India needs to introspect
I refer to the article Ailing Pakistan faces its worst crisis ever published in your newspaper on Sept. 24, 1998. The author of the article has emitted so much venom against Pakistan that clearly identifies him with fundamentalist Hindus who never recognized the creation of Pakistan as an independent state. For such people it is painful to see the country which came into existence in the name of Islam now moving towards an Islamic system.
They should know that Pakistan came into existence because in India, Hindus and Moslems were two different nations in every aspect of life, so the Moslems decided to have a country of their own. There is a democratically elected government in Pakistan led by Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif and there have been several elections in the past which prove one point: that the process of democracy has strengthened in Pakistan and the author's draconian vision of the "uncertain political future of Pakistan" is nothing but an expression of desperation and disappointment.
Indeed there is an economic problem due to economic sanctions, but the people of Pakistan knew this would occur well before they urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to match India's nuclear power. India could never think of Pakistan becoming a nuclear state and equalizing after they detonated their nuclear devices. The entire Indian leadership started hurling threats against Pakistan saying that nuclear India could have things done in South Asia the way they liked it. They should look at the economics of countries in Asia and the Far East. They did not detonate army nuclear devices. Then why are they suffering because of a combination of factors. In such a scenario Pakistan's economic state of affairs can be singled out.
The author casts doubts on the integrity of Pakistan's army. The whole world knows that it is one of the most disciplined organizations and India should never forget the lessons it received from the Pakistan army in the Rann of Kutch and the 1965 war. The separation of East Pakistan was not a failure of the two nation theory but it was due to the conspiracy and naked aggression of the Indian forces in the then East Pakistan.
The author would do well, for the benefit of the readers to look at his own backyard and what is happening in Assam, Bihar and elsewhere in India. What is happening in the "bleeding wounds" of India, Kashmir and Khalistan is no longer a secret, courtesy of the electronic media.
The late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's commitment in the Security Council that India would implement the council's resolution which called for a plebiscite in Kashmir, asking whether they wanted to join Pakistan or India, has never been fulfilled. If India's democracy and economy has become so enviable, then why is it apprehensive about the outcome of the plebiscite.
IMDAD HUSSAIN
Jakarta