Distortionists and Distorians Shouldn't be Allowed to Dictate Indo-Pak Diplomacy
Distortions and disinformation are the spicy ingredients, which
define Indian diplomacy today. In the past, ideological conviction
anointed with commercial interests would dictate the direction of
diplomatic engagement. But now the two Ds of diplomacy—Distortionists
and Distorians (DDs), sorry, I mean historians—have taken upon
themselves to influence the Indo-Pak dialogue process. Last week, the
DDs were conspicuous by their presence in the media, pleading for a
resumption of the dialogue. Their prattling portfolio of Pak promotion
was incorrect and incomplete news with a fabricated fantasia of history.
The Pathankot airbase attack was a reason strong enough to give a
temporary pause, if not abandon, the proposed foreign secretary-level
talks. But the dialogue supari mafia was choreographing an act to give
fresh impetus to the restoration of jaw-jaw. The action started in
Pakistan with Geo TV flashing the detention of Masood Azhar and his
colleagues. On cue, the DDs activated the Indian media to carry the
footage prominently. For the next six hours, almost all Indian channels
harpooned pro-dialogue peaceniks to build a case against the
cancellation of talks. Even NaMo baiters joined the chorus to convince
the PM that his Lahore mission had paid dividends and its benefits
shouldn’t be diluted by the Pathankot incident. None of them bothered to
check the facts from either Indian intelligence sources or their own
Pak contacts. Only the external affairs ministry officials and National
Security Agency were sceptical about the news of Azhar’s arrest. Even
Pakistani agencies weren’t as confident as the Indian media about the
“protective detention” of the most-wanted terrorist. Normally potential
troublemakers are taken under preventive and not ‘protective’ custody.
Sadly, 24 hours later, the phantasmagoria of falsehood, distortions and
disinformation was exposed when the Pak Foreign Office stated that Azhar
has not been arrested. As a natural reaction, India decided to postpone
any further engagement with its nefarious neighbour until the nature of
the action Pakistan had taken against the Pathankot perpetrators
emerges from the fog of diplomatic smoke and mirrors.
Usually, it
is the enraged Indian media that puts Pakistan on the mat over any
terror attack, blasting the blubberers from the Pak establishment by
questioning their ineffective insolence. The new game, however, that
ensued last week showed the extent of Pak psychological penetration of
the Indian media and its pet parakeets. For the first time, an attempt
was made to influence the diplomatic narrative by planting incorrect
stories on a gullible media, self-proclaimed opinion-makers and know-all
experts on Indo-Pak relations. Undoubtedly, PM Modi has walked that
extra mile to ensure peaceful co-existence between Pakistan and India.
His overtures though have met with the same terror-torque contempt as
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s had, when he was PM. Then, India’s Pak policy was
discussed around national interest and ideological justifications.
Today, however, there is no shortage of professional prisoners of
conviction lobbying for the continuation of dialogue irrespective of the
number of terror attacks and Indian casualties. Many accept luxurious
hospitality and junkets from across the border and then organise
seminars and symposiums in India to promote Pakistan as a victim of
terror, and terrorists as misguided mercenaries whose hearts bled
copiously after the demolition of Babri Masjid and the 2002 Gujarat
riots. The 2-Ds conveniently forget that the riots were also an
unacceptable reaction to the burning of a train in which over 50
innocent pilgrims were reduced to cinders. As Modiplomacy takes some
concrete shape, the PM will have to battle half-truths, blatant lies and
distorted historical catechisms about India’s foreign relations,
including J&K.
Another diabolical design to shift the focus
from the dismantling of terror camps is to confine the discourse to
revolve around Azhar. Distorians are claiming that he turned to
terrorism only after Babri Masjid fell. Some Distortionists even claim
that he visited Faizabad before his arrest in Srinagar two months later.
But web search doesn’t throw up a single reference to any Uttar Pradesh
visit. Reports in the US and other Western media and think-tank
websites reveal Azhar was fighting the US forces in Somalia and
elsewhere at that time. Born in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, in 1968 as the
third of 11 children of Allah Bakhsh Shabbir, a headmaster at a
government-run school, Azhar studied at the Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia in
Banuri town, Karachi. It was during his stay here that he joined
Harkat-ul-Ansar and participated in the Soviet-Afghan War.
According
to various reports, he later became the general secretary of
Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia,
the UK and Albania. Reports say he came to India in early 1994 in the
guise of a journalist travelling on a Portuguese passport. This visit
had nothing to do with Babri Masjid as his only mission was to “liberate
Kashmir”. His objective was to strengthen Harkat-ul-Ansar by sorting
out tensions between its two feuding factions, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Indian intelligence agencies have enough
evidence about his ISI connections. Pak state actors adopted Azhar soon
after his release by India in 1999. Not only was he allowed to float
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) but also to roam around Pakistan and spew venom
against India. Contrary to propaganda by Distorians and Distortionists,
Azhar rarely mentioned Babri Masjid in his inflammatory speeches. He has
always promoted jihad in Kashmir. Despite the US declaring JeM a
terrorist organisation, Pakistan has taken little action against Azhar
or his organisation. Since he is the most effective monster of mayhem in
India and Afghanistan only, neither Pakistan nor the US bother to
ensure his annihilation. Even after the 2001 Parliament attacks, he was
detained for a year, but was soon travelling on the terror trail. Yet
the 2-Ds treat him as a 3D aberration and are struggling to restore
Pakistan’s credibility and prevent its international isolation.
Azhar
is not the only blood and gore-covered irritant in the resolution of
Indo-Pak disputes. He is the symbol of everything that is wrong with
Pakistan’s DNA. Even after three wars and over 100 rounds of talks and
summits, the situation on the ground hasn’t moved an inch. Yet, Indo-Pak
diplomacy has always been influenced by glamorous adventurism. The past
14 Indian PMs have fallen into the trap of treating Pak as a
respectable neighbour and not as a terrifying threat. Pressure is being
mounted through distortions and disinformation on Modi, the 15th PM. He
would, however, be well advised to deviate from the beaten path and
chart his own course in history.
prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com; Follow me on Twitter @PrabhuChawla
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