Arundahti Roys "Seditious" speech on Kashmir!

[pak-one]

Re: Arundahti Roys “Seditious” speech on Kashmir!

@ZulfiOKC

I wouldn’t call Pakistan’s Kashmir policy to be foolish or suicidal(you didn’t use the word), though it wouldn’t be unreasonable to modify it to suit the post 9-11 world and I believe former President Musharraf was headed in that direction while he was in the office. There is no denying that our armed forces can be trained/equipped better; There is also no denying that unresolved Kashmir does create a lot of friction b/w the two South Asian giants and is a main reason for terrorism/militancy in India/IOK. There is also no denying, that if Kashmir dispute was resolved that Pakistanis wouldn’t be needing to spend billions of dollars each year in defence and instead that money can be speny to uplift the suffering people. I’m well aware of the problems our country faces. My only contention is to not throw away Kashmir for pennies. I’m a strong believer that we need to get our house in order and make our economy vibrant(easier said than done, I understand). Till we make our economy vibrant/attractive; IMHO, it would be unwise to touch Kashmir dispute. We need to start with smaller issues like Sir creek, Siachen, water, Jinnah house in Mumbai etc. And I believe that prior to terrorists attacks in Mumbai, we were going in the right direction. But the problem arose, when the Indian government decided to not engage in diplomacy with Pakistan in the aftermath of the terrorists attack and I think that was not a wise decision on the part of the Indian government and was solely done to appease the Indian masses and look tough. Getting back to Kashmir(IOK), I still believe that we can make the Kashmiris opt for us(if there is ever a plebisite held) ONLY if our economy is vibrant. I dont see China giving up claims over Taiwan(maintaining the status quo), though they do business as usual.

Here, I am going to write as a Pakistani.

IF you agree with most of what I said, I am not sure how you can make our economy vibrant and “convince” Kashmiris to join Pakistan?

• Our economy cannot be vibrant until military spending is reallocated and these terrorist attacks both within Pakistan and in India stop.
  We desperately need FDI and for our government to invest in Pakistan’s faltering infrastructure. Our youngsters need jobs. Our capitalists need to be plugged into the global economy.

• There is no way that “smaller” issues such Sir Creek, Siachin, and Jinnah House can be solved with India, until we resove the black cloud (Kashmir) that is hanging over our heads. All roads lead to Kashmir. Having bitten the bullet and BOTH sides accepted defeat, these smaller issues would be solved in a much more amicable manner.

• “Throw away Kashmir for Pennies” I think that your quote is indicative of the mindset of many Pakistanis (not criticizing it, just stating the fact). The problem of using Kashmir as a bargaining chip has forced us to engage Afghanistan to ensure strategic depth, it has compelled us to support unsavory Islamist and terrorist outfits - these actions have tarnished our reputation in the whole world as terrorist sympathizes and damaged our credibility in any diplomatic negotiations.

• This brings up the terror attacks in Mumbai. How could you not expect India to suspend the diplomatic talks. Let’s be honest here: We’re lucky that there wasn’t a full scale war. We can not expect India to sincerely engage us in consequential talks on Sir Creek, Siachin or elsewhere - when they still face the threat of Pakistan based terrorism.

A bold move needs to be made. Lets step aside from the plebiscite demand and engage India in track II diplomacy to cede Kashmir and make it a fully independent, demilitarized zone. Let’s make this matter a game changer for our relations with India.

I want Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan - a vibrant, and economically powerful, Muslim country which is the beacon of hope for the Ummah.