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President Zardari's remark about Kashmir militants being terrorists continues to invite irrelevant response.
The Hurriyat leaders boycotted the PM’s visit to Srinagar last week claiming that they were conducting a just struggle for azadi. This scribe favours the right to azadi, given some preconditions. But why don’t the Hurriyat leaders ever condemn terrorists when they target innocents in the Valley?
One need not speculate on the personal wealth, their properties, or the sources of income of some Hurriyat leaders. What they fail to recognise is that easy access to weapons of mass destruction has created a new global paradigm. It demands zero tolerance towards terrorism. Gandhian non-violence is no more a utopian ideal. It is a survival imperative. Gandhi was asked: "What is more important, means or ends?" Gandhi replied: "Means are the end." Political goals change with the times. The means to achieve them must remain constant—peaceful, democratic and through rational dialogue.
Pakistan needs to recognise this. It faces the greatest danger. Pakistan’s view of the Kashmir issue leads Pakistanis to condone terrorism in Kashmir. How would they react to a contrary view of the terrorist violence in Peshawar and Islamabad? Would Pakistanis describe these terrorists as freedom fighters for Balochistan and NWFP? For one full year during Jinnah’s reign Balochistan remained independent. For over 150 years, the tribals of NWFP have ruled themselves. What solutions do Pakistanis have for them?
Fortunately, sane voices in the Pakistani media have started to murmur the right things. For instance, Pakistani editor Najam Sethi has asserted that Taliban Pashtuns deserve a just peace proposal to facilitate their separation from Al Qaeda. Sethi has also recognised the imperative of a regional settlement involving India, Pakistan and Afghanistan for defusing the NWFP and Kashmir crises without altering international boundaries. He has endorsed increased trade, mutual trust and the need for a "paradigm shift" in Indo-Pakistan relations. Except for the late Benazir Bhutto, nobody has yet talked of a South Asian confederation. Don’t worry. Soon they may come to that. If not, they will have to pay a heavy price.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)