed a ban on the MQM to contest these elections from a few constituencies to allow the army’s created group to win the elections and to demonstrate to the world that the people of urban centres of Sindh do not support the MQM. On this illegal and unconstitutional ban, the MQM decided to boycott the General Elections in protest. On our appeal, the people of Sindh successfully boycotted the General Elections also witnessed by the international observers. As a result, the entire election process became dubious and then the high army officials requested us to take part in the provincial assembly elections. With assurances of free and fair participation in the elections – on a 48-hour notice, we participated in the provincial elections and the people overwhelmingly bestowed their mandate in favour of the MQM. If the charges of terrorism levelled against the MQM had been true then the people of Sindh would have supported the army operation against the MQM and in the presence of army they would not have effectively boycotted the elections and would not have given their mandate to the MQM. However, the people’s mandate was not respected and the State operation continued unabated against the MQM – and we were even not allowed to peacefully protest against this operation within the country.

No one can prove that we have pleaded anybody else’s case except our own at international fora including the UN. We did, however, seek moral, political and diplomatic support from the countries, which stand for democracy and human rights. My representatives have met officials of the United States and many European countries because we were pushed against the wall and forced by our own government to take our case worldwide because they remained arrogant and hell-bent on not providing rights and oppressed us militarily instead of sincerely and meaningfully negotiating with us in accordance with the democratic norms.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

May I now revert to the topic of the Seminar and with your permission to make references to our party wherever appropriate.

The title of the conference “ India and the World: A Blueprint for Partnership and Growth” has a welcome optimistic connotation. The themes of the future for the people of South Asia are indeed partnership and growth. Obviously, the first requirement for either to happen is that peace and normalcy must prevail. For much too long, Pakistan and India have been at odds. If we look around, we see unrest in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, Afghanistan is still looking for peace.

India and Pakistan, being the two largest in the region, need to demonstrate magnanimity and the necessary political wisdom and desire to truly seek peace. If this be so, it should be possible to pursue a meaningful, sincere and a composite dialogue with an open mind. I wish to take this opportunity to place on record the sincere appreciation of the MQM, and my own, of the recent initiatives by successive Prime Ministers of India, President General Pervez Musharraf and all those who may have been involved or contributed to the same. It is imperative that the current ambience be maintained to enable the process to evolve gradually. We see the approach in first tackling the issue of creation of processes necessary for carrying on the dialogue as a wise one. It is quite clear that the necessary architecture is now slowly but surely falling in place in a manner, which would impart continuity and stability to the dialogue process itself. It is also heartening that a wide-range of outstanding issues is being simultaneously addressed at several levels.

I would appeal in particular to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters to show, at this crucial juncture, the necessary sagacity to allow the Indo-Pak dialogue to proceed on the basis of mutual adjustment and agreement. It should be clear to all concerned that there can be no military solution to any of the contentious issues, let alone the issue of Kashmir. Neither for that matter can resort to militancy and extremism. The mindless loss of lives, endless human rights violations and continuing depletion of developmental resources to deal with civil strife cannot be justified under any circumstances. As a representative of a persecuted minority forced to live in exile and to grieve the loss of colleagues and supporters day after day through extra-judicial processes, I can well understand the agony of the Kashmiris. Over 17,000 Mohajirs have been killed including leaders, supporters and their relatives during army and state operations. Thousands of Mohajir families have been rendered destitute because either their breadwinners were extra-judicially executed, arbitrarily arrested or forced into hiding or exile. My 66 years old brother Mr. Nasir Hussain and his son 28 years old Arif Hussain, were unlawfully arrested in the presence of their entire neighbourhood. They were brutally tortured for three days and on 9th December 1995 and then extra-judicially executed. Both were non-political citizens of Pakistan.

The total number of casualties in the four wars, including Kargil, was in excess of thirteen thousand. Most estimates suggest that already more than fifty thousand lives have been lost in Jammu and Kashmir alone causing misery and grief to family members, distorting the normal pattern of life and virtually destroying the local economy. Who benefits from all this? Can the people of Pakistan and India afford it? Can they countenance the diversion of these resources from their own development programmes, health programmes and education? Definitely not. Two million students are being taught currently in about fifty thousand madrassas run by right-wing religious parties totally outside Government supervision to promote a medieval ideology leading to the generation of 15 to 20 thousand new militants every year, year after year. Who will detoxify the society? How will they be reintegrated into the mainstream? I pay tributes to the Muslim leaders and intellectuals of India for maintaining moderation and not pushing the Muslims towards fanaticism and Jihad.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The Confidence Building Measures contemplated to bring the people of both countries closer must be implemented vigorously. Let there be free people to people contact, let there also be cultural and social contacts, sporting contacts, political contacts, economic contacts, diplomatic contacts and if considered prudent by both countries, even military-to-military contacts to further peace and harmony. Presently, “People to People” ostensibly appears to be “Punjab to Punjab” contact. Sindh is also part of the region and therefore, her people equally deserve to freely interact with the people of adjoining states of India. However, denial to reopen the Khokrapar Munabao border and Ferry Service between Karachi and Bombay is nothing but stifling the rights of the people of Sindh. The people of Sindh are forced to take an expensive route via Islamabad to obtain visas and then Lahore to catch the train or the bus. It is now incumbent on the governments of India and Pakistan to re-open the Visa Office in Karachi, which would further better the relationship.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have recently aired a few thoughts on “Realism and Practicalism” copies of which are in this hall. I will appreciate your comments on it. The spirit and essence of it is that we must accept the ground reality without blinkers. The reality today is that India and Pakistan are at loggerheads and as a result the region is in turmoil. Dialogue between India and Pakistan should be pursued in diversity and should not be a hostage to Kashmir issue only. Practicalism seeks ways for common or agreed grounds.

When we talk of Kashmir there are several procedural and allied issues which crop up. Is it a bilateral issue? Do the people of Kashmir come into the equation? I have a habit of speaking freely without mincing my words. I intend continuing to do so and gladly invite my critics to correct me on the credibility and the plausibility of my views, objectively, in India, Pakistan and internationally. To deal with Kashmir, there has to be a basis or options on which the talks could take place. What could those options be? Is the recently talked about “Chenab Formula” an option? Is “Dixon Plan” on option? Could formalisation of the Line of Control be an option? Are there any more options that we may not know about? We also talk about the UN Resolutions, could they be enforced? If it was enforceable, why has it not been enforced in the past? What have Tashkent and Simla Agreements and the Lahore Declaration yielded? Practicalism and Pragmatism call for acceptance of what is in existence or has been in existence instead of arbitrary new ideas. I understand that the people of Kashmir are also aspiring for independence, even for this option, negotiation has to take place. Negotiation is the primary condition for all options. The Line of Control could well be used as the basis to begin negotiations by virtue of being a ground reality, which has existed for the past three decades. I am saying, use this as a basis or option to begin talks until such a time that a practicable alternative option is found. What is wrong with it? If both countries resolve that crossing this line would be considered as aggression, doesn’t it in lay man’s terms amount to an international border? If not, what is an international border? And, if this is not an option, then what options are we left with, another war? We have fought three wars over Kashmir, the governments may have achieved political victories and defeats, but what did the people achieve? Body bags of the soldiers and civilians, more widows and orphans, more taxes, contribution to war funds, poverty and backwardness. And, if we remain intransigent and squander this opportunity, the cost to be paid in the long term could be horrid.

Before I go further I would like to quote the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (1181), “Where there is hatred, let me sow love…”

On the spirit of this prayer I would like to request both the countries, India and Pakistan, to stop sowing the seeds of hatred and start sowing the seeds of love.

My plea is to let good sense and logic prevail and to let our peoples prosper. Let us divert critically required funds from defence to social and economic sectors. Our children need education; our villages need clean drinking water, electricity, medical care, everywhere there is a crying need for employment, better civic amenities and transport facilities etcetera. Let common sense prevail over arrogance and political expediencies. Let us arm our children with education, health and hygiene than nuclear bombs and missile. I applaud President General Pervez Musharraf for making a bold and courageous statement discarding plebiscite as an option. I had always maintained that it was never a practicable or implementable option. For the past 57 years, the leaders of Pakistan had not only misled the nation but also failed them by keeping them illiterate, impoverished, hungry, thirsty and without health facilities under the rubric of Kashmir to benefit one province to the detriment of other provinces.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The United States of America, now the unipolar power of the world and her western allies have historically supported the dictatorial and monarchical rulers in the developing world for their short term gains and opposed the moderate, liberal and enlightened Middle Class, as their sustained foreign policy. Their policies and mindsets have always been Election centric. They failed to calculate long-term repercussions of their foreign policies. These authoritarian and monarchical rulers deliberately promoted religious, sectarian, ethno-linguistic fanaticisms on the strength of the unbridled support of the west to protract their rules. Oppressed their people and produced Osama-bin-Laden, Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussain. And, now to rein in these forces, the US and her allies had to wage a global war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a result of these wars, thousands of innocent people are being killed and millions of people are facing the wrath for no fault of theirs but their rulers. Inflictions of atrocities are resulting in psycho reactionary actions amongst millions. It is now essential for the United States of America and her western allies to review their policies, they should now support and nurture the moderate, enlightened and liberal Middle Class who are capable of dismantling the religious, sectarian and ethno-linguistic fanaticisms and established genuine democracies which would be mutually beneficial for their people and the West. In case of Pakistan, the historical and sustained support to Feudal-Mullah-Military alliance by the United States and West has already proved negative and has permeated rampant corruption, bad governance, denial of rights to the smaller provinces, illiteracy, impoverishment, unemployment, frustration amongst general populace and above all the religious, sectarian and ethno-linguistic fanaticism and violence.

South Asian countries in general and India and Pakistan in particular need do no more than draw lessons from Europe, whose post-war history is roughly the same length as our two nations. The European Union, which emerged out of the dictates of the economic well being of its people and the desire to fully actualise their individual potential in a collective manner, is a live demonstration of the possibilities that can be envisaged by the dynamic minds of visionary leaders. We should yearn for the day when we have a Common Union, perhaps even a Common currency while maintaining our sovereignties and dignities intact. We have the SAARC more in form than in content due to the rancour, which has blinded us. South Asia remains one of the most unintegrated regions of the world. We are looking forward to the implementation of the SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement) in January 2006 as outlined in the SAARC declaration of January 2004 in Islamabad. The creation of a free trade zone along with some degree of economic integration of SAARC countries could turn the region into a huge regional economic market, second only to China in terms of size. If futuristically developed along with a network of roads and railway connections to South East Asia and Central Asia, the future of our succeeding generations would indeed be bright. Restrictions on bilateral trade have forced both countries to import goods from third countries, which could have been traded far more economically, and efficiently from each other. Indo-Pak trade would ensure cheaper raw material, low transportation, less insurance costs etc. resulting in potential for quality products at competitive prices for consumers in both countries and larger markets for manufacturers.

Having resolved the external issues South Asian countries in general need to put their houses in order. They should stop discriminations on the basis of ethnicity, religion or descent. I request the Government of Pakistan to recognise and indemnify all the religious and ethno-linguistic and national minorities and treat them equally to foster a sense or ethno-linguistic pluralism and nationalism. All the Governments in the past have deliberately strengthened ethno-linguistic particularism in Pakistan under the rubrics of numerical majority and power. In democracy, only the numbers should not count. A state becomes successful only when it is truly able to accommodate the aspirations and the needs of its minorities. Pakistan should genuinely strive to devolve power to the provinces making them fully autonomous, reserving for the Federal administration only Defence, Foreign Affairs and Currency. If the Federation of the United States of America can remain stronger by having fully autonomous states then why should one assume that Federation of Pakistan would weaken if the provinces have fully autonomous status?

Mainstream political forces, including the MQM, equipped with liberal and progressive ideological underpinnings have the capability of transforming Pakistan into a democratic and progressive state at peace with itself and its neighbours. They can deliver good governance, an independent judiciary and freedom of the media.

The purpose of this conference is to discuss and prepare a “Road Map” for the economic, strategic and political future of India in relation to the world and the regional countries. To attain this objective we should find out the “Key” to achieve positive results, which is peace in the South Asia region. The region is the first gate to be opened for, and then we should proceed to open the second gate, which is the World. The word “Peace” is catalyst to positivism, success, prosperity, harmony, better economy, better understanding and relations with their neighbours.

If the regional countries have peace and better relations then it would ultimately draw the remaining world towards the region. The peace is the only and only “Key” through which India could have improved and long-lasting relations with the world but for this peace has to be established in the region first. The benefits that could be drawn by the South Asian Countries including Pakistan through peace could never be achieved through the use of nuclear weapons, atom bombs, chemical and biological weapons and a massive army. India and Pakistan have considered each other as enemies since independence but now to achieve the sacred objective of peace, better and long-lasting relations, both countries have to engage in a meaningful and sincere dialogue and cease all hostilities against each other.

Finally, I think South Asia needs to have a comprehensive human rights code that protects the people from unbridled state power. Freedom from poverty, hunger, illiteracy and provision of basic services be part of the human rights of the people of the sub-continent and our governments should be promoting an environment in which the people of the sub-continent achieve what people of other regions have achieved through peace and co-operation.

Bhawalpur – 28th July 2006

MQM Founder & Leader Mr Altaf Hussain has stated that it is a historical irony that the Agents of British Raj have dominated Pakistan whereas the 98 percent poor and middleclass are still deprived of their basic necessities. He expressed these views while addressing a huge gathering in the historic city of Bhawalpur over the telephone from London. Thousands of people attended this public gathering including the youth, women and elders in large numbers. MQM Deputy Convenor Dr Farooq Sattar, Members of MQM Punjab Re-organising Committee and local office bearers also addressed the gathering.

In his address Mr Hussain while condemning the oppression against Lebanon and Palestine said that people of Pakistan have rejected the so-called religious leaders who deceived them in the name of Islam. He demanded of the Government to send all such so-called religious leaders including Qazi Hussain Ahmed and, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Munawwar Hassan to Lebanon and Palestine. He said that today’s public gathering in Punjab has broken all previous record of such meetings in Punjab and serves as a testimony that vast majority of public from Bhawalpur who are victims of injustices and deprivation now want to join the party of poor and middleclass, the MQM.

He said that the negative propaganda against the MQM is unparalleled in the history of Pakistan. He said that the young generation is being taught the distorted version of Pakistan’s history. The truth is that for the creation of Pakistan the Muslims of Sub-Continent struggled for a long time and sacrificed more than two million lives, villages were burnt, innocent men, women and children were massacred, trains were ambushed and thousands of women took their lives to save their honour. It is historical irony that at the time of creation of Pakistan those who were agents of British Raj and serving as informers joined the Muslim League overnight and took control of Pakistan. This two percent class and a few families have dominated and ruled Pakistan since its independence and playing a game of musical chair. This ruling mafia has amassed huge wealth and increased their property whereas the poor people of the country are still deprived of their basic rights, education, clean drinking water and basic health facilities. He said that at the time of the creation of Pakistan, Bhawalpur was an independent State and the people here were prosperous.

The Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru offered the Nawab of Bhawalpur to include Bhawalpur in India which he declined at the time and not only the State of Bhawalpur voluntarily joined Pakistan but also gave five crore rupees to Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to support the first budget of Pakistan. In return for this favour the people of Bhawalpur had to face poverty, injustices, deprivation and oppression of jaagirdars. He warned the people at the helm of affairs that if the injustices and oppression against the State of Bhawalpur is not stopped then the people of Bhawalpur may be left with no choice but demand the restoration of the status of independent State. He termed it ironic that Bengalis who supported Pakistan were called traitors, Sindh was the only province which voted in favour of Pakistan at the time of independence but Sindhis were also called traitors, Mohajirs sacrificed their lives and worldly possessions but were called traitors, Baloch are called traitors and when the Pakhtoons demanded to rename their province they too were called traitors. Thus whosoever supported Pakistan were labelled as a traitor.

Mr Hussain said that because he speaks the truth therefore he is also called a traitor – but he reiterated that he will continue to speak the truth. He termed this as a joke that those who offered sacrifices are deprived and the traitors and their families have all the privileges. He said that the people of Bhawalpur now hold his hand in the struggle against the oppression and injustices and despite all negative propaganda they will continue to support him. He said that MQM was accused of Jinnahpur but when he offered to be hanged if this was true, the Army took their allegation back because it was baseless. He said that MQM does not want to create Jinnahpur but in fact would like to establish Pakistan as dreamt by its Founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, as a moderate and liberal country where not only Muslims but also Hindus, Christians, Sikh and people of all religions and faith are free to live. He asked the participants that they have tested Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutt – but has Bhawalpur acquired its rights? Would you be prepare to give these people another chance? The participants replied, “No”. He announced that when the Muttahida Quami Movement will form the Government, it will completely abolish the medieval feudal system from the country and establish the rule of 98 percent poor and middleclass people. And those jaagirdars and waderas who have looted the national exchequer, usurped loans worth billions of rupees – their lands and jaagirs will be auctioned and the money thus obtained will be used to establish schools, colleges, hospitals and industrial homes for the poor.

I guess u have got all ur answers...and if still feel that india is this and india is that.....if u really feel india is a bad state..

Then pls come to india ...But dont forget to tell people that , u r a pakistani..
people will give u the most hearty welcome...........(We dont treat all pakistani like terrorists... Cool

)
And dont think so bad abt india:D Very Happy

............Even after Ur ISI and ur agency(which u know ) did so many proxy wars against us,i have no bad feelings for your country........we still treat u all as our separated brothers/sisters..

Dont forget that India (Indians)have gr8 heart.....................We respect all countries in the world ..

And pakistanis do share same genes with us ..so we do love u people more than any other country..After all we have same food,culture,tradition,dress and we speak similar languages.......And most important thing is that" Pakistani was india befor 1947"..

Now listen,
What I learned in my life and seen the truth that Indians NEVER EVER wanted
or wants to accept their reality. India is fully involved with the terrorist activites into
Pakistan and some other parts of the South Asia for example Nepal and Buhtan too.
India occupide Kashmir with more than 700.000 forces. Young ladies were raped by idiot
indian soldigers. Indian army have killed more than 100.000 innocent Kashmiri people since
1985. Why world is keep quite Question

Why USA keep quite Question

Why European Union keep quite Question

Why FN keep quite Question

Because it is muslim who suffring and Indian army are non-muslims. This is the same
matter as well Pelestian with Israel Exclamation

You burn your self with fire, when I inform you about the reality of India Very Happy

India is a terrorist
state with the support of USA, ISRAEL & EU.

Babri Mosque, Gujrat Violance and lots lots of others. Why don`t you believe the relity of your
country Evil or Very Mad

Is it because you are watching the mirror by us about India Very Happy

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

We are happy that we got independent state Pakistan as a one of the
muslim independent state in the world. I know how much muslim suffring in
India. Whole the world is aware by the reality. But whenever muslim suffring then
everybody keep quite because its muslim who suffrong.

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

India is fully involve with their terrorist activities into Pakistan with support of
MQM & Afghanistani millitans.

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

	Quote:
	We are happy that we got independent state Pakistan as a one of the muslim independent state in the world. I know how much muslim suffring in India. Whole the world is aware by the reality. But whenever muslim suffring then everybody keep quite because its muslim who suffrong.

ANd see wts happening in ur country...siya killing sunni...regionalism at peak...DAily bomb blast...............

and come here and see our muslim brothers............u cnt say that india is bad coz of 1-2 flaws......

That way i see pakistan has 10000 flaws....

u r funny............India disturbing nepal and bhutan,,,,,,,,,,,

BHutan s financed by india,,,their all five year plans are financed by india..........They study free here coz of Govt of india scholarship...same goes for nepal.....They are home to maoists...cnt u see that CPI(maioist) is part of govt in nepal...they are supporting naxalites...not india..........

Nepal gets max funding frm india...

Read some news from nepal and india...just dont keep imagining all these stuffs..i know u r a ghost............... Evil or Very Mad

	@nline wrote:
	India is fully involve with their terrorist activities into Pakistan with support of MQM & Afghanistani millitans.

My answer to you is this one.

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

Well, India is not fully involving with their Terrorist activites into Pakistan,
but also into Nepal, Kashmir, Butan and Bangladesh too. The reason is that
Indian have fully support by USA, Israel and EU Evil or Very Mad

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

Online .....u r acting like a kid................ ok u want me to say:

1)Onine wants me to say india is terrorists
2)Pakistan is the most saint country in the world...its so peaceful that .................
3)India is the worst country in the world..............but i heard most pakistanis want to copy india ideas...why then??u should
copy ideas of taliwan which is most peaceful ............
4)Pakistanis compare everything with india...They keep india as ideal country...Economy,education ,industry and ideology...........i also read from nawaz sharif,bhutto,imran khan..........EVen ur supreme court respects india law system.........

Are evryone wrong except u ???Then i agree with ur ideology that india is the worst county...india is home to terrorists..
we are most intolerant species.........

Happy......now..................Mr ghost...

rohit_bangalore wrote:

Online .....u r acting like a kid................ ok u want me to say:

1)Onine wants me to say india is terrorists
2)Pakistan is the most saint country in the world...its so peaceful that .................
3)India is the worst country in the world..............but i heard most pakistanis want to copy india ideas...why then??u should
copy ideas of taliwan which is most peaceful ............
4)Pakistanis compare everything with india...They keep india as ideal country...Economy,education ,industry and ideology...........i also read from nawaz sharif,bhutto,imran khan..........EVen ur supreme court respects india law system.........

Are evryone wrong except u ???Then i agree with ur ideology that india is the worst county...india is home to terrorists..
we are most intolerant species.........

Happy......now..................Mr ghost...

No, I never wanted you to say that India is terrorist. LOL. I am just inform you about the reality.
You take it so serious Rolling Eyes

We NEVER wanted to copy Indians Idea. Where are you getting such kind of fool news Wink

Why we want to copy India Question

Why....... Question

What is so special for it Question

Pakistan is an independent state. We don`t want to copy India at all. After all what is that
we want to copy.

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

	@nline wrote:
	Well, India is not fully involving with their Terrorist activites into Pakistan, but also into Nepal, Kashmir, Butan and Bangladesh too. The reason is that Indian have fully support by USA, Israel and EU

That is true!
Upgrade your poor knowledge.

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

	Quote:
	We NEVER wanted to copy Indians Idea. Where are you getting such kind of fool news Wink Why we want to copy India Question Why....... Question What is so special for it Question Pakistan is an independent state. We don`t want to copy India at all. After all what is that we want to copy.

There is nothing wrong in copying indian ideas.After all india is big brother ...And Pakistan should take pride in copying good ideas of india.There is lot of things to copy..After all we share culture,traditions and style of living....well i hear all from pakistani politicians.They term india as an ideal country in the region.Who says pakistan is not an independent state.

rohit_bangalore wrote:

	Quote:
	We NEVER wanted to copy Indians Idea. Where are you getting such kind of fool news Wink Why we want to copy India Question Why....... Question What is so special for it Question Pakistan is an independent state. We don`t want to copy India at all. After all what is that we want to copy.

There is nothing wrong in copying indian ideas.After all india is big brother ...And Pakistan should take pride in copying good ideas of india.There is lot of things to copy..After all we share culture,traditions and style of living....well i hear all from pakistani politicians.They term india as an ideal country in the region.Who says pakistan is not an independent state.

Yes, we have lots of same things. No question about it.
But question is that why should we copy India ? why ? There is no reasons for it.
Big brother never shown kind of brotherhood when it requeired. If Pakistan became an independent state
that doesn`t mean at all that this is a threat for India or any body else. After all we are muslim and we wanted
an independent state that we got finally in 1947 after many billions lives that were given away. One more things
that hinduism is only based in India, but Islam is all over the world. (I do respect hinduism) but as a muslim I have to
tell you that Islam is one of the largest religion in the world. Unfortunatly or today huge jewish lobbies making propaganda
against Islam. Because Islam is spreding slowly but surely all over the world and that is whay World Super Powers are
afraid for it. We muslims do have lots lots of historical places and personalties in India. India is one of the biggest population country
in the world. Lots of religion you have there. But the truth is that only muslim who suffred and suffring a lot by hindus. Of course all hindus
are not same. Just take an example of N.Modhi. He is a killer of humanaty. How can you support him who is a resposibale for many thousands
muslims and some hindus who were killed in Gujrat violence. Do remember about Babri Mosque.

_________________
I do believe on Ghosts.

Quote:

Yes, we have lots of same things. No question about it.
But question is that why should we copy India ? why ? There is no reasons for it.
Big brother never shown kind of brotherhood when it requeired. If Pakistan became an independent state
that doesn`t mean at all that this is a threat for India or any body else. After all we are muslim and we wanted
an independent state that we got finally in 1947 after many billions lives that were given away. One more things
that hinduism is only based in India, but Islam is all over the world. (I do respect hinduism) but as a muslim I have to
tell you that Islam is one of the largest religion in the world. Unfortunatly or today huge jewish lobbies making propaganda
against Islam. Because Islam is spreding slowly but surely all over the world and that is whay World Super Powers are
afraid for it. We muslims do have lots lots of historical places and personalties in India. India is one of the biggest population country
in the world. Lots of religion you have there. But the truth is that only muslim who suffred and suffring a lot by hindus. Of course all hindus
are not same. Just take an example of N.Modhi. He is a killer of humanaty. How can you support him who is a resposibale for many thousands
muslims and some hindus who were killed in Gujrat violence. Do remember about Babri Mosque

	Quote:
	But question is that why should we copy India ? why ? There is no reasons for it. Big brother never shown kind of brotherhood when it requeired.

India is secular,democratic and an ideal state in world.....These things are told by your top bureaucrats and politicians..Well india never wanted to harm pakisan..Right from 1947 by attacking kashmir first and then attacking india in 65,Pakistan has been always involved in bad blood with india...

	Quote:
	If Pakistan became an independent state that doesn`t mean at all that this is a threat for India or any body else. After all we are muslim and we wanted an independent state that we got finally in 1947 after many billions lives that were given away.

WHo said pak is threat to india..ISlamic extremism/terrorism in pakistan is threat to india..Atom bomb getting into wrong hands is threat to india...Muslims of sindh only wanted to join pakistan...Others supporters from bihar,up and bengal are still not part of bangladesh...And It will be better if u say Jinnah only wanted pakistan...COme and see his grandson who is parsee as Jinnah had married to a parsee woman and Mr Wadia grand son of jinnah lives in mumbai..He heads wadia group which has turnover of 5000 crore rupee(1.25 billion$ business )

Quote:

The Wadia Group is one of the oldest conglomerates of corporate India founded by Sir Neville Wadia, before the independence of the subcontinent in 1947. Sir Neville was married to Dina, daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah and his wife Ruttee had separated soon after their daughter was born. Nusli Wadia is Neville Wadia's son and he is currently heading the group. The Wadia group now consists of three independently listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). These include

* Bombay Dyeing -- The textile flagship of India.
* Britannia Industries -- A company that makes biscuits and snacks.
* Go Air -- A new low cost airline operating from Mumbai.

What a tyranny for pakistan...The founder family is still living in india and he is preaching parsee religion.....Jinnah created pakistan for his own benefits..Gandhi offered him PRime minister but he wanted to become bapoo of pakistan...
And mr wadia is a true indian now here .....what a fate to you people..Your founder left you for terrorism....

and for ur kind info Nehru was ready to make jinnah , prime minister..and at that time congress had top qty of muslim leaders..After pakistan was made..All bad people joined muslim league and did those people ever do anything for Indepence of india???.It was only congress ,Gandhi and some top freedom fighters like SUbhash chandra bose,Bipin Chandra Pal ,Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed,Lala Lajpat Rai,Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan(Frontier gandhi),# Dadabhai NaorojiMohandas Gandhi, Kasturba Gandhi,Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,Bal Gangadhar Tilak,Maulana Shaukat Ali, Jawaharlal Nehru,Maulana Hasrat Mohani.....)..who fought for independence ...Khudiram bose was hanged....BUt does ur history give respect to Khudi ram bose,Subhas chandra bose or gandhi???U ll merely call them hindu leader and laugh at them...What abt Abul kalam ajad and khan abdul ghafar khan or fakruddin ali ahemed...

Well u guys are not taught the real history..How much pain we had to take to get this independence...even nehru who belonged to richest family lived normal life..Went to jail more than 10 times in life??If u read indian history books of indian independence chapter,then a normal student feels very bad for western people for the pain they inflicted on us...BUt the book is written so nicely that "book only teach u to be so tolerant and peaceful"..so indians hindus and muslims are decently tolerant and they are even ready to forget history and we dont hate british.and now we are living in 21 st century.....

While jinnah was a rich and alcoholic person.how many times did he go to jail???He married a parsee..He was also part of congress till 1905 and later formed muslim league to fool innocent muslims and demand for a new state??did he ever go to jail???
Coz of independence laks of people were killed in violence...DId india had those riots in moughals or brithish period..
or u have forgotten british strategy to put cows leather in bullets which angered indian hindu army working for britain...and i have heard the same for pig which is treated very bad in islam....

It ws british strategy to divide india and jinnah was one of his supporters..Jinnah lived lavishly like a prince during fight for independence....what a gr8 guy ???

Pakistan was the biggest mistake by indians...The people who fought for independence were denied their own land...

At the time of independence indian congress had the subcontinent top mulslim leaders..

Quote:

One more things
that hinduism is only based in India, but Islam is all over the world. (I do respect hinduism) but as a muslim I have to
tell you that Islam is one of the largest religion in the world. Unfortunatly or today huge jewish lobbies making propaganda
against Islam. Because Islam is spreding slowly but surely all over the world and that is whay World Super Powers are
afraid for it. We muslims do have lots lots of historical places and personalties in India. India is one of the biggest population country
in the world. Lots of religion you have there. But the truth is that only muslim who suffred and suffring a lot by hindus. Of course all hindus
are not same. Just take an example of N.Modhi. He is a killer of humanaty. How can you support him who is a resposibale for many thousands
muslims and some hindus who were killed in Gujrat violence. Do remember about Babri Mosque.

Hindus are tolerant and indian muslims are also tolerant and indianised ...but i dont know abt pakistan!!!i also know that malaysia and turkey are good islamic country..........There is no harm in spread of islam but islamic terrorism shouldnt spread..Taliwan should end..Use of religion to fight against a country is not right....Jehad against a country and fatwa are not liked by any civilized society...what world need is modern islam....a practical islam and modest islam who can live with harmony without interfering in others affairs...
who told i support modi!!!!!who told i support babri issue??and no true indian will support a crime against any human....

and people are getting tried and y;day itself supreme court sentenced life imprisonment to 13 people....and Modi cant be just hanged and he was not the person who went and killed..its india and we go by democratic law..Law needs proofs and without proof a big politician cant even be fired...

[/b]

Contributing Editor Dr SHIREEN M MAZARI takes

The cover off the raw facts about RAW in SOUTH ASIA

The publication of the Jain Commission Report for the Indian Government has confirmed what many in South Asia had suspected all along: That Indian intelligence services Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has been fomenting violent destabilisation within the domestic polities of the South Asian states. This helps to explain why dissenting political movements in countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan - as well as in the other South Asian states - suddenly became more militant and violent in their political behaviour. Why did India feel the need to get into this form of activity within its neighbouring states? The answer to that question lies in understanding India’s power ambitions.

Seeking regional hegemony and recognition as a major global actor since independence, India initially relied on military force to expand its borders as well as intimidate its neighbours into accepting Indian diktat. India’s military moves into Kashmir and Goa emboldened it enough to get embroiled in a military encounter with China in 1962. The ensuing defeat at the hands of the Chinese as well as the stalemated war with Pakistan in 1965 made India rethink its overt military tactics in order to assert its hegemony regionally.

Thus it shifted its focus vis-a-vis South Asian states and China (as reflected in the refuge given to the Tibetan dissidents and the Dalai Lama) to covert interventions aimed at destabilising the domestic polities of its neighbours. It was for this purpose that RAW was created in 1968. The extent of RAW terrorist activities in neighbouring South Asian states is only now formally coming to light with the publication of the Jain Commission Report which establishes a clear link between the Indian government and the LTTE terrorists in Sri Lanka which eventually led to the murder of Rajiv Gandhi.

However, RAW began its activities much earlier in what was then East Pakistan. The short-sightedness and neglect of Bengali sensitivities by successive Pakistani governments since independence provided the perfect milieu for RAW to lay the seeds for wrecking Pakistan from within .

Bangladesh: RAW facts

The Indians played upon Bengali sentiments in the aftermath of the 1965 Pakistan-India war through RAW so that when opportunity struck the Indians were well-prepared. It was RAW that gradually converted Sheikh Mujibur Rehman from being a staunch supporter of Pakistan as a student leader to envisaging himself as the possible ‘Father’ of a new nation - Bangladesh. Indian sources, including journalists, have put on record how much before 1971 RAW had established the network of a separatist movement through ‘cells’ within East Pakistan and military training camps in Indian territory adjoining East Pakistan. The Mukti Bahini were all in place organisationally to take advantage of the political trouble in 1971 and carry out acts of sabotage against communication lines so that Indian forces simply marched in at the ‘right’ time. RAW agents provided valuable information as well as acting as an advance guard for conducting unconventional guerrilla acts against the Pakistani defence forces. A Bengali, who was a Mukti Bahini activist, Zainal Abedin, has written a revealing book which includes his personal experience in Indian training camps, entitled RAW and Bangladesh. It was the post-fall of Dhaka period which exposed the Indians’ true intentions and made Abedin realise that It was evident from the conduct of the Indian Army that they treated Bangladesh as a colony ... It is now evident that India had helped the creation of Bangladesh with the aim that it would be a step forward towards the reunification of India.

Because Mujib returned, Indian forces could not remain in Bangladesh permanently and so it fell on RAW to initiate other fronts to undermine the sovereignty of Bangladesh. RAW has since been seeking to create Indian dominance culturally, ideologically and economically in Bangladesh.

In addition, RAW has also created another insurgency force: The Shanti Bahini (Fighters for Peace). This force comprises the Chittagong Hill Tracts Hindu and Buddhists tribesmen (the Chakmas) and the intention is to bleed the Bengali military and keep the border area tense. The Chakmas used to embarrass the Bangladesh government especially when the latter protested over Indian policy on the sharing of waters’ issue.

Sri Lanka: RAW facts

Up to the mid-seventies the Sri Lankan government had kept India happy by following policies which followed the Indian line - domestically and externally. The trouble began in 1977 when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) lost power to the Jayewardene-led United National Party in elections. He moved towards a more cooperative policy with the United States and Sri Lanka chose to oppose the Indian demand for the withdrawal of all foreign naval forces from the Indian Ocean. Mrs. Gandhi had already been irked by Sri Lanka’s support to Pakistan during the 1971 war when it allowed landing and fuelling facilities to Pakistan’s East-West commercial flights. So RAW saw a perfect opportunity to exploit within the prevailing dispute between the Sinhalese majority (74 percent) and Tamil minority (14 percent) over distribution of economic and social spoils of independence. Before the two sides could work out a compromise, India, through its RAW, managed to polarise the two sides as well as militarise this essentially political conflict. On the Mukti Bahini model, RAW built up terrorist training camps in India for a number of Tamil terrorist organisations, while India suddenly began orchestrating a public campaign feigning concern because of the links the Tamils had with the 50 million Indian Tamils of Tamil Nadu state - which was separated from Sri Lanka by the Palk Straits. It was only a matter of time before the militants trained in India began sidelining the moderate Tamils and instead demanding complete independence - Ealam. Ironically, the presence of Tamil training camps in Tamil Nadu often created a law and order situation when large arms were captured by the state police. The surprise for the state government came when New Delhi ordered that such captured material be returned.

According to Rohan Gunaratna, in his book Indian Intervention in Sri Lanka, RAW waged a secret war in India beginning 1983 so that when the Sri Lankan armed forces launched a major offensive against the Tamil militancy in 1987, the Indian government had already ensured that the Tamils were well supplied and were able to conduct terrorist acts that brought the war closer to Colombo. Tamil Nadu had become the sanctuary for the Tamil terrorists in their hit-and-run tactics. Already, a year prior to this offensive, that is by 1986, there were over 20,000 Indian trained and financed Tamils and India forced Sri Lanka through this militant pressure to alter its foreign policy. But even more crucial, India by now was systematically destabilising Sri Lanka. Being unable to resist the temptation to now intervene directly, India used the Sri Lankan offensive against the Tamil terrorists to force Sri Lanka to accept India’s armed intervention ostensibly to save ‘ innocent Tamil civilians’. Unfortunately for India, the controversial Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of July 1987 proved to be as much of a failure as India’s policy of direct intervention. The result was India’s massively assisted LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) turned on its benefactor and declared war against the Indian forces in Sri Lanka. All in all, this Indian adventure killed 60,000 men, women and children and forced the Indians to withdraw their forces without successfully completing their mission. The price has been steep for both India and Sri Lanka and even today Sri Lanka is paying the price for this Indian-initiated and RAW inspired polarised conflict. The extent of RAW’s role in this affair has been painstakingly documented by Gunaratna in his book on the Indian intervention.

Bhutan, Nepal & Sikkim: RAW facts

The ethnic crisis in Bhutan led by people of Nepalese origin is also said to have been aggravated by RAW - to try and turn the political crisis to India’s advantage.

In Nepal India has consistently intervened in the politics of this Hindu kingdom by promoting pro-India politicians. The economic dependence of this land-locked state on India makes it very difficult for any Nepalese government to assert its sovereignty. Whenever an attempt has been made, the Indians have reacted violently. Presently, the RAW is pushing its pro-India politicians to push for official recognition of Hindi.

As for Sikkim, despite the 1950 agreement between this tiny state and India which allowed for Sikkim’s nominal independence, India, through RAW, began encouraging various groups to oppose the Chogyal (the dynastic head of state). When the Chogyal married an American, India was able to use the anti-CIA card to eventually push the Sikkim National Assembly into ‘requesting’ India for merger of Sikkim into the Indian Union - after an Indian-engineered referendum on this subject. And India ‘eventually’ decided to accept this request in April 1975.

The Maldives

Even as the Indian forces were bogged down in the Sri Lankan quagmire, RAW created a bizarre drama in The Maldives. Terrorists belonging to the RAW-funded Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) staged an attack on Male ostensibly in an effort to use The Maldives as a base for anti-Sri Lankan action. The whole drama ended when, within 24 hours, Indian troops arrived on the ‘request’ of Maldives’ president and captured - effortlessly - the EPRLF personnel. However, no one at home or abroad was deceived by this RAW engineered drama.

While the Jain Commission Report and several publications have reaffirmed Indian intelligence services Research and Analysis Wing’s (RAW) violent interventions within the domestic politics of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, there has been, surprisingly, no comprehensive publication dealing with what is the most extensive canvas of RAW operations - Pakistan. Yet it has been in Pakistan that RAW has, over the years, exploited societal conflicts and nurtured them into full-fledged violent polarisations.

Pakistan: RAW facts

RAW used the growing disaffection of the Bengalis in East Pakistan to build up the foundations of Bengali separatism. It lay the ground for the Indian military entry into what was then East Pakistan by building up, training and arming the Mukti Bahini. RAW’s failure lay in being unable to lead the Mukti Bahini and the Bengalis to the ‘natural’ conclusion of their struggle against Pakistan - as planned by India - that was a union with India. Instead, perhaps RAW overkill helped the Bangladeshis into seeking a gradual distancing from India so that in the end the creation of Bangladesh only helped to reassert the relevance of the Two-Nation Theory. This has not prevented RAW from focussing its activities in Pakistan - keeping a careful eye on all developments within Pakistan’s domestic polity. In Pakistan RAW has had a multi-pronged strategy using the Indian media, abetting political subversion and actively developing a terrorist network which becomes operationalised within Pakistan as and when RAW feels the time appropriate. That is why there has been a gradual transformation of simple political dissent into a violent form of political polarisation and subversion.

That the opportunities have been provided by the local political machinations cannot be denied - but RAW has been quick to take advantage and introduce an ever-spiralling element of violence within the political discourse and conflict that prevails in all the South Asian countries.

So the fringe minority elements within the Pakistani polity have found themselves receiving RAW largesse which has allowed them to build up their militant resources. RAW has insidiously played the tune of a ‘common subcontinental heritage’ despite the fact that, barring the period of British colonialism there never was a ‘united India’ except in the minds and dreams of Hindu chauvinists. RAW has of course varied its tactics keeping in mind the groups it was seeking to bolster or influence.

Before the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan altered the dynamics of the whole Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship, RAW sought to nurture the Pakhtunistan issue clandestinely even as the Indian government sought to overtly cosy up to certain members of the political elite in the NWFP.