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WELL-acquainted with the reality that Israel’s
air force chief Major-General Dan Halutz was in New Delhi to
seal an agreement for a billion-dollar sale of Phalcon
airborne radar systems to India — the architect of all such
deals, LK Advani wooed the Muslims at the week-end to vote for
his ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] — by
highlighting his government's ‘love for peace overtures with
Pakistan.'
Overtly — as a part of the ‘Election Ploy’ — Advani, for the first
time in past five-and-a-half decades said: ‘A BJP-led India
would always strive for peace with its nuclear-armed neighbour
Pakistan.’
‘We want both the countries to live in peace and harmony and
even people in Pakistan are in favor of that,’ a voguish
Advani vowed with an archetypical style that ‘Things are
moving along well only after a BJP-led government came to
power.’
Now when India's estimated 144 million Muslims have
traditionally shied away from the right-wing BJP due to its
hard-line Hindu image, we would like to ask a simple question
from the detectable political heir of Premier AB Vajpayee — that
if at all his ‘newest perceptions’ have a pragmatic
podium — what was the raison d'ętre of the Israeli General’s
clandestine voyage to New Delhi — where, as an Indian English
daily — says: ‘Halutz, who met his Indian counterpart S.
Krishnaswamy on Thursday, was also to visit some strategic air
bases and defense establishments during his 4-day visit.’
The Indian paper quoted anonymous sources as saying ‘the main
aim of Halutz’s visit was to apply finishing touches to the
billion-dollar deal for the sale of three airborne Phalcon
early warning radar and communication systems to India.’
With its’ awful ‘allure of ruthless collection of WMDs’ India
signed the deal with Israel and Russia in October, a month
after a visit to New Delhi by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon.
The deal was inked after a go-ahead from the United States,
which had earlier blocked the sale of Phalcons to both India
and China.
Israel co-ordinates its military sales with Washington because
the two nations’ defense industries are almost
inter-linked — with each others’ reciprocal interests and both
of them very often share technological advances.
Under the terms of the agreement, Israel would buy Ilyushin-76
cargo aircraft from Uzbekistan which would then be sent to
Russia to be fitted with new high-powered engines.
After structural modifications, the aircraft would be sent to
Israel to be mounted with cutting edge avionics and the
complete aircraft would be delivered to India.
As is well-known to the word, Israel in recent years has
become India’s second largest defense supplier after Russia,
with armament sales touching 60 billion rupees (1.25 billion
dollars) — in 2001.
Despite LK’s ‘zestful outlook’, no one can negate the
realities indexed in the history that with its traditional
antagonistic mind-set, the BJP-led Vajpayee Cabinet has
already given a 'go-ahead' signal to buy 66 Hawks from
Britain, a deal costing multi-million dollars which India opts
to spend on fanatic collection of arsenal instead of incurring
the same money for the welfare of its famished people — living
far below the poverty line.
Amid secret deals with Tel Aviv, the transaction for
furnishing Hawks aircraft to India not only manifests London's
"love n' leaning" towards its old-time cute aficionado — India
but also manifests the fanatic visions of BJP regime.
Provision of such a noxious gadget to a country which is
belligerent towards each of its adjacent nations is a lucid
pointer, depicting the actual mind-set of ‘the mother of
democracy plus the champion of peace’ vis-ŕ-vis the South
Asian region.
Wouldn’t have it been more apposite if the United Kingdom had
given a flat "No" to its clip n’ in a way to its’ limb — India
to wait till such a time that it had reconciled with Pakistan
through a bona fide composite dialogue to solve all the longed
disputes — with Kashmir Issue atop, as this is the singular way
for the revamping of a lasting peace in this part of the
planet
The newest Indo-Israel-cum-UK [Troika] deals are — in a way — an
eye-opener for all those nations — around the orb — which adore a
melodious milieu all-over and snub skirmishes of all types.
Nonetheless, it’s not a fresh episode for any one — blessed n’
bestowed with pragmatism — to lift eye-brows? It was obvious
even — in an epoch — during the visits to the region by the
British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw when jar was boiling to
the optimal. His avowals — both in New Delhi n'
Islamabad — exhibited Britain's disdain towards Pakistan. His
remarks were reflective of utter impudence and the crux of his
answers — during chat with newsmen — smacked of the old British
colonial state of mind.
Paradoxically, Jack Straw — as n’ when came to South Asia, not
only choose to parry all the queries relating to the
implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir but
simultaneously came-out with frolicsome terminology of
phrasing Kashmir as a ‘bilateral Issue’. He — prima facie — at the
behest of his ‘sweet n' smart devotee' [New Delhi] espoused
the hoax of ‘elections’ in Indian Held Kashmir rather than a
free, fair and impartial environ whereby the people of the
Himalayan State — could select their destiny on their own — a
right, bestowed by the Nature on every-one — in any style the
deem apt.
At the same time the Jack did not — ever — say a single word on
hefty magnitude of the Indian brutalities in the forcibly held
part of the charismatic State and caged himself just to a few
trouble-free words of 'promise' to raise the issue of ‘human
rights violations’ with the New Delhi rulers — which he never
did. It is satirical that Jack entirely forgot the historical
perspective of the Kashmir dispute and the rudimentary role
played by the last British Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten in
truncating Pakistan.
Jack Straw — who, in fact, became an MP chiefly through the
marvelous volume of vote's caste by overseas Pakistanis plus
the dwellers hailing from the gorgeous and dazzling State of
Jammu and Kashmir with an out-and-out pledge that he [Jack]
would support Kashmiris just cause 'if he gets a slot in the
House of Commons' — is ought to acknowledge that Kashmir is not
a bilateral issue as it is an unfinished agenda of the
partition of the sub-continent. There would have been no
Kashmir Issue — if Britain would have acted judiciously and
candidly in implementing the Partition Plan.
Let there be no mix-up about this ground realities. Straw's
brazen assertion — which turned into a podium of multiple
naughty Anglo-Indian deals, like the sale of
Hawks — side-by-side — the till-recent hue n' cry on so-called
‘cross-border infiltration’ — a ferocious point of India’s
anti-Pakistan propaganda crusade, which has now died down as a
natural phenomenon, as it is the truth which remains
intact — for all times to come.
The story about the sale of Hawks to India validates
perceptions that Jack Straw had — virtually — been coming to this
region — as some analysts view — to ignite a conflagration instead
of an endeavor to avert a perilous course.
It is thus hoped that the magnificent, fascinating, glamorous
n' majestic British empire shall — expectantly — review its latest
choice for the sale of Hawks to New Delhi by deferring it, at
least till the time India ceases the hysterical 'drive' of
committing crimes against humanity in held-Kashmir — and finally
till the eon when it [India] gets onto the table of meaningful
talks with Pakistan — a crystal-clear icon n' emblem of
Pakistan's adore for amiable settlement of all the
issues — exclusively the root cause of longed irritants in ties,
the Kashmir issue — with an evocative n’ logical face-to-face
interaction — in place of a skirmish, scuffle or a brawl.
Setting aside India’s obvious adore for massive compilation of
arms n’ ammunition — and that too of perilous in nature, we
would — for the moment — welcome, with reservations, LK Advani’s
new posture and would at the same feel optimistic — that the
British Foreign Secretary, who is coming to Pakistan — in a few
days’ time — shall not only air a ‘Breaking News’ — on the soils
of this realm by censuring India for gross violation of human
rights in India held-Kashmir but would also put-in his optimal
weight on New Delhi to stop this puckish course — at-once.
No cluster, might, maneuver, connive and even a venomous
troika — can in any way — beleaguer the gallant people of Jammu
and Kashmir State in any way. Thus the only n’ finest
method — left is to accept the post Nine/Eleven ground
realities — which can flourish vistas of affluence in South
Asia — and that too — by accepting the will of Kashmiris as a
valid verdict — in whatever fashion they evaluate — n’ which
befits them for the dawn of a plump n’ robust peace n’ amity
to last in South Asia — till eternity n’ perpetuity.
© 2004 Mumtaz Hamid
Rao - Pakistan Times |
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