Too many cooks spoil the broth

Asif Haroon Raja

Five cooks have joined hands to play a noxious game to subdue their common prey. Devoid of scruples, they keep adding potion to the broth they are jointly brewing to destabilize Pakistan. They dance with joy whenever pungent fumes emanating from the potage have a somnolent effect on their prey but feel dejected when it manages to recover and fly out of the snare. Two chefs are so wicked and evil that they have no dearth of novel ways to fix their quarry. One of their meanest methods is to put on mask of friendship and go about setting up the trap with willing and active cooperation of victim itself. Other is to send their agents disguised as Taliban and clerics. One of them has gained expertise in Islamic indoctrination to brainwash recruits; he had applied this art to good affect in his neighborhood and passed this talent to his depraved partner who is using it against his neighbor. Another tricky method they adopt is to cry aloud and blame Pakistan for the sins they commit. They stop wailing only when the chief chef scolds Pakistan.   

India hides all its crimes against humanity behind masks of secularism, democracy, liberalism and mercantile prowess. Its potent media and film world, its attachment with music and colourful deities give an altogether different picture to the world. Politicians including leaders are usually meek looking and full of humility. They wine and dine with all those with whom there is no clash of interest. To put up farce of secularism, few high posts are doled out to members of minorities totally wedded to Hindu culture. Ceremonial post of president having no clout is often given to a Muslim or a Sikh. Muslim heroes in Bollywood are glamorised with similar objective. Indian films are often mission oriented which help in keeping myths alive, and for self glorification to motivate Hindus. Films are also used to give vent to hatred against Pakistan, for achieving cultural affinity and for glamorising India. Serialised Mahabharata film was one such example to lionize mythical Indian ancient past. A live example of their falsehood getting exposed is that of a young Japanese tourist who got so excited by propaganda of Indian media that he undertook a journey to Jammu and then travelled by road up to Srinagar and beyond to see for himself the most serene and peaceful place and a heaven on earth. What he saw was altogether contrary to what was projected since roads were cluttered with army vehicles and soldiers brandishing guns; he saw clear signs of oppression and depression written on faces of the people. Anti-India and Azadi posters were pasted on each shop and building. He got so disgusted and despondent that he attempted to commit suicide.         

Under the warm wings of sole super power, partners in crime exploited the golden opportunity to the hilt to weaken Pakistan from within. Instead of waging an open war against nuclear Pakistan, the gang of criminals opted to prepare a private army from within Pakistan, pitch it against Pak army and if required launch Indian forces when the military had been sufficiently bled and overall internal situation turned chaotic. Since success of this gory design hinged on continuation of fighting between the army and the militants and bleeding each other to death, ceasefires and peace deals were to be thwarted through pressure tactics and making the two to fight with each other indefinitely. The chefs were mighty pleased to rope in friendly Musharraf as a helping hand. 

Interior Balochistan and Fata were chosen by the chefs keeping in mind the fighting prowess of people of those areas, ruggedness of terrain suiting guerrilla warfare and proximity to Afghanistan which was to become main base of supply of men and material. Militants were thoroughly trained, richly funded and heavily equipped to be able to confront the army. Media war was dovetailed in the plan to discredit the government and its premier institutions and to create feelings of despondency that Pakistan was on verge of collapse due to melting economy and internal threat. On one hand sponsored militants were instigated and indoctrinated to spread terror and expand their area of influence, on the other the army was pressed to do more and more.

The head chef sitting in Kabul is so happy with the intrigues and machinations of Indian and Israeli chefs that he has become entirely dependent upon their expertise and advice. For the last eight years the band is busy adding special spices to the gumbo. In their eagerness to make it more poisonous capable of knocking out Pakistan in shortest possible time, they have become hyper and in the process let the cat out of the bag and made Pakistan cautious. It proved the old adage that too many cooks spoil the broth. Attempts are now being made to set right the already spoilt chowder. Lollypops offered are in the form of enhanced US aid, helping in reopening Indo-Pak dialogue, resolving river water problem, asking India to thin out its consulates in Afghanistan and an assurance that US troops would not step into Pakistan.

Notwithstanding evil role of our adversaries our blind faith in USA and readiness to obey its commands howsoever injurious to national interests is the principle factor which has placed Pakistan in such a sorry state of affairs. Richard Holbrooke virtually behaves like a Viceroy when he visits Islamabad. So is the position of Anne Patterson. We have become so addictive to US aid that we have become immune to humiliations. Having seen the real face of India we still naively say that it poses no threat to Pakistan. None has  courage to speak out that fake Taliban led by Baitullah and Fazlullah are creations of CIA and RAW and that Brahamdagh is being patronized by RAW and MI-6. These unknown pygmies could never have shot into prominence and commandeered thousands of followers without foreign patronage. Latter have been providing monetary and military injections to sustain insurgency in troubled spots.

It is because of our exaggerated policy of appeasement that we have lost respect and dignity as a sovereign nation. US officials not only vociferously support India on all issues but defend their stance aggressively as a state policy. All acts of commission and omission of India are ignored. When India alleges that Pakistan is indulging in terrorism, its complaint is promptly acknowledged and Pakistan is admonished. On the contrary, Pakistan grievances against India are brushed aside.

We have taken each and every barb and taunt smilingly. In most cases we have promptly accepted the allegation and promised to mend the fault of past rulers or certain groups. Consequent to our soft, defensive, apologetic and fawning attitude, our detractors have become so bold that they pick up a stick and start beating us on any pretext.  Even if it is later on proven that the allegation was baseless, neither do we demand an apology nor do the accusers bother. Indian and western media have hammered away with such unmistaken regularity that it has now become rightly acceptable to cast aspersions at will. Unless we fight for our rights, preserve our dignity and honor zealously and have zero tolerance for baseless allegations, insinuations and character assassination, we as a nation would always be taken for granted and treated like serfs. By now we should have launched a pro-active exterior manoeuvre to convince world capitals to dissuade India from fuelling unrest in Pakistan particularly after we have collected hard evidence to prove involvement of RAW. Only redeeming factor is that the scheming cooks in Kabul are crying over the spoilt broth and are calculating to brew another one. Their entire hopes are now resting on battle of Waziristan.     

The writer is a defence and political analyst based at Rawalpindi and author of several books.Email:ah.raja@yahoo.com