Vivek Katju
Ex-secretary, Ministry of Exterior Affairs
Moeed Yusuf, particular assistant to the Pakistan PM ‘on nationwide safety division and strategic coverage planning’, gave a protracted interview to a well known Indian TV persona final week. Yusuf, a tutorial with a background, inter alia, in India-Pakistan research, has been in his job since December final 12 months. Earlier, he had a protracted stint with the US Institute of Peace, a US Congress funded think-tank in Washington DC.
Yusuf had sought an Indian media platform since a while to say his institution’s propagandist views to an Indian viewers. His provide was ignored until he was interviewed just lately. He used the interview to hawk the themes in a extremely offensive method that Pakistan has been pursuing in opposition to India, particularly for the reason that constitutional modifications in J&Okay in 2019. These themes are: the illegitimacy of the constitutional modifications, allegations of India supporting Pakistani Taliban and Balochi nationalist teams that Pakistan claims have undertaken terrorist acts on its territory, the character of the Sangh Parivar’s ideology, which it claims is casting a malign shadow on the area, and Pakistan’s adherence to the Worldwide Court docket of Justice’s ruling within the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.
After spouting venom in opposition to India on all these points, Yusuf claimed that Pakistan had obtained Indian messages expressing a need to have a dialog between the 2 international locations. As he put it ‘…up to now 12 months, we’ve bought the messages a few need of (sic) dialog….’ He mentioned Pakistan wish to first verify ‘whether or not there’s intent to speak to get someplace’. He expressed the apprehension that India solely wished to speak to indicate the world that the whole lot is ‘settled’ between India-Pakistan. As well as, he laid down the situation that talks would solely happen if Kashmiris had been a celebration to them. The Ministry of Exterior Affairs did nicely to set the file straight by categorically denying that messages for talks had been despatched to Pakistan.
Yusuf is being lauded in Pakistan for succeeding in strongly conveying ‘house truths’, and at substantial size to India, and that too on an Indian programme. Whereas this will likely give the Pakistani institution some satisfaction, will it reach successfully pushing ahead globally the Pakistani line on India? That is uncertain, not solely as a result of the information are at odds with Pakistani assertions, but in addition as a result of Pakistan lacks credibility on points regarding terrorism, social concord and democratic values and on J&Okay-related points as nicely. This additionally applies to the follow-up on the Jadhav matter within the ICJ.
Pakistan has, for lengthy, emphasised that India is concerned in sponsoring terrorism on its soil by way of disaffected Pathans and Balochis. It needs to take action to dilute the worldwide deal with Pakistani terror in its neighbourhood. The whole function of the Jadhav abduction and placing him on show was to persuade world opinion that India was endeavor terrorist acts in opposition to Pakistan, but it surely has merely made no headway on this propaganda train. Now, one other try has begun with direct allegations that Yusuf made within the interview, together with the cost that Indian representatives had been in contact with the mastermind of the horrific Military Public College terrorist assault in 2014. This explicit reference is an try to shift consideration from the Mumbai assault and Pakistan’s persevering with sponsorship of terrorism by way of tanzeems just like the LeT and JeM which are based mostly on its soil.
Pakistan’s persevering with anguish is that apart from China, all main international locations haven’t been bothered by the J&Okay constitutional modifications, and apart from Turkey and Malaysia, no vital Islamic nation has spoken in opposition to it. The Arab peninsular states have ignored Pakistan’s need for a gathering of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation assembly on the international minister degree on Kashmir. The executive steps that had been taken in J&Okay after August 5, 2019, attracted hostile consideration, however now that too has muted. It’s unlikely that any nation will take note of the wild assertion that the Kashmir scenario is imploding. The Pakistani institution has succeeded solely in instilling this perception in its nation’s public for its personal institutional pursuits and to divert consideration from the sharpening of the home political scenario.
Pakistan’s declare that it has fulfilled ICJ’s order to make sure that consular entry is given to India to fulfill Jadhav is solely mistaken. The conferences of consular officers and their nationals in a international state’s custody can’t be monitored by officers of the international state. If they’re, the aim of giving a chance to the nationwide to have the ability to discuss to his authorities’s representatives freely and in confidence is misplaced. The Jadhav case is earlier than the Islamabad Excessive Court docket, however its judges too haven’t ordered such entry, regardless of all their makes an attempt to indicate that they’re appearing impartially. It’s unimaginable to consider that any Pakistani courtroom can present the braveness to do justice within the Jadhav case; definitely, the Pakistani judiciary’s observe file is basically one in all bending earlier than its nation’s institution.
Pakistan is taking consolation within the unhappiness in some liberal world circles on the social and cultural path of the Modi authorities. It clearly needs to align the liberals’ criticism to its personal stands on the J&Okay subject, and likewise on terrorism. What Pakistan is overlooking is that there’s, to place it mildly, scepticism about its inside and exterior coverage decisions. This will likely be enhanced by it giving a clear chit to China on that nation’s remedy of Uighur Muslims.
So long as Pakistan doesn’t change course basically, it has no actual future. The Yusuf interview is a affirmation that the Pakistani institution is fascinated by theatre, not standard welfare or in normalising relations with India, regardless of his repeated claims that it seeks peace with India.
