Author: Editorial
Publication: The Free Press Journal
Date: September 17, 2002
URL: http://www.samachar.com/features/170902-editorial.html
The arrest of some of the wanted
men in connection with September 11 attack on the US from a hide-out in
Karachi once again proves that Pakistan is the centre of international
terrorism. That the US agen-cies too took part in the shoot-out in Karachi
shows that the Bush administration does not place total trust in Musharraf's
words in these matters. If Musharraf thinks that the US would still believe
that cross- border terror-ism in Kashmir has been ended, he is naive and
desper-ate. His desperate revelation that no Pak ruler can survive if he
does the right thing of leaving Kashmir is what forces a frightened Musharraf
to mount all these terror attacks on the peace-loving people of Kashmir
and India. He has congratulated his Hurriyat minions who were forced to
boycott the elections after resorting to menac- ing postures. Now, Musharraf
has let loose hundreds of hired thugs to disrupt the election with threats,
explo-sions, murder, rape, loot and abduction.
The election scene in the districts
of Baramula, Kupwara and others from where 23 constituencies go to polls
today (Monday) is totally frightening. Pamphlets have been distributed
on Sunday night warning the peo-ple that they come out to vote at the risk
of their life.
Before booths opened, explosions
and murders have scared the people of these areas which are some of the
worst terrorist dens. Musharraf has to concede failure, if people come
out to vote in spite of ISI's resort to mur-derous violence. It is significant
that diplomats of 28 nations would get a chance to observe the activities
of Musharraf's ISI and his mercenary killers, disrupting the poll in an
Indian state. The objective is Musharraf's sur-vival as the self-appointed
president of Pakistan.
Musharraf is clever by half when
he congratulated his police for nabbing Ramzi Binalshibb who is considered
the 20th hijacker and close aide of the leader Mohammed Atta who led the
team of hijackers which attacked the World Trade Centre. International
Intelligence agencies believe that Ramzi Binalshibb and ten other Al Qaida
members have been living in Karachi from August last year, when Ramzi's
fourth attempt at obtaining a US visa failed. By the time German intelli-
gence got on his trail, he fled to Spain from where he found the safe hide-out
in Karachi. It is impossible that Pak ISI has not been privy to the presence
and activities of this terrorist group in mounting attacks in Kashmir.
Musharraf's pretension of ignorance about this large group of Al Qaida
terrorists in Karachi is as valid as when he stated without batting an
eyelid that Dawood Ibrahim and 19 other Indian terrorists are not in Pakistan.
In no time have the relations between
India and Pakistan been at a lower pitch than today. Vajpayee has exposed
the distortions and dissimulations of Musharraf. The elections in Kashmir
where a number of proxy can-didates (on behalf of People's Conference)
contest, would show who the real representatives of the people are; Musharraf
has lost a big chance in not letting the Hurriyat contest. Kashmir is fed
up with violence. With Musharraf too. Let the foreign diplomats see.
