slamabad: Pakistan
human rights activists, women’s rights activists, teachers, labour leaders and
journalists issued a joint statement on the current stand-off between India and
Pakistan. Among the signatories are Asma Jahangir, IA Rehman, Mubashir Hasan,
Ahmed Rashid, Salima Hashmi and Iqbal Haider. The statement is as follows:
We condemn the recent terrorist attack on Mumbai and extend our
heartfelt condolence and sympathy to the victim families. Likewise, we condole
and sympathise with the victims of terrorism in Delhi, Kabul, Swat, other parts
of the NWFP (North-West Frontier Province) and FATA (Federally Administered
Tribal Areas).
Pakistan’s civil society is alarmed at the loss of life, denial
of education to girls and large-scale displacement of civilians in FATA and
Swat. The influence of militant groups is rapidly growing in all parts of the
country without any effective challenge by the government. Regrettably, there
appears to be a total absence of a cohesive policy by the Government of Pakistan
to protect its own citizens or any strategy to challenge militant outfits that
operate with impunity within and outside the country.
We regret that the media in both India and Pakistan failed to
present the Mumbai outrage in a proper context and instead used the event to
fuel hostility between the two countries. It aided warmongers on both sides to
whip up a war hysteria. Quite ironically, terrorism, which should have brought
India and Pakistan together to defend peace and people’s security, pushed them
to the brink of a mutually destructive war. Confrontation between these two
closest neighbours has never had such a puerile basis.
Mercifully, the tension between India and Pakistan seems to have
abated somewhat and this is some relief. But the danger of an armed conflict
persists and we call upon both the governments not to take peace for granted.
Better understanding and constructive action rather than confrontation between
states will discourage militant groups that are growing in strength in both
countries.
The Government of Pakistan must no longer stay in a state of
self-denial. It must not miss the opportunity of devising an effective strategy
to overcome the menace of terrorism that is posing a greater threat to this
country than any other nation. India too must bear in mind that militant groups
and extremists thrive in a state of conflict and polarisation. Both governments
must sincerely redouble their efforts at addressing the rise of militant groups
in the region. They need to quickly compose their differences over ways of
dealing with terrorism. This could be done through the composite dialogue that
must resume forthwith because neither country can bear the cost of keeping
defence forces on alert and suspension of normal peacetime duties.
We should also like to caution the Government of Pakistan
against lapsing into its traditional complacency with the disappearance of the
war clouds. Blinking at the existence of terrorist outfits within the country,
some open and others disguised, will amount to self-annihilation and greater
isolation from the comity of nations. The state’s commitment to root out
terrorist groups must be total. It must ensure as far as possible that Pakistan
is not even accused of allowing cross-border terrorism by any group, alien or
indigenous. But everything must be done within the canons of law and justice.
Killing of innocents and extralegal excesses will not end terrorism. They will
only fuel it.
Islamabad must also repudiate the suggestion that its firmness
in the ongoing stand-off with India has contributed to national cohesion,
revived the Kashmir issue and enriched the national coffers. Nobody can forget
the cost paid by the country for unity behind Yahya Khan in his war on fellow
Pakistanis, for the financial windfall during Zia’s agency for the Afghan war
and for the ‘revival’ of the Kashmir issue through adventurism in Kargil. The
hazards of living in a make-believe environment are all too clear.
Success neither in the fight against terrorism nor in defending
the nation’s integrity can be guaranteed by arms alone. The way to end the abuse
of belief for politics or for terrorism, there being little difference between
the two, is going to be long and hard. The task cannot be accomplished without
the wholehearted support of a fully informed and wide-awake society. The returns
on investment in people’s food security, education, shelter, health cover and
creation of adequately rewarding employment for both men and women will be
infinitely higher than on resources expended on guns and explosives. This can be
best achieved through regional cooperation and trade liberalisation.
It is these prerequisites to national unity, solidarity and
survival that we urge the state to address and the people shall not fail it.
Pakistan can beat off all challenges but only through people’s fully mobilised
power.