The Witch-hunt

Dr. Khurshid Alam

The two nations narrative, based on religious hatred suddenly ceased to exist when India was declared independent and a new state was carved from its belly, named Pakistan on 15th August 1947. On the first anniversary, the date was changed to 14th as it was sacred Friday. To have same Independence Day with India was unacceptable to the elites of northern India even at the cost of historical distortion.

In the process of this great achievement, the westernised Jinnah was stripped off paw by paw like an onion and was tailored into typical eastern Muslim. Nothing was relevant but to keep the narrative dominant. With the creation of the new country and after a short span of honeymoon there was a sudden realisation that the hatred narrative has disappeared which is driving factor to role the country forward.

The so-called Islamists needed a multi-tiered narrative based on hatred to use where it is needed. The religious break into sects was promoted. The ethical factor was the hot priority, to begin with. Sociopolitical, the ideology of Pakistan, strategic narrative, orthodoxy versus liberalism, peace versus confrontation and patriotism were ruthlessly used. Kashmir was sanctified to the extent of faith. Though Pakistan was achieved in the name of Islam but the claim of inheritance of northern Idea was not abandoned.

Just opposite to Pakistan resolution which simply to fool the nations a new nation building was started which reached its dénouement with the passage of time but the military generals played the architectural role. It was for three purposes; 1) to maintain their grip or rule 2) To project it as a fortress of Islam to capture the imaginations of dynastical states of Middle East. 3) To equalise with India. For aforementioned narratives, the radicalization and militarization were considered a must. It was a fact as well.

Pakistan was used as a pressure cooker heinous designs having long roots to the past reaching to Mughals era and 1857 mutiny and far beyond investment in future, the establishment of Pan-Islamism and the Islamic Emirates. Even Jinnah was convinced to be a caliph and Pakistan be an Islamic Emirate but the idea was torpedoed by Saudis. The path chosen to achieve the evil designs was not diplomacy but surrogacy of moneyed and advanced states. It was a shortcut to achieve the desired aims.

To tighten the internal grip a political onslaught was launched. The victims were Baluch, Pashtun, Bengalis and Sindh. In all these constituencies military and imported bureaucracy played a vital role. Baluch was punished for declaring independence before Pakistan, Pashtun for not supporting division of Muslims and the lesser Muslim Bengalis for their courage to vote against the sacred cow, Punjab. Bangladesh is now known as the country of millions of martyrs. The uprising of Bengalis and the role played by India to rescue created a new fear of known unknown and surprised the inheritors of Royal Moghuls and Ranjeet Singh.

• On external front as I mentioned before the surrogacy really paid off. The USA and Saudi kept on pumping in cash and kind both, a lethal weapon for humanity in the hands of an artificial undependable nation. Even the Islamic Bomb is the gift of surrogacy, Libyan money, robbery of technical know-how from Holland and Belgium and the American blind eye, all contributed to its delivery. The surrogacy externally and autocracy internally were complementary. Internally the grip was tightened on smaller nations and externally remuneration was used to strangulate Pashtun, Baluch by the lethal weapon to capture their land and resources using the same narrative as they used in the then East Pakistan, they needed the land and resources, not the men.
• The self- proclaimed imperial past were still bugging their mind. They wanted an international role to protect ideological borders and be a police of one city Muslim states. They needed much more they had to work across the borders particularly in the immediate neighbours like Afghanistan, Iran (The Shia Mole) and India.
• The luck would favour, USSR launched the senseless adventure in Afghanistan. Zia the most vicious and wicked character was in power. A war of the bearers of the book and godless USSR started. The American interest was to avenge the Vietnam defeat and southwards influence of the then USSR towards the warm water. Pakistan was the best sub-contractor available at the gate. Pakistani designs were different. To build Islamic bomb, to annexe Kashmir and deny the Kashmiris the right of self-determination, to create strategic depth by directly or indirectly occupying Afghanistan, to bury the Shiite mole, Iran, destabilise India, Iran and Afghanistan and above all to radicalism even in western provinces of China. ISI was engaged in India in four important places, Kashmir, East Punjab, Bombay and Assam. In Afghanistan, there was physical involvement of Pakistan army along with Israeli officers. Pan-Islamism, protection of OILY sheikhs, the establishment of Jihadi Syndicate.
•  To carry out such a huge agenda needed a parallel system. So the following were adopted;

1. Strengthening and upgrading of spy web. ISI was given enormous powers headed by a full fledge 4 stars general, autonomous and unaccountable
2. To adopt terrorism as a state policy and bridge every gap by terrorism. Pakistan being a garrison state became a mother ship of terrorism.
3. Mass recruitments of terrorists and providing the safe havens to the veritable arm. The terror garrison was all over the country particularly the urban Punjab and shooting range was the federal tribal area (Fata).
4. A vast network of roughly 30,000 seminaries all over the country. The terrorists enjoyed more rights than the citizens of Pakistan like free education, health, food, shelter, travelling facilities. There was no lack of cash and kind. According to the American press, about 60 Billion dollars were provided by the US and Saudi each.
5. Pakistan had her hey days with the two and totally transformed its armed forces and terrorists alike. Pakistan Air Force sabre rattling changed into the F-16 roar and conventional forces by most advanced system tactical weapons.
6. The society was thoroughly criminalised, radicalised and corrupted. The real Pakistan contracted in size limited to Punjab. Hatred was sown into the roots. The victims were only Pashtun/Afghans, Baluch, and India.

Its intensity of hatred for Pashtun could be gauged from the fact that Afghans were made refugees twice. They were tempted to leave their country and then humiliated and forced to go back to their destroyed country Afghanistan.

The witch-hunt was started against them in Punjab by the Punjab and federal governments to throw them out of Punjab auctioning their business for the minutest. They were put behind bars by an executive order tarnishing the principles trade and connectivity. Duality and deceit are the guiding principles of the greater Punjab. Those who were assets for 42 years became destructive adversaries.

All the sane words were ignored by the supremo. Mr. Wali Khan told them in the 90s that putting the neighbours on fire is easy but to confine flames to an area is impossible. The US secretary of state, Ms Hilary Clinton said,” You can keep snakes in your backyard but can’t train them to bite your enemies only” The greater Punjab was caught red handed many times bur received a passionate treatment. Tehrik Taliban Pakistan and Punjabis are basically disgruntled ISI picks who feel betrayed by Islamabad.

Writer: Prof.(Dr) Khurshid Alam