Airspace Management – Explosion of Terrorism

By Muhamamd Saleem

Airspace Management over the territorial boundaries is a sovereign right of each state. Effective airspace management entails, a failsafe surveillance system across the entire length and breadth of the country to monitor the flights originating, arriving and transiting through its skies. To regulate these flights, a command and control system is indispensable to identify the flight details, de-conflict the routes and warn the violators for consequences. In case, pilot of an aircraft enters the airspace management, then the fighter aircraft are diverted to enforce sanity.

Afghan Airspace connects Far East, Middle East and Central Asia. Being a war ravaged country; it does not have native airspace management system.  Therefore, USA is managing its airspace since 20041. Now USA is panning to stop managing Afghan airspace after expiry of the  contract by the end of June, 2015, other than the flights operating to and from Afghanistan, its airspace can earn about $40 Million annually from air traffic that crosses Afghanistan above 29,000 feet. So far, Afghan  aviation authority does not have a capacity to take over tis function. Apparently, international community is also not interested in further engagement and building the airspace management capacity of Afghanistan. Afghanistan minster of transport, told Wall Street Journal that its Aviation Authority lacked qualified air traffic controller, Therefore, afghan aviation authority has to rely on external assistance.

To endure the airspace management operations USA requires $25 million for next six months. To settle the issue, Japanese Govt has conveyed her willing to fund the “bridging contract” until the end of 2015. Concurrently, Afghan government is in the process of reviewing bids for the contract. The contract may cost about $200 million for a period of five years. Reportedly few of the countries including India are bidding for the contract. Afghan Finance Minster   said “we expect to conclude with one that offers the most competitive price compared to similar contract regionally”. Probably, he was hinting towards Airport Authority of India (AAI) , which has expressed willingness  to mange Afghanistan’s air space.

Afghanistan is an important air corridor on the Europe-Asia route that is crossed by almost 300 aircraft daily. India’s commitment to support terrorist has been amply assured by its leadership. Mr Modi’s hostile rhetoric for its neighbors, Mr Ajit Dovel’s public statement to once again dismember Pakistan through terrorists and recent interview of Mr. Parrikar, defense minister of India to “form terrorist group “ is a case in point. Imagine, the plight of regional and intra-regional countries, if India is assigned the contract of managing the airspace of Afghanistan. The implications would be complex, serious and far-reaching. It could promote human trafficking, drug trafficking for financing terrorist group, air drop of weapons to sustain their maneuvers and influx of terrorists across to various counties. Consequently, India will export terrorism in Europe     and blame Muslim Community. It would be dangerous for world peace and neighboring countries. It warrants immediate attention of all the regional and international community to bear the cost of airspace management to Afghanistan. Additionally, resources should be pooled to build the capacity of capability of Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority to assume the task of Airspace management. Given a chance, people of Afghanistan can attain this capability within a year timeframe.  

Afghan Confabs: A Coming Home of the Natives!

Aasef Chauhdry

The scenario in the Subcontinent has taken an abrupt turn and it has happened within a month. While Pakistan’s ISI is working ceaselessly to forge peace in the region like arranging talks between Kabul and Afghan Taliban on the direction of Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, India’s RAW is engaged in full-time sabotage activities and of late it has also started pressuring UK authorities for not sharing terrorists’ financing trail with Pakistan. It is just like sparing no opportunity to create hindrance and hurdles on one pretext or the other with the ultimate objective of destabilising the region so as to sabotage the peace process that has materialized.  The holding of these talks was an uphill task to get done, especially with the background of infighting in Afghanistan that was deep-rooted and every sane person realised that bringing the alienated factions on the table was not an easy task at all; however, with the hard work done by ISI under COAS’ directives, it was finally made doable. It came as big nudge to India and its supporters that all the prominent factions of Afghan Taliban took part in the talks.

It is hard for India to digest this new development especially the joint working of US, China and Pakistan to facilitate this peace process that will also go a long way in bringing about stability inside both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The fact is that both US and China realise this reality well that stability of Pakistan as well as Afghanistan is necessary to bring peace in the region. Till the convening of these talks, vested interests inside the Indian camp and that of its cohorts have been building up the impression that some groups of Afghan Taliban e.g. Haqqani Group will not take part in the talks. This propaganda turned out to be altogether false and forged.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s military, long accused of harboring insurgents who fight its cause in Afghanistan and beyond, proved by brokering landmark Taliban peace talks last week that it is serious about tackling Islamist militancy in the region. The heads of the army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency were personally involved in bringing about talks between the Afghan Taliban and Kabul government on July 8 near Islamabad.

The negotiations were a tentative first step toward ending war in neighboring Afghanistan that kills thousands of people each year, as government forces fight Taliban insurgents whose hardliner Islamist regime was toppled in 2001. The analysts are convinced that the Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif in particular has made Afghanistan’s peace process a “top foreign policy goal”.  For him, convincing Afghans to end the war is just as imperative as fighting anti-Pakistani militants”.

China, a key regional ally and investor, has also played a much needed role in Pakistan’s intervention, as Beijing believes that the militants from its restive Xinjiang region receive training in lawless areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Moreover, changes in leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan also helped pave the way for these talks. In Pakistan, doubtlessly, all credit goes to General Sharif who became army chief in 2013 and brought in Rizwan Akhtar to take over the ISI next year. While in Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani took office last September and ever since then he has made improving relations with Pakistan, in contrast to his predecessor Hamid Karzai.

The meeting of July 7 in the Pakistani hill resort Murree was the first direct interaction between the Afghan government and the Taliban in 14 years. Chinese and American officials also attended as “observers.” While the first round of talk turned to be quite fruitful there are different reports regarding venue of next round of dialogues between Afghan Taliban and Afghan government. As it is feared that the Indians will not spare any moment to spoil the peace efforts sincerely being made by Pakistan (to be more accurate if we say by the Pakistan Army and the ISI), the venue is not confirmed yet. However, the sources claim that the next round of dialogues between Afghan Taliban and Afghan government could be held in Islamabad. Pakistan hosted the meeting in a cautious step towards ending more than 13 years of war in neighbouring Afghanistan, where the Taliban have been trying to re-establish their regime, which was toppled by a US-led military invasion in 2001.

The delegates met from around 10 pm on July 7, after aftar, to 4am on July 8. The atmosphere at the meeting was “positive” and “warm” and it ended with the sides sharing Sehr. When they sat down for the Sehr meal, it was as if they were celebrating Eid. There was a sense of celebration. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has reached out to Islamabad since taking office last year, and Pakistan has pledged to pressure Taliban leaders, many of whom are believed to be hiding in the country, to come to the negotiating table.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the United States welcomed the talks, calling them “an important step toward advancing prospects for a credible peace”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China backed the process and was in touch with all sides.

A senior Pakistani official has said that the country will host the second round of talks between the Afghan Government and Taliban on July 31. The official rejected reports that the talks could be held in China or Qatar, confirming that the talks will be held in Pakistan. It is strongly believed that some progress is expected in the second round of talks between the Afghan Government and Taliban.

Some Western diplomats say Islamabad now seems serious about promoting Afghan stability. According to them this was the most genuine push they saw from Pakistan. Pakistani author Ahmed Rashid sees “an institutional change” at the top of the Pakistan military favoring ending Afghanistan’s war. As for India, Delhi felt it had been sidelined from the process because U.S. and Chinese observers attended the Taliban talks. It will be hard for India to digest this new development. She will create all sorts of hurdles to sabotage the emerging development. In fact, India wants instability in Afghanistan, which favours its clandestine aims. But Pakistan seeks stability in Afghanistan, which is essential for both the countries including US, China, Iran and other regional states. With this viewpoint, facilitation of dialogue between the Afghan rulers and the Taliban is a positive development, but India is failed to digest this bitter truth.

Afghanistan: India Undermines Regional Stability

By Sajjad Shaukat

Waging a prolonged war in Afghanistan, the US and other NATO countries have realized that after the withdrawal of foreign troops, Afghanistan would be thrown in an era of uncertainly and civil war. They recognize the fact and terrorism or stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan is interrelated. Therefore, US-led developed nations which also spent billions of dollars for the development of Afghanistan have repeatedly agreed that without Islamabad’s help, stability cannot be achieved there. Unfortunately, India does not intend see peace in that country and is undermining regional stability by creating unrest in Afghanistan and some other countries, and by sabotaging their cordial relations.   

It is notable that on the direction of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Stafff General Raheel Sharif, country’s superior intelligence agency, ISI done hard to bring the Afghan Taliban factions to the negotiating table to conduct talks with the Afghan government. In this regard, Pakistan Foreign Office said, “A meeting hosted by Pakistan between the Afghan High Peace Council (HPC), the body tasked with opening negotiations and Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan representatives in Murree (On July 8, this year)-an Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process-the representatives of China and the USA also participated in the meeting. The participants expressed their collective desire to bring peace to Afghanistan and the region-agreed to continue talks through the next meetings.”

India which has been making attempts to foil the dialogue between the Afghan rulers and the Afghan Taliban is creating an impression that some groups like Haqqani outfit did not take part in the new talks. While, the US, China and Pakistan are jointly working to facilitate the process so as to bring peace both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the whole region.

In fact, New Delhi is destabilizing the regional countries in general and Afghanistan and Pakistan in particular. In order to obtain its secret designs, aimed at augmenting Indian hegemony in the region, India is foiling the peace process between Afghanistan and Pakistan by managing terrorist attacks like the recent assaults in both the countries.

In this respect, former Chief of Indian secret agency RAW, Amarjit Singh Dulat disclosed on June 4, this year that Indian intelligence agencies have over the years paid money to militants and separatists in the Indian occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan.

However, the statement of RAW chief is not surprising, as recently, Indian Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar and even its Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi openly confirmed assistance to anti-Pakistan elements including separation of East Pakistan.

It is mentionable that Indian former Army Chief Gen. VK Singh also confessed that during his tenure, he supervised special army unit, Tactical Support Division (TSD) on the instructions of the then defence minister to sponsor subversive activities in Pakistan, particularly Balochistan.

These blatant admissions clearly prove that New Delhi has been sponsoring worse kinds of terrorism inside Pakistan by promoting sub-nationalists. New Delhi has been exploiting these entities locally and abroad as proxies against Pakistan.

Nevertheless, Indian RAW has well-established its network in Afghanistan, and is fully assisting cross-border incursions and terror-activities in various regions of Pakistan through Baloch separatist elements and anti-Pakistan groups like Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA), Jundullah and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) including their affiliated outfits. They also abducted and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals. On a number of occasions, these insurgent groups claimed responsibility for their acts of sabotage.

RAW is making efforts to weaken Afghanistan, Tibetan regions of China and Pakistan, especially Balochistan by arranging the subversive activities, promoting acrimonious sense of dissent, political volatility, sectarian violence and arousing sentiments of separatism.

It is notable that New Delhi which has already invested billion of dollars in Afghanistan, also signed a wide-ranging strategic agreement with that country on October 5, 2011. And, the then President Hamid Karzai had also signed another agreement with India to obtain Indian arms and weapons. While, under the cover of these agreements, India has further strengthened its grip in Afghanistan. By taking advantage of lawlessness in Afghanistan, India is up to its usual tirade to foment an environment by conducting terrorist attacks in that country to prove that Pakistan is creating trouble for Afghanistan.

It is worth-mentioning that Gen. Raheel accompanied by the DG of ISI went to Kabul on December 17, 2014. During his meeting with his Afghan counterpart, President Ashraf Ghani and the ISAF commander, he presented the evidence of linkage between the massacre of children at Peshawar school and TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan. He also asked about action against the TTP and handing over of its chief Mullah Fazlullah to Pakistan.

In response, Afghan government and US has started taking action against the TTP. A number of TTP militants have been captured in Afghanistan, while Fazlullah survived in a drone attack. Meanwhile, Washington has also designated Mullah Fazullah as a global terrorist and seized his bank accounts.

Now, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani realized that Afghanistan and Pakistan are facing similar challenges of terrorism and will combat this threat collectively. On May 18, 2015, the two countries signed the security agreement—Pakistan’s ISI and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) to share intelligence and conduct coordinated operations against terrorists. And, frequent visits of Pak-Afghan civil and military leaders to each other’s country also irritate New Delhi.

Nonetheless, Indian desperation in Afghanistan is increasing in the backdrop of growing engagements of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and US.

Besides, New Delhi is trying to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Recent terror-attacks in Pakistan and Balochistan might be noted as example. In this connection, Indian backed Baloch secessionists have been directed to step up their activities on the CPEC project. Indian RAW has created a heavily funded China-Pakistan specific desk to target growing Pak-China-Afghanistan relations.

If India continues its shrewd diplomacy, negative virtues of Afghan political and bureaucratic circles would not yield any positive effects regarding peace and stability of Afghanistan. Their efforts to create mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul are condemnable, as it also amounts to degrade and sabotage the global efforts of achieving peace and stability in the region.

Instead of criticizing the improving relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hamid Karzai should help in resolving the irritants which he failed to address during his era of presidency.

High profile visits between Islamabad and Kabul would address the issue of cross-border militancy. They should discuss the failure of Afghan government to hand over of terrorist Fazlullah to Pakistan and better border management, which are direly needed for stable and secure environment. A harmonized Pak-Afghan relationship is the guarantee to draw maximum economic benefits for the future generations, and Pakistan is keen to see return of peace to Afghanistan.

Recent Pakistan-Afghanistan rapprochement-initiatives along with evolving Chinese role in Afghanistan for peace, economic and political developments of Afghanistan are viewed as positive steps with regional assurance. All the existing ethnic groups of Afghanistan are now stakeholders in the governance of country.

Afghan Government is also responsible for early repatriation and rehabilitation of Afghan refugees, languishing in Pakistan. So, this issue must be resolved on priority.

Returning to our earlier discussion, India is weary of growing cooperation among Afghanistan, China and Pakistan. To hinder this trilateral cooperation, New Delhi is clearly bent upon creating unfavourable situation through her proxies by targeting China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. And Pakistan seeks stability in Afghanistan, which is essential for both the countries including China, Iran, US-led western countries and other regional states. But, India wants instability in Afghanistan, which favours its clandestine aims. Hence, India is undermining regional stability by applying secret diplomacy.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

Day of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan

By Sajjad Shaukat

Every year, Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control and Pakistan including rest of the world celebrate July 19 as the Day of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan, as on this very day in 1947, the historical resolution was adopted by the by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in Abi Guzar, Srinagar during an emergency convention at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan. It was presided over by Chaudhry Hamid Ullah Khan, and the resolution was presented by Khawaja Ghulam-ud-Din Wani and Abdul Rahim Wani, with 59 prominent leaders in attendance.

The resolution was unanimously adopted, indicating that existing religious, geographical, cultural, economic ties and the aspirations of millions of Kashmiri Muslims warrant accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan. During the partition of the Sub-continent, the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir which comprised Muslim majority decided to join Pakistan according to the British-led formula. But, Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu who was ruling over the J&K in connivance with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.

The design to forcibly wrest Kashmir began to unfold on August 16, 1947, with the announcement of the Radcliffe Boundary Award. It gave the Gurdaspur District—a majority Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into Kashmir. There was a rebellion in the state forces, which revolted against the Maharaja and were joined by Pathan tribesmen. Lord Mountbatten ordered armed forces to land in Srinagar.

However, Indian forces invaded Srinagar on 27 October 1947 and forcibly occupied Jammu and Kashmir in utter violation of the partition plan and against the wishes of the Kashmiri people. 

When Pakistan responded militarily against the Indian aggression, on December 31, 1947, India made an appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

It is mentionable that the Security Council adopted resolution 47 (1948) of 21 April 1948 which promised a plebiscite under UN auspices to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India. On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise of holding plebiscite. Instead, in March 1965, the Indian Parliament passed a bill, declaring Kashmir a province of India-an integral part of the Indian union.

The very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right of self-determination. They organised themselves against the injustices of India and launched a war of liberation which New Delhi tried to suppress through various forms of state terrorism.

Passing through various phases, the struggle of Kashmiris which has become an interaction between the Indian state terrorism led by the Indian security forces and war of liberation by the freedom fighters keeps on going unabated.

It is notable that since 1947, in order to maintain its illegal control, India has continued its repressive regime in the Occupied Kashmir through various machinations. In this regard, as already mentioned that India forcibly occupied Kashmir in gross violation of the “Partition Plan of the Indian Subcontinent, but, through the so-called-Instrument of Accession of October 27, 1947 which is illegal, and remains controversial, New Delhi justifies its hold on the Kashmir.

India has also been acting upon ethnic cleansing and conspiracies to alter the demography of the Indian-held Kashmir. In this context, Indian establishment has militarized the princely state of Kashmir since its illegitimate occupation. In 1947, the Muslims constituted 77%, while the Hindu population was 23% of the population. The ratio is now 64.19% to 32.24% due to unabated killings and other controversial acts like settlement of non-Muslim migrants (Hindus and Sikhs) from Punjab.

For the purpose, illegal land-grabbing is being practiced by Indian security forces such as Army, CRPF, ITB, and BSF in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, using lease and acquisitions.

Nevertheless, various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989. It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounter.

According to a report on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, from January 1989 to December 2013, there have been deaths of 93,984 innocent Kashmiris, 7,014 custodial killings, 1,22,771 arrests, 1,05,996 destruction of houses or buildings, 22,776 women widowed,  1,07,466 children orphaned and  10,086 women gang-raped/molested.

Indian brutal securities forces have continued these atrocities—extrajudicial killings in way or the other.  From January 1 to June 15, 2014, there have been deaths of 54 innocent Kashmiris, 09 custodial killings, 3438 arrests, 08 destruction of houses or buildings, 02 women widowed, 03 children orphaned and 34 women gang-raped/molested.

In fact, Indian forces have employed various draconian and controversial laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA) etc. in killing the Kashmiri people, and arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an indefinite period.

Besides Human Rights Watch, in its various reports, Amnesty International has also pointed out grave human rights violations in the Indian controlled Kashmir, indicating, “The Muslim majority population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the repressive tactics of the security forces. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act, security forces personnel have extraordinary powers to shoot suspected persons.”

It is mentionable that under the cover of draconian laws, most of the times, majority of the popular pro-movement leadership is detained or house-arrested by the Indian security forces, and mostly, without prior orders from the higher authorities. As per a Kashmiri human rights group, Voice of Victim (VOV), a total of 1 471 torture centres are operating in the Occupied Kashmir where arrested Kashmiri leaders and the youth are subjected to severe torture.

In this respect, European Union has passed a resolution about human rights abuses committed by Indian forces in the Indian held Kashmir.

It is of particular attention that in 2008, a rights group reported unmarked graves in 55 villages across the northern regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Then researchers and other groups reported finding thousands of mass graves without markers. In this regard, in the last few years, rights groups discovered nearly 3,000 unnamed graves in the various districts of Kashmir. In this respect, in August, 2011, Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) officially acknowledged in its report that innocent civilians killed in the two-decade conflict have been buried in unmarked graves. The report indicated 2,156 unidentified bodies which were found in mass graves in various regions of the Indian-held Kashmir.

Notably, foreign sources and human rights organisations have revealed that unnamed graves include those innocent persons, killed by the Indian military and paramilitary troops in the fake encounters including those who were tortured to death by the Indian secret agency RAW.

In its report, China’s leading News Agency Xinhua has unearthed more gruesome details on world-stunning unmarked graves in Poonch of the Indian occupied Kashmir. The report revealed the statement of Sofi Aziz Joo, caretaker of a graveyard as saying, “Police and Army used to bring those bodies and direct me to bury them. The bodies were usually bullet-ridden, mutilated, faces disfigured and sometimes without limbs and heads.”

It seems that non-condemnation of these Indian massive human rights violations and non-interference for the settlement of this issue by the so-called civilized international community, especially the US have further encouraged New Delhi to keep on going with its state terrorism on the armless Kashmiri masses. Ignorance of the issue by them involves the risk of nuclear war between Pakistan and India.

Indian authorities are not willing to talk with Kashmiri people on political grounds. New Delhi reached to a conclusion that only bullet is the right way of dealing with Kashmiris, demanding their right of self-determination. Surprisingly, Indian successive governments are trying to ignore the dynamics of the freedom movement of Kashmiris for the sake of their alien rule.

Nonetheless, every year, the Kashmiris and their brethren in Pakistan, and those living all over the world observe July 19 as the Day of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan to re-affirm their commitment to continue their struggle against Indian illicit occupation, and till the attainment of this liberation.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

True Perspective of Baloch Insurgents Surrender

By MI Kashmiri

Recent series of surrender by Baloch militant commanders along with their accomplices and relating it to the  previous such happenings thus giving the impression that the current development may not yield desired dividends is certainly a biased perspective few analysts and critiques are attempting  to deliver to their  readers. These analysts  instead of giving  hopelessness about the success of surrender process should be talking  about the positivity of such  initiative taken by the Baloch political headship in collaboration with the leadership of security forces .The fact must be kept in mind that the surrender of militants on one hand is the most useful mean to weaken the militancy and on the other hand it will spread a ray of hope amongst the general public of the province and the stake  holders interested in the prosperity and economic development of Balochistan.

Although the surrender exercise is not new but any sane analyst will agree to the fact that with the changing ground realties and prevailing environments every happening cannot be fully compared with the past occurring. The current situation in Balochistan is different from the past due to no of reasons which include the psyche of players involved, their objectives, response from the state institutions along with their understanding of the issue with new perspective and the most important of all is the civil military cohesiveness to pursue the goals in the province with mutual trust and cooperation. Now when the provincial govt is headed by a moderate sub nationalist group which is trying to reach out to all annoyed Baloch elements within and abroad for finding the ways to bring normalcy in the province and working out the modalities to address the apprehensions of the sub nationalists, the hope for peace in Balochistan should not be considered a dream. At this point of time the entire process of reconciliation between the govt and the insurgent’s leadership has full backing and support of the state institutions. This is the change which has seldom been witnessed in the past. It’s because of such encouraging working relationship between the provincial govt and the security establishment that the initiatives towards bringing the insurgents to main stream merit unbiased evaluation of the current surrender strategy of the govt.

Some of the analysts influenced by a particular mindset referring back to the surrender of Nawab Noroz Khan are fearing that due to the reason of not keeping up the promises of amnesty to the said Nawab and his accomplices the insurgent movement continued even after the surrender of Nawab Noroz and same would be the fate of current surrender process. It must be remembered that this is just a mere propaganda and if  recalled objectively it would reveal that   it was not the betrayal from the state institutions that the Nawab Noroz and his associates were jailed but it was according to the law of the land to which both parties agreed and the surrender took place. Then comes the era of start of current insurgency in which analysts are mixing up the reconciliation with the Marri elders during the forming of the govt in Balochistan after 2002 elections. Although Mr Balach Marri was elected as MPA but he neither appeared for the oath taking nor attended any assembly session. However, after the amicable solution of long awaited Chamalang issue with the intimate and passionate efforts of the military leadership in Balochistan and the provincial govt the Marris got annoyed as the agreement  included in its beneficiaries the Lonis, the Marris , the locals and other stake holders thus reducing the share of Marri tribal heads. It was this reason and the murder case on Marri elders that some of them remained away from the main stream politics and later resorted to armed struggle against the state. As far as dialogue with Nawab Akbar Bugti are concerned, its again known fact that full fledge parliamentary committee was constituted by the federal govt to seek input from all stake holders in Balochistan for alleviating the concerns and the sense of deprivation felt by the Baloch leadership and the masses there. The committee had long meetings as planned and met Nawab Akbar Bugti several times but due to the undemocratic and unjustified demands of the Nawab, the reconciliation process kept delaying and ultimately ended up in failure as Nawab Akbar Bugti decided to go for the armed struggle to pursue his self envisioned  goals for the rights of his people. Not going into the  details of the development projects and the financial assistance provided to the province during the period from 2002 to 2008, impartial analysis would reveal that the tribal heads with the changing regional and local socio political environment and undertaking of speedy development projects aiming at poverty alleviation , taking good care of health and education issues of the common Balochi people, started fearing to loose their influence in their respective areas and thus adopted the old strategy of maintaining and regaining their position and status through militancy.

The analysts are actually trying to undermine the recent process of surrender by falsely portraying that the surrendered militants are not the hard core elements but have either been disowned or thrown out of the main stream cadres of insurgent groups. The only and reasonable answer to all such elements is the vigorous pursuance of the surrender policy thus ensuring to bring more and more disgruntled elements to normal civic life. With the current policy adoption by the provincial govt and the security establishment the nation can hope to see such surrenders not occasionally but regularly. It’s further heartening to see the harmony amongst the ruling coalition of NP, PMLN and PKMAP and the opposition parties on the issue of reconciliation and the surrender initiatives. Coupled with the ongoing backchannel and overt dialogue between Khan of Kallat, Brahm Dagh Bugti and Mehran Marri, this policy of pursuing the militants to surrender is certainly a leap forward towards the achievement of peace and prosperity in Balochistan.The is however a need to have a comprehensive and well thought out surrender strategy having consensus of all stake holders to make it most fruitful and lasting. A well motivated team of experts from the concerned quarters having full support and freedom of taking all rightful decisions in the implementation of the envisaged surrender initiatives will certainly prove to be a catalyst in fighting the menace of unrest in Balochistan.

Day of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan

By Sajjad Shaukat

Every year, Kashmiris living on both sides of the Line of Control and Pakistan including rest of the world celebrate July 19 as the Day of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan, as on this very day in 1947, the historical resolution was adopted by the by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in Abi Guzar, Srinagar during an emergency convention at the residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan. It was presided over by Chaudhry Hamid Ullah Khan, and the resolution was presented by Khawaja Ghulam-ud-Din Wani and Abdul Rahim Wani, with 59 prominent leaders in attendance.

The resolution was unanimously adopted, indicating that existing religious, geographical, cultural, economic ties and the aspirations of millions of Kashmiri Muslims warrant accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan. During the partition of the Sub-continent, the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir which comprised Muslim majority decided to join Pakistan according to the British-led formula. But, Dogra Raja, Sir Hari Singh, a Hindu who was ruling over the J&K in connivance with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.

The design to forcibly wrest Kashmir began to unfold on August 16, 1947, with the announcement of the Radcliffe Boundary Award. It gave the Gurdaspur District—a majority Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into Kashmir. There was a rebellion in the state forces, which revolted against the Maharaja and were joined by Pathan tribesmen. Lord Mountbatten ordered armed forces to land in Srinagar.

However, Indian forces invaded Srinagar on 27 October 1947 and forcibly occupied Jammu and Kashmir in utter violation of the partition plan and against the wishes of the Kashmiri people. 

When Pakistan responded militarily against the Indian aggression, on December 31, 1947, India made an appeal to the UN Security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

It is mentionable that the Security Council adopted resolution 47 (1948) of 21 April 1948 which promised a plebiscite under UN auspices to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India. On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its promise of holding plebiscite. Instead, in March 1965, the Indian Parliament passed a bill, declaring Kashmir a province of India-an integral part of the Indian union.

The very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right of self-determination. They organised themselves against the injustices of India and launched a war of liberation which New Delhi tried to suppress through various forms of state terrorism.

Passing through various phases, the struggle of Kashmiris which has become an interaction between the Indian state terrorism led by the Indian security forces and war of liberation by the freedom fighters keeps on going unabated.

It is notable that since 1947, in order to maintain its illegal control, India has continued its repressive regime in the Occupied Kashmir through various machinations. In this regard, as already mentioned that India forcibly occupied Kashmir in gross violation of the “Partition Plan of the Indian Subcontinent, but, through the so-called-Instrument of Accession of October 27, 1947 which is illegal, and remains controversial, New Delhi justifies its hold on the Kashmir.

India has also been acting upon ethnic cleansing and conspiracies to alter the demography of the Indian-held Kashmir. In this context, Indian establishment has militarized the princely state of Kashmir since its illegitimate occupation. In 1947, the Muslims constituted 77%, while the Hindu population was 23% of the population. The ratio is now 64.19% to 32.24% due to unabated killings and other controversial acts like settlement of non-Muslim migrants (Hindus and Sikhs) from Punjab.

For the purpose, illegal land-grabbing is being practiced by Indian security forces such as Army, CRPF, ITB, and BSF in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, using lease and acquisitions.

Nevertheless, various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris, especially since 1989. It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounter.

According to a report on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, from January 1989 to December 2013, there have been deaths of 93,984 innocent Kashmiris, 7,014 custodial killings, 1,22,771 arrests, 1,05,996 destruction of houses or buildings, 22,776 women widowed,  1,07,466 children orphaned and  10,086 women gang-raped/molested.

Indian brutal securities forces have continued these atrocities—extrajudicial killings in way or the other.  From January 1 to June 15, 2014, there have been deaths of 54 innocent Kashmiris, 09 custodial killings, 3438 arrests, 08 destruction of houses or buildings, 02 women widowed, 03 children orphaned and 34 women gang-raped/molested.

In fact, Indian forces have employed various draconian and controversial laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA) etc. in killing the Kashmiri people, and arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an indefinite period.

Besides Human Rights Watch, in its various reports, Amnesty International has also pointed out grave human rights violations in the Indian controlled Kashmir, indicating, “The Muslim majority population in the Kashmir Valley suffers from the repressive tactics of the security forces. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act, security forces personnel have extraordinary powers to shoot suspected persons.”

It is mentionable that under the cover of draconian laws, most of the times, majority of the popular pro-movement leadership is detained or house-arrested by the Indian security forces, and mostly, without prior orders from the higher authorities. As per a Kashmiri human rights group, Voice of Victim (VOV), a total of 1 471 torture centres are operating in the Occupied Kashmir where arrested Kashmiri leaders and the youth are subjected to severe torture.

In this respect, European Union has passed a resolution about human rights abuses committed by Indian forces in the Indian held Kashmir.

It is of particular attention that in 2008, a rights group reported unmarked graves in 55 villages across the northern regions of the Indian-held Kashmir. Then researchers and other groups reported finding thousands of mass graves without markers. In this regard, in the last few years, rights groups discovered nearly 3,000 unnamed graves in the various districts of Kashmir. In this respect, in August, 2011, Indian Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) officially acknowledged in its report that innocent civilians killed in the two-decade conflict have been buried in unmarked graves. The report indicated 2,156 unidentified bodies which were found in mass graves in various regions of the Indian-held Kashmir.

Notably, foreign sources and human rights organisations have revealed that unnamed graves include those innocent persons, killed by the Indian military and paramilitary troops in the fake encounters including those who were tortured to death by the Indian secret agency RAW.

In its report, China’s leading News Agency Xinhua has unearthed more gruesome details on world-stunning unmarked graves in Poonch of the Indian occupied Kashmir. The report revealed the statement of Sofi Aziz Joo, caretaker of a graveyard as saying, “Police and Army used to bring those bodies and direct me to bury them. The bodies were usually bullet-ridden, mutilated, faces disfigured and sometimes without limbs and heads.”

It seems that non-condemnation of these Indian massive human rights violations and non-interference for the settlement of this issue by the so-called civilized international community, especially the US have further encouraged New Delhi to keep on going with its state terrorism on the armless Kashmiri masses. Ignorance of the issue by them involves the risk of nuclear war between Pakistan and India.

Indian authorities are not willing to talk with Kashmiri people on political grounds. New Delhi reached to a conclusion that only bullet is the right way of dealing with Kashmiris, demanding their right of self-determination. Surprisingly, Indian successive governments are trying to ignore the dynamics of the freedom movement of Kashmiris for the sake of their alien rule.

Nonetheless, every year, the Kashmiris and their brethren in Pakistan, and those living all over the world observe July 19 as the Day of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan to re-affirm their commitment to continue their struggle against Indian illicit occupation, and till the attainment of this liberation.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

Cartoons

Indian Desperation in Afghanistan

 

Hussain Haqqani

 

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

 

Expanding Pakistani Tax Net

 

Barack Obama’s visit to South Asia

 

Games of Thrones – U.S Israel Nexus

 

Indian Cultural Invasion in Pakistan

Indian Defence Budget

 

Indian Involvment in Pakistan

 

Pakistan’s Army operation against Terrorists

Plight of Muslims in Burma

Indian atrocities in Kashmir

Indian Consulates Afghanistan Involvement in Baluchistan Unrest

Target Killing of Innocent Kashmiris

Pakistan Army’s Zarb-e-Azb Operation against Terrorists

NAP – TIME TO SLEEP ?

By SHAH JILANI

1. National Action Plan (NAP) was welcomed by every Pakistani as the much needed last nail in the coffin of terrorism. The fanfare was short lived and expectations dampened when they saw a policy of delay and derail by the Government. A resilient nation plagued by the scourge of terrorism has given sacrifice after sacrifice, undeterred in its resolve to defeat terrorism. The Armed Forces, specially the Army and Frontier Scouts; Rangers, Police, Law Enforcing and Intelligence Agencies have all contributed in eliminating this menace with laudable results. The nation knows that Army is the engine running this campaign; criminals and the not so clean sweat through their palms anticipating their fate. Pakistanis are earnestly praying that the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif outlasts the likes of Zardari who claim ownership over Pakistan and Altaf Hussain, who threatens of civil war whenever exposed. A soldier’s soldier, quiet and committed, he initiated an unprecedented process of accountability in the Army before suggesting it to others. DG ISI, Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar has seen the lot as DG Rangers and knows them a little too well for their comfort. Flocks of vultures are on the run, some have managed to take off while others hide in their lairs for an opportunity. The Nation has pinned its hopes on General Raheel to rid them once for all from these scavengers who think they have time on their side.

2. Terrorism has to be tackled in all its forms and manifestations, thus cannot be limited to an objective or two. The Prime Minister announced the National Action Plan on 24 December 2014 in the light of decisions taken in an All Parties Conference. A National Action Committee comprising members from all political parties was also constituted and Apex Committees formed at Provincial Level. NAP envisages creation of a National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), raising of Special Anti-terrorism Force, end moratorium on death penalty, elimination of armed militias, ban on hate speech, literature and sectarian violence, cutting finances to terrorists / terrorist organizations, cessation of operations by banned outfits, clamping on religious extremism, protection of minorities, regularization of madrassas, no space in media to terrorists, administrative and development reforms in FATA and Balochistan, return of IDPs, denial of communications to terrorists including internet and social media, registration of afghan refugees, reforms in criminal justice system, special military courts and clean up operation in Karachi.

3. NAP has an expansive charter encompassing broad contours of a National Policy to eradicate terrorism. Operation Zarb -e- Azb completes its first year this Ramzan. Our valiant soldiers have come a long way purging the region from the vice of terrorists. Isolating them internationally and domestically is equally important. Domestic support trails and presence have been traced as far as Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan. Why Karachi? simple, to generate funds to keep the fire burning. An investigative report revealed in September 2013 that Karachi has a staggering Black Economy worth Rs 830 Million per day. Figures like 10 Million from extortion, 50 Million from kidnapping for ransom, 2.4 Million from parking mafia, 8.25 Million from illegal stalls / kiosks and hawkers, Rs 100 Million from selling water illegally, drug and gambling dens Rs 150 Million, land mafia Rs 230 Million daily, 7 billion annually, Rs 10.48 Million from transport mafia, Rs 7.5 Million from trucks, containers and oil tankers, Rs 10.5 Million from stolen electricity, Rs 3 Million from health industry, Rs 20.5 Million from stolen cars and motorcycles, Rs 5.2 Million from street crime, Rs 3 Million from short term kidnappings and Rs 210 Million as bribes. Did I miss out anything? astounding, mind boggling? Simply stated, a perfect receipe for a complete disaster. This translates into killings for a 500 Rs mobile telephone set and death of innocent babies held for ransom; enough to make a rock cry. If I go into the gory details of donkeys and dogs being sold as meat, cooking oil from dead animals, plastic crockery from infected hospital waste, you may suffer from nausea. And then there are modern techniques like China cutting, claiming lands on behalf of people who shifted to Pakistan on independence but have been dead for 40 years now. This naturally warranted swift and exemplary punitive action from the Provincial as well as Federal Governments – who are still busy pondering on how to carry on in power. Action against these mafias would spell political trouble, for many in power are directly involved in this rotten business. After a long wait of about 2 years, Rangers in Karachi had to highlight the same issue again. A conservative estimate again suggests a sprawling Black Economy worth Rs 230 Billion. This time names, political and religious parties’ affiliations, government functionaries etc were also named with techniques used like collection of zakat, fitrana, sacrificial animals and hides, extortion, land grabbing, smuggling, tanker mafia, ghost employees, illegal banquet halls, parking lots, drug trafficking, money laundering, gambling dens, cyber crime, funding to madrassas, beggar mafias etc. This money  is  then  siphoned  to  some powerful   politicians   and  gang war criminals. The

criminals naturally do not use it for welfare projects and the Provincial Government hides behind these so called problems of Mega Cities.

4. One question keeps agitating my mind – when would we realize the damage that is being done to our country by some political leaders for preserving their own interests. When would we start asking questions, and by no means am I trying to belittle professions for earning a hard earned and legitimate livelihood, like how did a waiter turn billionaire overnight? how did a meter reader amass such a large fortune? how  did a petty contractor establish a construction empire? how did an unknown property dealer turn into Mr Rich in a couple of years? how did a wagon driver rise to a top executive position? why are our ministers involved with drug mafias? what would Mrs Recep Tayyab Erdogan think of us for stealing her necklace? How will international investors come to Pakistan when those responsible for bringing in investments are establishing businesses and buying properties abroad? why has PIA, Jacqueline Kennedy’s favourite airline hit rock bottom while those looking after PIA have established successful airlines? why is Pakistan Railways, the backbone of our logistics in tatters? When would we build a new dam, leaving politics aside, to pull Pakistan out of darkness and restart our dead industry? If we turn ambulances into public transport, do we not give a reason to people to despise us ? when would the custodians of this country stop smuggling dollars through models. The questionnaire is unending but needs to be answered immediately.

5. With the Army deliberately steering a course away from politics, concentrating on Operation Zarb –e- Azb and National Action Plan, why are some political leaders trying to involve them in controversies by means of blatant threats? Why are they uncomfortable with Democracy? If the National Action Plan warrants arrest of criminals and cutting off their financial conduits, why should it unnerve them? Their incoherent mumbo jumbo not only exposes them but also cements the perception of their involvement in this game of criminals. Those of us who rely more on foreign media than what they see may have a look at New York Times which published a special report by John F Burns, way back in January 1998 highlighting trails of corruption. Wikipedia is also full of some important revelations, segments on health and wealth are worth reading. Mail online, Michael Burleigh in his report of August 2010 reveals even more. Apparently things have gone from bad to worse creating an environment for parasites to

nibble into the vitals of Pakistan. All this at a time of Indian saber rattling; so much for the acumen of our seasoned politicians.

6. NAP is the acronym for National Action Plan and not a signal for going to sleep. Pakistan has a history of highs and lows, the time that we are passing through leaves no scope for a nap. We must act across the board and act swiftly, leaving aside all leanings and affiliations . We must also give up our soft policies giving an escape route to these crooks, hit them where it hurts, hit them hard and hit them repeatedly. And please give up your double standards – if New York Times was enough to make a mountain of the Axact mole hill, what do you expect from BBC ? a high level judicial commission in UK by her Majesty’s Government to try your known felons and for you to set them on bail again ? Have a heart this time!

HOLD YOUR GROUND, MR ASHRAF GHANI

By SHAH JILANI

1. Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai’s assumption of the office of the Afghan President on 29 September 2014 was viewed as a welcome change. An anthropologist by education, he has served as the Afghan Finance Minister and Chancellor of Kabul University besides working for UN and World Bank.

2. As the Afghan President, Mr Ghani set course on a balanced Afghan Foreign Policy and renewed emphasis on economic development. The balancing act, however, created ripples in the Indian Camp who have been in love with terms like traditionally strong and brotherly relations and strategic partnership etc. India has always expected Afghanistan to serve as its colony, satellite, extension etc and to isolate herself from her neighbours. After the fall of Taliban Government in 2001, India accelerated its efforts once again to smother Afghanistan in its Octopus like grip.

3. Mr Ghani is no novice in Afghanistan or the region, nor does he need a brief on the visibles and invisibles. He is aware of the international effort to secure Afghanistan from the thores of insecurity and civil war. He is aware of the great game and the new great game. Afghan generations acknowledge Pakistan as their second home and not without reason. World’s largest Afghan refugee population has lived in Pakistan and continues to do so. They were not confined to cage like camps like elsewhere and allowed to share all they wanted; with dignity, respect and honour. There have been some with weak memories like Mr Hamid Karzai who forgot their stay in Quetta and Peshawar and subsequent takeoff on the journey to power in Afghanistan – as a CIA contractor in Peshawar.

4. We wish you well Mr Ghani and know that the Afghan Presidency is not a bed of roses. You are under strong criticism for improving relations with Pakistan, for signing an intelligence and military cooperation pact, amidst hopes of securing a peace deal with Taliban. The spring offensive has further intensified the pressure, but all these factors are no reason for you to give aggressive statements. You are an anthropologist Mr Ghani, apply yourself, study the behaviour of those around you, see what their intent is and remain steadfast on your path to peace. The antics of these actors will fizzle out soon, so hold your ground, Mr Ghani and brave this pressure. I am sure with your vision and resolve, you would steer Afghanistan out of this  quagmire without compromising on those who have cared for you in your difficult times and would not be used for extension of others’ machinations.

Morsi awarded the death sentence

By Muhammad Jamil

Unemployed youth along with other sections of society, including the opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood, came out in droves to protest against the government

An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced former president Mohamed Morsi and 106 others to death for a mass jail break in 2011. However, the verdict will be referred to the grand mufti, the highest religious authority in Egypt, for confirmation and the court will pronounce its final verdict on June 2, 2015. The verdict has drawn condemnation from Amnesty International and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan but most European countries that have banned the death sentence are mute. Even though the Brotherhood has long opted out of violence to pursue its objectives through acceptable, peaceful means and had been winning elections even before the Arab Spring, it was outlawed as a terrorist outfit in 2013. Its assets were frozen and seized, and even voices sympathetic to it were muzzled and silenced. Hundreds of its members have been killed and thousands incarcerated. Not even female members were spared the deep state’s campaign to decimate the Muslim Brotherhood into extinction. Morsi was deposed by his then military chief and minister of defence, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, after mass protests against his rule in the summer of 2013. Following the coup, the former president’s supporters launched a series of protests and sit-ins across the country culminating in a crackdown by security forces that left hundreds dead. Egypt’s military junta declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation on account of a deadly bomb attack on the police establishment in the country’s Mansoura city. However, the responsibility of that bombing has been claimed by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, an al Qaeda aligned outfit, hostilely disposed towards the Brotherhood for its renouncing violence and joining the political mainstream. 

In September 2013, an Egyptian court banned the Muslim Brotherhood and the ban was extended to the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing. Last month, an Egyptian court sentenced Morsi and 12 other defendants to 20 years in prison for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012. The junta charged ousted president Mohamed Morsi as a ‘terrorist’ for meeting with Hamas leaders during his term in office even though the meetings were in the context of long-standing Egyptian attempts to broker a Palestinian rapprochement. In fact, there is a long history of banning the Muslim Brotherhood; it was banned in Egypt in 1948. It was accused of attacks on prime ministers, government functionaries and judges, and an attempt on Gamal Abdel Nasser’s life was made in 1954.
In the 1970s, President Sadat allowed the Brotherhood and Islamists to regroup in an effort to use them against the Nasserists and socialists. In 2005, the Brotherhood was a banned organisation and fielded its candidates as independents, managing to get around 20 percent of the seats. One could see that the Brotherhood had changed stripes coming out of clandestine activities and treading the democratic path. It was able to mobilise the people to get rid of Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship. After the January 2011 revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood was allowed to form a political party, the FJP. In June 2012 elections were held, and the FJP managed to get 46 percent of parliament’s seats. But within one year after forming the government, protests started. The protestors on the street were, in reality, the inveterate traditional opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

They found a chance to achieve what they could not at the ballot box but their hopes came crashing down when they found that the beneficiary of the protests would be someone else. They are concerned that a new Hosni Mubarak is in the making in the strong man el-Sisi, who had thrown his hat in the ring for elections and was elected. Of course, Morsi’s government had neglected the economy, which was in shambles. Unemployed youth along with other sections of society, including the opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood, came out in droves to protest against the government. Events leading to the ouster of Mohammed Morsi as the president of Egypt have reinforced the widely held belief that, for a democratic government to be meaningful, it should deliver and always be sensitive to the interests and aspirations of the people. 

Just as the military rode on the back of 18 days of popular protests to topple Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year-old government to pave the way for the emergence of Morsi, once again the Egyptian army lent a helping hand to millions of protesting crowds to get rid of president Morsi, who came to power on the basis of the religious fervour of his supporters. Rather than integrating diverse interest groups with different religious, political and social affiliations in order to mould a cohesive society, he was accused of playing the politics of alienation and discrimination. The first sign of trouble for Morsi came when he attempted to incorporate a clause into a draft constitution to grant him sweeping and unrestricted powers. The plan was quickly abandoned following sustained pressure mounted by the people through days of street protests. The clause would also have conferred on him immunity from judicial oversight.

His decision to back out and flee the presidential palace, however, did not stop the Egyptians from pressing ahead with more demands, asking for more secularity in governance, as against the bid to subject their freedoms, through an uncalled for constitutional amendment, to the authority of the strict Islamic law, sharia. Even though the sagging economy was one of the reasons for the rise against Mubarak, Morsi had absolutely no idea how to reverse the free fall nor did he appreciate the necessity to do so at all. Indeed, protesting voices are now ruing woefully their actions against Morsi, as they will have to bear the brunt of another dictatorship for a long time to come. However, if the vengeful campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood does not come to an end, the organisation is sure to go underground and peace will elude Egypt for a long time to come.