12-23-2006, 11:10 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>A PR stunt </b>
Pioneer.com
Udayan Namboodiri
Pervez Musharraf is now playing the friendly neighbour with a large section of the Indian media. Good for him, but the international community, which has come out with two damning indictments of his hypocrisy, is not likely to be bowled over. Unknown to him, a new set of factors has been induced into the West's perception of South Asia. Now, it's the economy stupid
General Pervez Musharraf's interview to an Indian television channel in which he announced that Pakistan was "willing to give up its claim over Kashmir" is the best publicity stunt of 2006. The Pakistani President's appetite for slavish media attention was never known to be bound by reason. This time, however, he has surprised even himself.
The good news (conceding that it means "good coverage" as distinct for happy tidings) is, however, outweighed by the bad (or unfavourable publicity). The General's oldest friends, the human rights wallahs, are turning against him. Over the past two months, two old apologists of international terrorism, Human Rights Watch and the European Union, came out with stinging indictments against Pakistan for not only abetting cross-border strikes into India, but also practicing hypocrisy and double standards. Sadly, the importance of the development was lost on the ever optimistic Indian media.
This Saturday, therefore, we publish DR Ahuja (see main article) who worked hard to lay his hands on these reports. They clearly show how the Islamabad establishment has lost its cheerleaders. The same organisations which treated every morsel of evidence supplied earlier by New Delhi with utmost scepticism - even arrogance diffidence - has apparently come round to accepting the reality. The two, however, are no friends of India. They have routinely insulted Indian Governments by giving precedence to the accounts of like-minded organisations. They played down Godhra but blew Gujarat out of all proportion. They humiliate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi but look over West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's excesses. Still, the good news is that they have accepted the ground reality.
The timely publication of these reports indicates that the international community has lost its old appetite for Islamabad's rhetoric on Jammu & Kashmir. Quite a few major incidents in recent times have contributed to this change in world view of Pakistan.
The international community woke up to the horror of terrorism in their own backyard. The act has been replayed over and over again in different areas of the world. Madrid bombings, the London tube bombings and so on, keep reminding the world that terrorism is alive and Pakistan is its source. But they refuse to open their eyes and look at this harsh fact, instead Pakistan led by its dear leader General Pervez Musharraf is brandished as a frontline state in war against terrorism. It's time to call a spade a spade the way these reports have done.
Another important factor weighing on the international community's attitude towards the Kashmir issue is the growing economic clout of India. With three successive years of eight per cent GDP growth, India is coming on its own as a minor superpower. The economies of the West being driven chiefly by business considerations, the markets of India are too attractive to ignore. That is why foreign policy matrixes in Western capitals are being reworked to factor in the Indian point of view. This is having two effects on Pakistan. First, Western human rights groups, which are dependent on transnational corporate donors for sustenance, are giving President Musharraf the thumbs down. Second, the great dictator himself has got to perform handstands to keep himself relevant. The "give up Kashmir" line has to be seen in that context.
The terms of the conflict have not changed. Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated this week that he would be willing to consider General Musharraf's "bold" initiative, even give India's past experience the go-by, Defence Minister AK Anthony has indicated that New Delhi would not drop its old guard. Anthony has even ventured to dismiss the Musharraf package as part of an old series of solution mongering. This line is stressed by academician Khwaja Ekhram (see The Other Voice) with greater clarity. He has referred to the terrorist attacks in Delhi, Benares, Ayodhya and Malegaon which were clearly aimed at fomenting communal violence and creating divisions in Indian society.
Similarly, the presence of terror groups in Bangalore and Mysore, two centres of India's IT industry, and the train blasts in Mumbai, prove that these were attempts to hurt the Indian economy by Pak-sponsored groups. With India attracting top investors, the aim of these militant groups is to scare away foreigners by turning these cities into Beiruts.
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Pioneer.com
Udayan Namboodiri
Pervez Musharraf is now playing the friendly neighbour with a large section of the Indian media. Good for him, but the international community, which has come out with two damning indictments of his hypocrisy, is not likely to be bowled over. Unknown to him, a new set of factors has been induced into the West's perception of South Asia. Now, it's the economy stupid
General Pervez Musharraf's interview to an Indian television channel in which he announced that Pakistan was "willing to give up its claim over Kashmir" is the best publicity stunt of 2006. The Pakistani President's appetite for slavish media attention was never known to be bound by reason. This time, however, he has surprised even himself.
The good news (conceding that it means "good coverage" as distinct for happy tidings) is, however, outweighed by the bad (or unfavourable publicity). The General's oldest friends, the human rights wallahs, are turning against him. Over the past two months, two old apologists of international terrorism, Human Rights Watch and the European Union, came out with stinging indictments against Pakistan for not only abetting cross-border strikes into India, but also practicing hypocrisy and double standards. Sadly, the importance of the development was lost on the ever optimistic Indian media.
This Saturday, therefore, we publish DR Ahuja (see main article) who worked hard to lay his hands on these reports. They clearly show how the Islamabad establishment has lost its cheerleaders. The same organisations which treated every morsel of evidence supplied earlier by New Delhi with utmost scepticism - even arrogance diffidence - has apparently come round to accepting the reality. The two, however, are no friends of India. They have routinely insulted Indian Governments by giving precedence to the accounts of like-minded organisations. They played down Godhra but blew Gujarat out of all proportion. They humiliate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi but look over West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's excesses. Still, the good news is that they have accepted the ground reality.
The timely publication of these reports indicates that the international community has lost its old appetite for Islamabad's rhetoric on Jammu & Kashmir. Quite a few major incidents in recent times have contributed to this change in world view of Pakistan.
The international community woke up to the horror of terrorism in their own backyard. The act has been replayed over and over again in different areas of the world. Madrid bombings, the London tube bombings and so on, keep reminding the world that terrorism is alive and Pakistan is its source. But they refuse to open their eyes and look at this harsh fact, instead Pakistan led by its dear leader General Pervez Musharraf is brandished as a frontline state in war against terrorism. It's time to call a spade a spade the way these reports have done.
Another important factor weighing on the international community's attitude towards the Kashmir issue is the growing economic clout of India. With three successive years of eight per cent GDP growth, India is coming on its own as a minor superpower. The economies of the West being driven chiefly by business considerations, the markets of India are too attractive to ignore. That is why foreign policy matrixes in Western capitals are being reworked to factor in the Indian point of view. This is having two effects on Pakistan. First, Western human rights groups, which are dependent on transnational corporate donors for sustenance, are giving President Musharraf the thumbs down. Second, the great dictator himself has got to perform handstands to keep himself relevant. The "give up Kashmir" line has to be seen in that context.
The terms of the conflict have not changed. Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated this week that he would be willing to consider General Musharraf's "bold" initiative, even give India's past experience the go-by, Defence Minister AK Anthony has indicated that New Delhi would not drop its old guard. Anthony has even ventured to dismiss the Musharraf package as part of an old series of solution mongering. This line is stressed by academician Khwaja Ekhram (see The Other Voice) with greater clarity. He has referred to the terrorist attacks in Delhi, Benares, Ayodhya and Malegaon which were clearly aimed at fomenting communal violence and creating divisions in Indian society.
Similarly, the presence of terror groups in Bangalore and Mysore, two centres of India's IT industry, and the train blasts in Mumbai, prove that these were attempts to hurt the Indian economy by Pak-sponsored groups. With India attracting top investors, the aim of these militant groups is to scare away foreigners by turning these cities into Beiruts.
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