Author: Vivek Gumaste
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 22, 2007
Face to face contact between hostile neighbours
is a laudable way to attain peace. But the nature of such interaction and
its consequences must be carefully weighed before embarking on any such venture.
Foolhardiness cannot be confused with amity; one must guard against gullibility.
The Government's decision to set up a joint anti-terrorism task force with
Pakistan is a case of reckless abandon with no concern for India's security.
In response to the first meeting of the joint task force in Islamabad on March
6, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard
Boucher remarked: "I think the signs are quite positive, and certainly
the US has been very encouraged." While the US may welcome this step,
India needs to be wary as the ground reality is different. Despite President
Pervez Musharraf's sanctimonious protestations, the Pakistani establishment
continues to be inextricably intertwined with terrorism with no signs of its
abatement. Pakistan sees this joint anti-terror agreement as a useful subterfuge
to carry out its activities unhindered while assuaging the US and the world
community in the process. India's willingness to be a part of Pakistan's devious
design cannot but be deemed as naiveté. Far from gaining any advantage,
this move has already proved to be counter-productive for India. First, Pakistan's
attempt to keep the violence in Jammu & Kashmir beyond the purview of
this committee makes no sense and defeats the very purpose of this agreement.
The major part of terrorism in India is directly linked to the Kashmir imbroglio.
Through this agreement, Pakistan hopes to confer a degree of respectability
on terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir while pursuing its nefarious goal. The
pact is a double-whammy. Apart from tying India's hand on terrorism in Jammu
& Kashmir, the committee is being used as a platform by Pakistan to blame
India for its own internal Baluchistan problem - another ruse to put India
on the defensive.
Leader of the Opposition LK Advani has likened
the agreement to a "joint probe into the September 11, 2001 terror strikes
in the US by America and Al Qaeda". In a recent letter to the Prime Minister,
he said, "At a time when Pakistan was being regarded as the 'crucible
of terrorism', your concept of a joint mechanism is rendered aberrant and
beyond comprehension". He is right, for the agreement should be promptly
scrapped.
