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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Narotham Reddy who wrote (42743)	5/27/2002 4:01:24 PM
From: Narotham Reddy	Respond to of 50167

We don't need your sympathy, Indian minorities tell Musharraf K G Suresh in New Delhi Leaders of the country's different minority communities took umbrage on Monday at Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's reference to their 'plight', saying he had no business to do so and they were competent to handle their own problems. "We have not appointed him our advocate," prominent Muslim politician and All-India Babri Masjid Action Committee convener Syed Shahabuddin told the Press Trust of India. "We are competent to deal with our problems. Any such statements from Pakistani leaders will only prove counter-productive." Shahabuddin said there was nothing new in Musharraf's statement and his earlier promises were yet to be tested on the ground. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, a senior Akali Dal politician, said that by referring to the condition of minorities in India, Musharraf was trying to create divisions within the country. "We were expecting him to come out with some steps for reconciliation. Instead, he chose to create divisions within India," he remarked. In his televised address to the Pakistani nation, General Musharraf had urged the world to take note of the "atrocities" being committed by Hindu extremists on Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, the scheduled castes and others in India. Describing the general's statement as provocative, Tarlochan Singh, vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, said, "The Pakistani president has tried to meddle in our internal affairs. He has misled people in his country and outside about the minorities-majority relations in India. He should first tell them about the state of minorities in Pakistan." The spokesman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, Father Dominic Emmanuel, said the president of another country had no business talking about what was happening to minorities in India. "We are aware of the problems caused by right-wing Hindu extremists," he said, "but Musharraf should first put his own house in order where the minorities do not enjoy equal rights. The blasphemy law, the special votes and the attacks on churches are known to the whole world." Dilip Singh Bhuria, chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, said Gen Musharraf seemed to be ignorant about political and job reservations available to the scheduled castes in India. "Instead of talking about terrorism, he is trying to cover up his own weakness by referring to the plight of the minorities and scheduled castes in India," Bhuria said.

To: Narotham Reddy who wrote (42743)	5/27/2002 6:36:30 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50167

No he has not, I think the ante has been raised, I feel that day of reckoning for our region is approaching fast, the only way I think war can be avoided if western diplomacy succeeds otherwise I am not very sure. I am not unrealistic any war will be devastating for Pakistan, you guys are big you can afford it. I can see your point by bringing 750,000 soldiers on front now either you have to cow your opponent or wink, he has refused to budge tonight now we will come to know in next few days or 48 hours what option your people take. I have nothing more to add. I am not very optimistic any more I think this deadlock will finally takes its toll, what a tragedy for all of us at our end to be so intelligent and so foolish, staking honour of nation on doomsday devices is crazy, I earnestly hope for a miracle that we may see some light at the end of the tunnel. In a game of chicken someone has to veer, now if after a gun on his head he refuses publicly to be humiliated the choice is your leadership to see if sum total of his commitments have any benefit for India otherwise you have to act, this is probable since I feel that propensity to give and take few millions here and there has taken our daily discussions, if few million lives means nothing for strategists the probability of ultimate scene may play out is extremely high.

To: Narotham Reddy who wrote (42743)	5/27/2002 7:04:55 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

The peace will hold for the time being. Indeed, we may expect a verifiable lid on cross border infiltration to lead to a meeting between Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf in Tashkent next month, unless rogue elements in Kashmir succeed in derailing the Musharraf initiative. Whether or not the two leaders will be able to start the Agra process again, however, is a difficult question. There are bound to be many a slip between the cup and the lip. Editorial Daily Times.. The view from liberals..General Pervez Musha-rraf’s speech was aimed at three targets: the home front, the international community, and India. His objective was to beat a tactical retreat behind the scenes on the issue of LoC cross border infiltration while publicly appearing to move ahead strategically on the certainty of free and fair general elections at home and a peace dialogue with India. He was conciliatory with respect to the demand of the international community to stop cross-border infiltration – he reiterated his commitment not once but four times and not just in Urdu but in English too because he knows that, far from defying the international community, he cannot do without its political and economic support. He was hard on India, accusing it of provoking war hysteria — and going so far as to refer to the terrorism of the supporters of India’s ruling party on Muslims, Christians and the backward classes of that country – because he knows that this will go down well at home and deflect potential criticism that he has succumbed to pressure from the old arch-enemy. Similarly, he was passionate in his defense of the cause of Kashmir because he doesn’t want the Kashmiris to be demoralized by his policy shift on material support to their cause. And he wanted to sound confident all round so that his words are taken seriously – that is why he announced that the general elections will be held on October 7-11 and that they will be transparently free and fair. It was a hard act to follow after he began his speech by saying that “Pakistan was going through a most grim and difficult time which could amount to a historic turn in its affairs and the decisions taken at this juncture could have far reaching repercussions domestically and internationally.” In the event, it seems he shied away at the last moment from explaining which of his decisions could have far reaching implications. The decision to hold elections on October 7 is hardly epoch shattering. He had already said countless times that the general elections would be held before October 8. The half-hearted admission that perhaps some supporters of the government were not above board in the referendum was neither here nor there, considering his insistence that everyone – all women, all workers, all chambers of commerce, all minorities – were for him. The real decision that will have far reaching consequences is the one he made some days ago and communicated secretly to the USA behind the scenes – that he will put a lid on the training camps in Azad Kashmir – while only indirectly alluding to it in his speech: there will be no export of terrorism and militancy and infiltration across the LoC from Pakistani soil. It is this decision that could prove critical not just from General Pervez Musharraf’s personal point of view but also from the point of view of the Pakistan army and the nation. Could he have said more to appease India? No, that would be have been suicidal from the point of view of his domestic constituencies. But was there a need to attack India’s human rights record so pointedly? Yes, there probably was, because it was necessary to cover his secret retreat in reality by sounding overly aggressive in public. There was also an urgent need to tell the international community that India should not be allowed to walk over everyone and that Pakistan expected a definite quid pro quo for its concession on infiltration across the LoC. He spelt this out as de-escalation along the border with Pakistan, reduction of Indian state terrorism in Kashmir and initiation of the process of dialogue with a view to finding a permanent solution to the issue of Kashmir.

To: Narotham Reddy who wrote (42743)	5/27/2002 7:09:20 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (7) \| Respond to of 50167

< Historic decisions have been taken by Pakistan war > Your querry..Has Mush. said anything today in his speech that supports any of your views ? At least I haven't heard. The info I have..'' The real decision that will have far reaching consequences is the one he made some days ago and communicated secretly to the USA behind the scenes – that he will put a lid on the training camps in Azad Kashmir – while only indirectly alluding to it in his speech: there will be no export of terrorism and militancy and infiltration across the LoC from Pakistani soil. It is this decision that could prove critical not just from General Pervez Musharraf’s personal point of view but also from the point of view of the Pakistan army and the nation.'' In my 23rd May report I had highlighted this part, please read..<President Mush has agreed to give ironclad guarantees to US (that US is demanding to request India to withdraw) for closing all camps in AK. He has categorically told insiders that Pakistan has to decide what it want a disaster or a liberal progressive Pakistan. The political and intelligentsia has given a green light to Mush to proceed this policy of closing all terrorist camps and stamping hard on terrorist activity.> He did announce that no export of terrorism from Pakistani soil, on surface it looks grim but if you read it hard you will come to know that General could not have put it better he cannot be seen reeling to command of India and he needs to pacify his constituency, India in next two days will decide whether they can trust these guarantees or not. I think that in case they feel the iron clad guarantees to be workable UN observers will oversee infiltration across the LOC and closing of camps.. That may help India to pacify its domestic lobby. It is well coded but it is workable, Jack Straw and Armitage will work something around it for Tashkent. bi and bi and best regards, hopefully we will see some results out of the present dialogue.