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Ceasefire violations – Gillani back to old Pak game |
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Harjit Singh
The May 13 Jaipur serial bomb blasts which killed over 60 people close on the heels of an infiltration bid foiled by the BSF on the Line of Control (LoC) when the Pakistani Rangers were giving them firing cover, the Samba hostage taking by militants, the two violations of the ceasefire by Pakistani forces – all point to negation of hopes entertained by New Delhi that the installation of a new civilian administration after National Assembly elections in Pakistan will see the new rulers rolling back the jihadi forces and giving the peace process a new chance to succeed. The PPP chief, Asif Ali Zardari, who himself lost his wife, Benazir Bhutto, a respected leader of the PPP, in a suicide bomb attack should have realized the mistake of the previous governments in Pakistan to rely on terrorism to make India offer concessions on the Kashmir issue. In the first spurt of enthusiasm Zardari did say that his party would not like the Kashmir dispute to become hostage to improvement of economic and political ties with India and that he would like the next generation to try to resolve it in a better climate of friendly relations between the two countries. But, in an interview in the same programme, “Devil’s Advocate”, by Karan Thapur for CNN-IBN, the Pakistan Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gillani, was found to be using the old terminology – Kashmir is the core issue, it should be resolved as per UN resolutions and the “aspirations” of the people of Kashmir should be taken into account. He did not give full-throated support to Zardari’s idea of keeping aside the Kashmir issue for the sake of better relations with India.
Gillani should not have used the harsh language when the External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, is due to visit Islamabad on May 21 to revive the Composite Dialogue process. Gillani’s statement, the breach of the ceasefire agreement and the fresh infiltration bids have vitiated the atmosphere for a good and positive dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Since 2001-2002, New Delhi had been counting on President Musharraf to rein in jehadi groups operating from Pakistan’s soil. The military dictator’s campaign against terrorism proved fitful, but there is little doubt that at least some pressure was brought to bear on the jehadis. Last year, however, jehadis exploited his waning authority to escalate the tempo and intensity of attacks in India and Pakistan. Now, the new order in Pakistan has moved to heal the ruptured relationship between its Army and its long-standing Islamist allies. Pakistan has released Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar from house arrest, lifted restraints on the Lashkar-e-Taiba moved towards cementing a ceasefire with Taliban elements in its north-west and agreed to the imposition of Sharia law in the troubled Malakand region. In consequence, jehadi groups are likely to have more freedom than in the recent past. Masood Azhar was released from house arrest and paraded through Bahawalpur with armed supporters. Funding for the Hizb-ul Mujahideen has been stepped up and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, proscribed in 2002, has announced that it will seek legal redress. In the northwest, Pakistan has moved to seek accommodation with the Taliban, initiating a ceasefire with Baitullah Mehsud’s Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Maulana Sufi Mohammad, founder of the Al-Qaeda linked Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, has also been released from jail. Forty militants of the Pakistan Taliban outfit have been freed to obtain the release of Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan who was kidnapped three months ago.
Though Zardari is close to the US and is beholden to President Bush for pressuring Musharraf to allow Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan and participate in elections, PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif is a hardliner. He is anti-US and is of the view the major problem of instability and militancy in the restive Waziristan area of Pakistan is because of Musharraf playing the role of a US puppet in Bush’s war on terrorism. Though Nawaz Sharif has temporarily parted company with the PPP-led Government, his influence in decision-making cannot be undermined given that the Gillani Government is still depending on his party’s support to survive. That is also the reason why Zardari has asked Prime Minister Gillani not to accept the resignations of nine Ministers belonging to the PML[N] who were told to quit the Government after the failure of their two days of talks in London on the issue of reinstatement of the deposed judges.
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