Sunday 20 January 2013

The Cure That Is Worse Than The Disease


 India is in an uproar over the January 8 th Pakistani army attack on two Indian soldiers and the beheading of one of them. This is made worse by Pakistan insisting they are blameless and it is India that is the aggressor because of three Pakistani soldiers killed since January 6th. Indians point out this sort of nonsense has been going on for decades and it’s time to stop it. India has been trying to make peace with Pakistan for over fifty years but the Pakistani military is not interested. A constant state of tension with India is good for the Pakistani generals, who can justify getting more of the national wealth to defend against this fictional “Indian aggression.” More and more Pakistanis are realizing that they have been deceived and now the generals are under pressure to halt their illegal acts. This includes crimes within Pakistan, like the secret kidnappings and murders of Pakistanis. Most of this happens in the southwest (Baluchistan) but it’s also used against journalists or politicians seen as a threat to the military. More Pakistanis are up in arms over the three decades of military support for Islamic terrorist groups. Originally meant as a weapon against India (whose military was unbeatable) and corrupt politicians and businessmen, the terrorists are now seeking to seize control of the government, form a religious dictatorship, and fire most of the officers. India now threatens to attack if the border violence does not stop, but the Pakistani military continues to deny any responsibility for it. The Pakistani military, instead of providing security, has conjured up new threats. What the Pakistani generals believed was a cure for the nation’s problems has turned out to be a curse that is worse than the disease.


In the Pakistani tribal territories (Peshawar) Islamic terrorists have succeeded in terrorizing locally recruited police. At least 200 of these men are now refusing to serve at over a dozen checkpoints. This is the result of the Taliban killing 22 of these police last month and warning the rest to not interfere with Taliban operations.

The three year Indian campaign against its leftist (Maoist) rebels in eastern India is having some success. Maoist attacks were down 20 percent last year as were deaths from Maoist activities. These were down to 367 last year, compared 1,180 in 2010. This success masks the fact that the underlying economic and social problems, mainly caused by corrupt local officials and businessmen, have not been addressed. It’s easier to hunt down and kill Maoists and destroy their rural camps than it is to replace corrupt politicians and their local allies in the business community.

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