By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
San Francisco, CA: Pakistani American organizations and community leaders have expressed surprise at the observations of former prime minister and PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto during her visit to India. In statements given to the Pakistan Link they showed their disapproval of Ms. Bhutto’s statement that described the Kashmiri militants as terrorists and called for bypassing the Kashmir issue to improve ties between India and Pakistan.
The Pakistani Americans stressed that Kashmir was the core issue and Benazir’s statement to bypass the issue would damage the Kashmir cause. “Neither the Kashmiris nor the people of Pakistan would ever accept such naïve proposals as putting Kashmir in the backyard while opening up borders and trade.” They also questioned the timing and the venue of the issuance of the statement by the PPP Chairperson. They took particular exception to her interview with the Greater Kashmir newspaper of Srinagar in which she said: “Let me be clear here that non-Kashmiris are not freedom fighters…. I also call non-Kashmiri militants as terrorists. …We oppose groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba which are trying to hijack the Kashmiri (freedom) movement.”
The Pakistani Americans were unanimous in their view that the PPP chairperson was fulfilling the wishes of Indian Home Minister, Advani, who said that he would invite Benazir and Alfat Hussain to visit India in order to put pressure on President Musharraf’s government.
Dr. Shabbir Safdar, Vice Chairman, American Muslim Alliance, observed: “She has virtually supported India’s position on Kashmir. She is ready to concede some parts of the Pakistani territory to India.” He added that this was nothing new for her; she had also given anti-Pakistani statements in the United States. Dr. Safdar said that we should condemn all Pakistanis who are working against our national interests outside Pakistan.
Dr. Riaz Ahmed, immediate past President Pakistani-American Congress, said political expediency by the Pakistani leaders should not compromise national interests and territorial integrity because it is greatly discouraging for the masses of Pakistan and does not serve the purpose of national unity. He added that in times of difficulty, as Pakistan is going through today, we need unity among the masses and any divisive statement could not be helpful at this time. As for President Musharraf’s summit talks with Vajpai in July, he said it was India that missed an opportunity for peace with Pakistan.
Dr. Riaz Ahmad said that he wanted a genuine democracy in Pakistan but the road to Islamabad does not come via New Delhi.
Dr. Arif Muslim, President Pak-Pac, said that the people who are fighting against the Indian repression and aggression are freedom fighters. “I do not expect any patriotic Pakistani to go to India and make such kind of statements. She is trying to grab power again. We have bitter experience of her two terms as Prime Minister,” he said.
About President Musharraf’s summit talks in Agra, Dr. Muslim said that during the summit, the President tried his level best to reach an agreement. He said India has nothing to do with restoring democracy in Pakistan. “When the time will come President Musharraf will restore democracy. The Supreme Court has given a mandate and schedule to the present government.”
Dr. Muslim believes that President Musharraf took a wise decision in supporting the US efforts against terrorism. It was in the national interest.
Mr. Naseem Sarwar, President Pakistan Culture Association, Chicago condemned the statement in which Benazir described the Kashmiri militants as terrorists. He described it as a very irresponsible statement. “Our basic fight with India is economic. India seeks trade ties without solving the Kashmir problem. Whether it is Benazir or any other person, it will not be acceptable for the people of Pakistan to abandon the Kashmir issue and have close economic relations with India. It is against our national interest,” he said.
Raja Abdul Razzak, President of Pakistan Business Association, Chicago, said relations with India cannot be normalized unless the Kashmir problem is resolved. He vehemently condemned Benazir Bhutto’s statement which he thought were against the interests of our country. “The objective of her statements apparently was to return to power with the help of any external power, including India. It looks that Benazir is willing even to sell Pakistan just to grab power. It is our misfortune that we have such type of leaders who should never be voted to power again.”
Mr. Nisar Chaudhry, President of Pakistan-American Congress, said he was surprised at the statements of Ms Benazir Bhutto. He disagreed with Benazir that President Musharraf missed an opportunity for peace with India when he visited New Delhi last July. Mr. Chaudhry said actually during his visit to India, Musharraf outsmarted India.
Ms. Samina Faheem, a Bay Area women’s leader, said Benazir has tried to undermine Pakistan’s stand that Kashmir is the core issue between Pakistan and India and all other issues are peripheral and complementary. She added that Benazir’s ambivalent stand on almost all issues of national interest stems from the political expediency she displayed in her two terms as Prime Minister. The PPP Chairperson has advocated not only open borders but also gone to the extent of proposing a Confederation of South Asian nations.
Ms. Faheem said that Benazir has become desperate and she was making statements just to please some important countries to win support. However, she added that twice Benazir was given a chance to bring a decent and responsible government but twice she failed and ended up in her self-imposed exile to avoid imprisonment on corruption charges.
Dr. Ashraf Toor of Indus Society of North America, said it is very unfortunate that a Pakistani leader went to a country that is not friendly to Pakistan and gave such statements. He added that Benazir brought a lot of shame to our nation. “She has not shown herself as a true Pakistani leader but learned the language of the Indian leadership by agreeing what is said against Pakistan. She has taken a stand that is just opposite to the position of Pakistan.” Dr. Toor, who is also the Chairman Advisory Board, Pakistan-American Congress, Chicago, stressed that Pakistan is not a small country and that it should not be subservient to Indian hegemony.
Dr. Toor said that Benazir is hoping that with the help of India, which now has close ties with the US, she will be acceptable to India and the US to return to power in Pakistan. She is a power monger and she was ready to go to Israel if it would help her in coming back to power. It may be recalled that Benazir, during her second tenure, planned to visit the Gaza Strip, but she was refused permission by the Israelis. Apparently, the objective of the proposed visit was to appease the pro-Israeli lobby.
Dr. Javed Khan, a well know pediatrician from New York, said that it is a tragedy for Pakistan that a leader who has been twice prime minister of Pakistan visits a hostile country and utters such statements. “Not only Pakistan, but the whole Muslim nations should get rid of such kind of personalities. She is seeking India’s support to return to power even at the cost of our national interests, which is very tragic,” he remarked.
Mr. Saleem Akhtar, Vice President, Pakistani-American Congress, believes that Benazir will be willing to do anything to return to power. “She is desperate for power. She might be thinking that the army is going to stay in power and sees no chance to return to power.” However, he added, the people of Pakistan have a bitter experience of her two tenures as Prime Minister. Mr. Akhtar said Benazir has parted with all moral values. “Her statement does not reflect the caliber of a woman who was two times Prime Minister of Pakistan. Her statement amounts to negation of the two-nation theory, particularly her proposal of a confederation is negation of the two-nation theory.”
He said there could not be any trade relations with India unless the issue of Kashmir is resolved. The resolution of the Kashmir conflict would be good for the whole of South Asia as it would help in ending the arms race too.
Mr. Manzar Durrani, a community leader of Southern California, described Benazir as a spent force. “She is provocative to seek attention from the Pakistani public. Unfortunately our public is illiterate and does not know her activities. However, in the educated people she is a spent force.” He added that it will be a tragedy for Pakistan if people re-elect Benazir and Nawaz Sharif.
Prof. Syed Aurangzeb, Public Policy at North Michigan University, denounced Benazir’s statement that non-Kashmiri militants are terrorists. He added that Indian army fighting the Kashmiri militants is not a Kashmiri army but has soldiers from Kerala, Orissa, Madras and other states. Kashmiris are the victims of Indian aggression and oppression. This is humanitarian issue.
Prof. Aurangzeb said it is pathetic that she went to India and gave such statements. “An American leader would never go to Russia and make a statement against his country. Nobody from India will come to Pakistan and say anything against India.” In his opinion, Benazir went to India to get money.
He lamented that Benazir backed India’s policies in Kashmir: “We should have dissent. However, if an intellectual goes and makes such statement, it is different but when a political leader makes such statements it has a different meaning.” Prof. Aurangzeb went on to say that it is absurd to say that Indian Prime Minister Vajpai should ask the US to put pressure on General Musharraf to restore democracy. “She should not have sought the US on Indian pressure but the pressure of Pakistani public. It is the people of Pakistan who should restore democracy.”
On Musharraf’s summit talks in Agra, he said that it was India that blew up the agreement. “Unless the Kashmir problem is resolved there can be no normalization of relations between the two countries. There should be a referendum in Kashmir, as demanded by the UN resolutions, to know if the people of Kashmir want to join Pakistan, India or seek independence,” he concluded.
Dr. Bashir Hussain, Professor of Economics, University of Madison, Bshkof, believes that Benazir is apparently trying to exploit the current international situation. “She is playing in the hands of India but she did not get anything and her statements are counterproductive which will affect her party.” He wondered how her political advisors are gauging the situation since these statements would only complicate the situation for her.
Prof. Bashir said it is absurd to say that non-Kashmiri fighters are terrorists. “All national movements, including Spanish, the American, and Algerian freedom movement, had people from abroad. One has to distinguish between a resistance movement and terrorists.”
On Benazir’s statement that India should help in restoring democracy in Pakistan, Prof. Hussain said, I do not believe that India will have leverage on Pakistan to restore democracy. Prof. Hussain said during his talks with the Indian leaders General Musharraf had really expressed himself well and tried to seek a positive outcome. Benazir’s statement about the summit talks is surprising. Even the Indian press had reported that Musharraf acted and expressed himself well.
Dr. Mohammad Hafeez Javaid of Pakistan American Congress and Pakistan American League, said Benazir is desperately trying to find a way to come back to power. “We have a bitter experience of her two terms in office as prime minister, and she wants a third term to further loot the country” he said.
“Probably she did not get any encouragement from the United States and now she went to India to seek support. She may go to any other place from where she can get assurance to come back to power,” Dr. Javaid observed. He went on to say that unfortunately Benazir is not the only person to damage our national interest. “Others have also done so who got the opportunity. It is a miracle that our country is in existence otherwise many amongst us question the very creation of Pakistan. But we should not forget that Pakistan was established after great sacrifices and our biggest objective should be to safeguard our national interest.”