The Mumbai Attacks pushed the Indo-Pak relationship into such a blind alley where there was neither a ray of hope nor a gleam of optimism
by Ali Sukhanver
Views expressed in this article are the author’s own
( November 26, 2018, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sometimes things are no simple and straight as apparently they seem; just look at the recent terrorist attacks which targeted the Chinese Consulate in Karachi and an Imambargah in Orakzai tribal area of Pakistan. These incidents took lives of more than 35 people and left so many seriously injured. Occurrence of two deadly incidents in Pakistan on the same day, no doubt, grieved the whole nation but at the same time it gave the ‘bad-wishers’ of Pakistan a new golden opportunity of defaming Pakistan. They at once started jumping and shouting joyfully that Pakistan’s all claims of rooting-out terrorists from the country were simply the claims not reality. Moreover occurrence of two incidents on the same day, in the last week of November has so many hidden meanings too. Last week of November is well-remembered for the so-called Mumbai terrorist attacks on 26 November 2008. The so-called terrorist Ajmal Kasab was also sent to gallows in the last week of November 2012. Fact of the matter is that the recent attacks on Chinese Consulate in Karachi and suicide-attack on Imambargah in Orakzai is simply a reminder sent to Pakistan that blame-game started for Pakistan is still on. Just to win the sympathies of Indian nation, the government of India has been trying to keep November alive by using different tactics after the Mumbai Terror Attacks.
The ‘historical’ Mumbai Terror Attacks which jolted the city horribly on 26 November 2008 was simply a pre-planned ‘project’ of the R&AW for maligning Pakistan. These attacks took lives of 184 people including 9 attackers and the Indian security forces took three days to control the terrorists. As this drama was directed and designed by the R&AW, just after the incident, the R&AW ‘guided’ media started churning out an already tailored lesson. From somewhere popped up a character named Ajmal Kasab and his connection and linkage with Pakistan were also diligently excavated but the brains behind this mumbo-jumbo story didn’t even cast a look at the record-room of the Auraiya district in Utter Pradesh which had a very different story to narrate. According to a report published in the Global Village Space, the Bidhoona area office of this district allegedly had issued a domicile certificate to Ajmal Kasab, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack ‘Pakistani’ convict. Astonishingly the district authorities cancelled the domicile certificate and suspended the concerned revenue officer before ordering a probe in the matter of Mumbai Terror Attacks. The said certificate, bearing the registration number 181620020060722 attested that Ajmal Kasab’s birth place was Bidhoona and his father’s name was Muhammad Amir and his mother was Mumtaz Begum. More astonishing is the fact that the concerning authorities said nothing in response to this report. Ajmal Kasab was sentenced to death and executed on 21 November 2012.
The Mumbai Attacks pushed the Indo-Pak relationship into such a blind alley where there was neither a ray of hope nor a gleam of optimism. But Pakistan, being a peace-promoting country, did not let the childish activities like the Mumbai attacks become a hurdle in a way to the promotion of peace and harmony. Pakistan is still confident that hatred and enmity are very short-lived emotions and they could always be overcome by expressing positive gestures. Recently Pakistan has set another example of love and care for its closest neighbour India by proposing opening of Kartarpur border-crossing with India for Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib without visa.
The Kartarpur Gurdwara is located in Narowal district near the Indian border in Pakistan. The idea of opening this border was earlier floated by the Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa. He had shared it with Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu when he came to Pakistan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The government of Pakistan is planning to make Kartarpur border operational on the occasion of Baba Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary next year for Sikh pilgrims. Opening of this border would be a precious gift for the Sikh community living in Pakistan and India. Pakistan has extended invitation to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur border on November 28 but she has regretted that she won’t be able to come because of her official commitments. Her refusal to the invitation has no doubt grieved the Sikh community as well as the people of Pakistan but it is being hoped that she would compensate this grievance by visiting Pakistan some day in near future.
Friendly rather brotherly relations between the neighbours play a very important role in promotion of peace and prosperity but this relationship could never be one-sided. It is in fact a state of mutual cooperation. By dragging the neighbours into different types of blame games no hope of friendly relations could be expected. The people of Pakistan are the strongest supporters of peace in the neighbouring countries like India and Afghanistan and they hope that India and Afghanistan would also respond to their positive approach in the same way.
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