The religion of Islam, which spread the message of equality, love, cooperation, truth and brotherhood, is today being targeted from all sides. The people responsible for this are those who call themselves the ‘true successors’ of Islam. I try to convey to my readers, truths and logic regarding terrorism in the name of Islam, from time to time. I get messages from many readers all over the world including India and Pakistan, favouring my articles. But there are also some readers who are critical.
No doubt these critics are mostly Muslims. Recently, an editor friend of mine from South Korea informed me that my article was criticized by some officers of the Pakistani embassy in Seoul. While my editor friend explained me the conversation there, he also told me that the officers in the Pakistan embassy are of the view that my articles are always based on criticism of and opposition to Pakistan.
This is not a first or new incident. I usually get such type of news. Therefore, through this article, I decided to make this issue public besides communicating with my benefactors and critics along with my Pakistani brothers in South Korea.
The question is whether only my articles are critical of Pakistan? I feel if instead of criticizing writers and journalists, Pakistani ‘well-wishers’ show their interest in improving the deteriorating administration in Pakistan and controlling violence, it would be better. Pak ‘well-wishers’ are aware of the incident in which the Pakistan security forces intruded into the studio of Geo TV during the telecast of the interview of former President Gen. (Retd.) Parvez Musharraf. This incident was condemned throughout the entire world.
The expanding network and control of the Taliban over Pakistan is as a result of Pakistani maladministration and not because of writers and journalists. Suicide attacks on a daily basis, attempts to encourage sect violence, targeting of people of certain sects, either in Mosques or in Imam Bargahas, on this 10th of Moharram or Ashura, about 50 people were killed, just after its two days almost one hundred innocent people more were killed in a attack while they were attending a sports match.
Can these be ignored by the world? And now it seems that these offensive activities of terrorists are a regular occurrence there. Isn’t this a matter of concern for the entire world? Usually there is news that the biggest terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, is hiding somewhere on the Af-Pak border.
The Pakistani Army is said to be fighting with the Taliban in such a way that the war is going on between the armies of the two countries. Is any other part of the world witnessing such anti-terrorist action? If we start talking about the instances of anarchy and lapsed of law and order in Pakistan, perhaps it would not be possible to include all of them in many books, never mind a few articles.
The assassination of the former ‘lady’ Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Operation Lal Masjid, attacks on the headquarters of the Army and the ISI, attacks on a Police training centre, Marriot hotel and Sri Lankan cricket team, the list is endless. Now, both Pakistan and the US are concerned about the protection of nuclear sites from the Pakistan based terrorist networks of the Taliban and other terrorist organizations.
These were some inside activities of the terrorists nurtured by Pakistan, which drew the attention of the world towards Pakistan and made it face criticism. Now let’s have a look at the activities of the rulers of the same Pakistan, its army and the ISI, which they carry on vis-a-vis their neighbour India.
The terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament was proven to be Pakistan sponsored. The attacks on famous religious sites in India – Raghunath temple, Akshardham temple and Sankatmochan temple – were the outcomes of Pakistan supporting terrorism against India. And finally it challenged the security of the people of India in the form of 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The question is: why is Pakistan, trapped in problems of its own making, conspiring against India? Pakistan also intruded in Kargil and Dras sectors of India in 1999 by sending its security personnel into the Indian frontier. This was done under the supervision of the Pakistani government. No doubt, Indian army gave them a befitting reply and threw them back to their homes. Many Indian soldiers and officers were also martyred in this ‘Operation Vijay’.
Now think, after the clarity of all these actions and ambitions of Pakistan, should we hope for any kind of support to the negative policies of Pakistan, aims and objectives of its rulers and its deteriorating situation over the last three decades? Should any writer write in support of such circumstances or should any poet cite poems supporting the present situation in Pakistan?
I want to add one more thing in support of my arguments. Not only are my critics offended by the criticism of Pakistan, but now the Pakistani government is appealing to the world to treat Pakistan with sympathy because at present, Pakistan needs support & sympathy and not condemnation & criticism. No journalist, writer or poet is responsible for the helplessness of Pakistan today. This is the handiwork of previous Pakistani rulers and ‘well-wishers’. Current political circumstances made Asif Ali Zardari, the president. But can Pak ‘well-wishers’ tell us who gave the title of ‘Mr. 10 percent’ to him?
Did any American or Indian journalist or government representative give him the title? Or was it the Pakistani people and Pakistani media? Now if the global media sometimes uses this title with respect to Mr. Zardari, writers and journalists like me are not responsible for that.
Even now it is not too late. Pak ‘well-wishers’, rulers and the entire machinery should accept their previous mistakes. Pakistan should follow the principle of ‘Live and Let Live’ vis-a-vis their neighbours, make serious and transparent attempts to strengthen law and order, be determined to completely destroy the communal forces operating there, end the blame game and accept the reality, be able to listen, read and understand criticism. Instead of getting offended at being criticized, it should improve in such a way that there is no criticism in the first place.
As citizens of India, everybody including me would like to have a stable neighbour in Pakistan. India neither favours military rule nor anarchy in Pakistan. India is well aware of the fact that any type of instability or chaos in any neighbouring country including Pakistan influences it, in some way or other.
Therefore following “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhine” (Peace and prosperity every where), India always prays for peace in Pakistan.
