Kashmir Chronicle

Kashmir Chronicle

Monthly news bulletin of 
Kashmir Information Network (KIN)
Vol. 1, No. 7 October 1, 1998

US Foreign Policy: Overlooking Pakistani Support for International Terrorism

The US State Department continues to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye towards the terrorism emanating from the fundamentalist depths of Pakistan. Significant sections of the international press have pointed out Pakistan's involvement in terrorism being perpetrated in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Yet, the US continues to exclude Pakistan from the list of terrorist countries threatening peace and civility in the world. MSNBC reported that Pakistani terrorist outfits were using Afghanistan as a base for attacking Kashmir (Sept. 16, 1998). The Washington Post noted Pakistan's support for terrorist groups in Kashmir in a recent editorial (Sept. 27, 1998). Reuters noted that these groups had targeted Kashmiri Hindus, especially Pandits, with acts of violence (Sept. 4, 1998). In a 1994 address to the US Congress, Rep. Bill McCollum noted Pakistan's involvement in international terrorism. US politicians such as Rep. Frank Pallone have repeatedly called on the State Department to put Pakistan on the list of known state-sponsors of terrorism.

 Some of the world's deadliest terrorist groups are based in Pakistan and have such a free run of the country that official support and encouragement are unquestionable. This was recently underscored when two such groups, the Harkat-ul-Ansar (HUA, recently renamed as Harkat-ul-Mujaheedin in a transparent attempt to circumvent US sanctions) and the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), issued open threats against the US from Islamabad and Karachi, the two major cities of Pakistan. Pakistani officials made no attempt to rein in these groups despite such provocative statements against the US. The operational chief of the LET was recently shot dead in an encounter with Indian security forces while trying to cross over from Pakistan (Reuters, Sept. 25, 1998). The LET and the HUA are among the groups that have caused the most death and destruction in Jammu and Kashmir, and have been involved in massacres of Hindus, especially the Kashmiri Pandits. It is quite possible that the presumed postponement of President Clinton's trip to South Asia may have had as much to do with concerns for his safety in Pakistani cities steeped in Islamic fundamentalism and violence, as it had to do with the progress of US-South Asian nuclear talks.

 Pakistani-supported terrorists have renewed their attacks on foreign tourists in Jammu and Kashmir, with a French tourist being the latest victim (Times of India, Sept. 22, 1998). It may be recalled that several western tourists were kidnapped by Pakistani-supported militants in 1995-1996 and are presumed dead, including one US citizen.

 The Bush administration had made a move in the right direction by threatening to put Pakistan on the short list of state-sponsors of terrorism in early 1993. Since then, much blood has flowed at the hands of Pakistani terrorists in India, but the current US foreign policy team continues with an inexplicable policy of ignoring one of the deadliest foci of international terrorism.

 Recent statements by US foreign policy officials about a 'global war' against international terrorism are to be commended. However, hiding from the reality of Pakistani support of some of the deadliest international terrorist groups is not going to help the US (as well as the rest of the civilized and non-fanatic world) win this war.

One Step Forward, Another Step Back: The International Media and Kashmir

While sections of the international media have recently made progress in acknowledging and revealing the support of Pakistan for terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir, and the consequent ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits from the area, much progress still needs to be made. The Washington Post recently referred to the Pakistani support of terrorism in Kashmir. However, the editorial talked about India 'denying political choice to Muslim Kashmir'. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir as 'Muslim Kashmir' is somewhat akin to calling the US 'white America'. This dumbing down of the ethno-cultural lattice of the multi-hued state of Jammu and Kashmir reflects a continued ignorance and laziness on the part of large sections of the 'mainstream' international media in their understanding of the region. Such a lame characterization of the region constitutes irresponsible journalism and paves the way for Pakistan to continue its policy of balkanization, Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.

 The media continues to ignore the ethnic re-engineering carried out by Pakistan in the parts of Jammu and Kashmir controlled by it, where the original non-Muslim population was cleared out during the 1947 Partition. Such ethnic re-engineering is now being carried out by proxy in the Indian portions of Jammu and Kashmir, where Pakistani-supported-terrorists have been the tools of this re-engineering and have ousted Kashmiri Pandits from their ancestral home land. By referring to a 'Muslim Kashmir', the Post summarily ignores the Kashmiri Pandits, the Sikhs, the Dogras and other non-Muslim sections of the population. None of these sections, as well as a significant portion of the Muslim population, want to have anything to do with Pakistan and its intolerant fundamentalist outlook. These sections are tired of the exported violence from Pakistan in the form of terrorists and foreign mercenaries.

 In the context of the ethnic re-engineering that has taken place in the region, and is continuing today, India is on the dot by not allowing a sham 'plebiscite' in the state. The Post needs to be reminded, yet again, that Pakistan not only never withdrew its occupying forces from the region (the primary clause of the 1948 UN resolution on Kashmir), but has clearly done its utmost to permanently undermine the prerequisite of 'fair and equitable conditions' on both sides of the Line of Control.

 As far as 'political choice' is concerned, free and fair elections take place in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir despite the best efforts of Pakistani-supported terrorists, and the population gets to choose its elected representatives to the state as well as the federal governments. Such basic civil rights are not available anywhere in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to non-Muslim residents.

India-Pakistan talks agreed upon by PMs in New York

During their recent meeting in New York, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif agreed to resume peace talks. The talks will include discussions on Jammu and Kashmir. It is our hope that these talks will finally bring about an end to the decade-long terrorist and fundamentalist violence that has taken away peace, prosperity and much more from the residents of the state. Any forthcoming talks that take place between India and Pakistan need to deal primarily with the orderly withdrawal of Pakistani troops from the portions of Jammu and Kashmir it has forcibly occupied for five decades, disbanding of terrorist camps on Pakistani and Afghan territory, and a public pledge by Pakistan to end all support for international terrorism. An international monitoring of Pakistan's actions may be necessary keeping in mind past history. These are the measures that the state needs desperately to return to a peaceful and secular co-existence for all the ethno-religious sections of its population, including the 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits who have been rendered homeless by the terrorists.