Threat to Peace: Pak Army Support to Terrorists

Once again news from across the border is disturbing. The Pakistan Army are at it again, derail the peace process with India by supporting, engineering and increasing terrorists attack on one hand and aggression on the border by its forces on the other. As I mentioned in my earlier ‘blog’, the Pakistan Army is hell bent upon to create problems for its Prime Minister Nawaz Shariff who wants to start the peace process with India on a clean slate.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba has issued fresh threats to attack Delhi. The LeT chief Hafeez Sayeed has come out with fresh call to the terrorists to continue ‘jehad’ against India. He has opposed Shariff’s peace initiative with India. “If Pakistan Prime Minister does not want ‘jehad’ let him do so, but we will continue our jehad against India”, Sayeed is reported to have said. It is a well planned move to corner Pak Prime Minister.

When elections were being held in Pakistan few months back, the pro-peace lobby of both India and Pakistan were hopeful of ‘peace returning to negotiating table’ with the change of regime in Islamabad. Soon after being elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan Shariff officially stated that he wants peace with India. Not only that, in run up to general elections in Pakistan, all major political parties had declared that they want peace with India. But the Pakistan Army won’t let it happen. It has vested interests in keeping the pot boiling so that it can retain its pre-eminence and dominant role in Pakistan even in a democratic set up. Besides exploiting huge amount running into millions of US dollars that goes to the Army in maintaining peace inside Pakistan and so called defence of its territory bordering India. The ISI has its own slice of the money in providing arms, ammunitions and logistics support to the Talibans and Terrorists outfits operating from its land.

It is significant to note that Hafeez Sayeed in a recent statement made in Sialkot in Pakistan is reported to have said that ‘they have won the war on the western frontier’ that is in Afghanistan as the US and NATO forces are to disengage and withdraw from Afghanistan soon. The LeT has further said that the time has come to win on eastern front that is to attack India, not only in Jammu & Kashmir but in other parts of India as well including New Delhi.

Pakistan Government has its problems but that is not our concern. You can’t clap with one hand. Best of intentions of Nawaz Sahariff notwithstanding, India should not extend its hand for peace if aggression continues from across the border.        

There is an opportunity for a meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister and the Indian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September next. Shariff has expressed desire to meet Manmohan Singh. On his part Manmohan Singh too has expressed his willingness to have dialogue with Shariff despite the unprovoked firing and killing of our jawans few days ago. If the meeting takes place at all, it will be not be more than exchanging pleasantries and providing a photo opportunity. For anything meaningful and constructive to establish peace in the subcontinent, Nwaz Shariff would have to fight its enemy within, the Talibans, the Terrorists and the ISI supported by the Army chief. Will he succeed?

~R. K. Sinha