[MENTION=139075]Hadi Rizvi[/MENTION]
Firstly, questioning what other countries do will not help Pakistan. We need to look at what "we" are doing because it has caused a lot of damage for us and our people. No country has suffered more from Pakistan's foreign policy than the people of Pakistan.
Our decision to go to bed with the U.S. against the Soviets and train mujahideens paved the way for a wave of terrorism in Pakistan that we are yet to recover from. We created a monster that soon spiralled out of control. Our military/ISI are not fools - they were well aware of the fact that creating Taliban will destabilise the region forever, but this chaos and instability is exactly what they want in order to control the country.
The military is the most powerful entity in the country only when there is conflict. If Pakistan would have had cordial relations with its neighbours and would have refused to be involved in the U.S. game in the Soviet-Afghan War, or would have refused to be sucked into the WoT, there would be no terrorism in Pakistan, no instability and hardly anyone in the country would know who the COAS is and how he looks like.
He would not be standing next to Imran Khan to welcome the Saudi Prince. Why wasn't the Indian COAS present to welcome the Saudi Prince? Why wasn't he standing next to Modi? The military elite live like kings in Pakistan with zero accountability. They are exploiting the instability of Pakistan which they created in the first place.
Pakistan's narrative lost its legs when Osama was found half a mile away from PMA Abbottabad. On what grounds do we still claim that we are fighting against terrorism? No one has to buy anything we say after the Osama episode, and we don't even have to get to Hafiz Saeed and the various other terrorists and extremist entities that we have been protecting.
The problem for Pakistan with respect to Osama is that it cannot come up with any justification or excuse. It cannot admit that they had knowledge of his whereabouts, simply because it would confirm the accusations that are charged against us.
However, on the other hand, if we admit that we were not aware of his whereabouts, it will expose how weak and incompetent our military and intelligence is. The most renowned terrorist in the world and the most wanted man in the world was residing with his family right next to a Pakistan Military Base and we had no clue.
It simply shows that we are all talk and hot air, but when it comes to taking action and doing something decisive, we are a busted tyre. How do you expect India and other countries to take our threats and big talk seriously when this is our reality?
As far as Kashmir is concerned, look, this whole "enemy of your enemy is our friend" means nothing in the real world. Every country has to look after its own interests, which means that enemy of your enemy can also be your enemy, and friend of your enemy can also be your friend. Above all, you have to look what is in it for you.
When it comes to our involvement in Kashmir, the only party that benefits is our Army. Without Kashmir, there will be little hostility between Pakistan and India, and plenty of room to develop trade ties. In Oct 1947, we gift-wrapped J&K to India when we supported our northern tribals in their attempt to conquer Kashmir by force.
Once Hari Singh sought India's help to thwart Pakistan and ceded control of the state to India, we should have realized that our business in Kashmir is over. That was the time to realise that by funding militants in J&K, we are not going to be able to take control of the region and align it with AJK. As a result, we have left India with little choice but to hit back and attempt to destabilise Pakistan.
The Kashmir problem has hurt Pakistan a lot more than it has hurt India, but the biggest losers are the people of J&K who have been played by Pakistan. We could not care less about the human right violations or the freedom of the Kashmiris; our presence in Kashmir is entirely down to our greed and ego.
Should a day come where Pakistan could benefit from oppressing the Kashmiris, our military will not think twice. They are perfectly capable of doing to the Kashmiris was they did to the Bengalis - we are guilty of committing some of the worst war crimes in history of the Subcontinent, so we are in no position whatsoever to play the "humanitarian" card.
The Kashmiris should not think for one moment that we are fighting in Kashmir for them or that they have our support. Our involvement in Kashmir is simply a ploy to maintain balance of power.
However, there is always room for redemption. History is not constant and there can always be change. If Pakistan and India have been at war for 72 years, they can also be at peace for 300 years. For that to happen, our military needs to have a change of heart and needs to put the country above their lust for power.
After 72 years, it is time for us to realise that we need to change our ways. If Kashmir could have been liberated from Indian shackles with our tactics, we would have succeed by now. The time has come for us to respect the first point of the UN Resolution and withdraw our forces.
Once the guns, suicide jackets, grenades and stones are off the table, there can be some progress. However, if the status quo is maintained, nothing will change in the next 100 years. Pakistan and Kashmir need to give up their delusions of forcing India on the back-foot through aggression.
When it comes to India, they need to start by acknowledging that the Uri and Pulwama attacks are ultimately a failure of their intelligence and security. Regardless of the extent of Pakistan's involvement, they should have been able to stop these attacks in their tracks. The opposition is highlighting their security failures, but you cannot expect BJP to shed light on this with the elections looming.
)
