He made good use of the opportunity to press the
major issue of concern
From SHAMIM
AHMED RIZVI
Islamabad
Nov 19 - 25, 2001
President Musharraf's last week visit to United
States — his address to 56th session of the General Assembly and his
meeting with US President Bush — has been an event of historic
importance for Pakistan. The General presented his country's point of
views on the burning world issues including the US led coalition war
against terrorism and attack on Afghanistan in a forceful, forthright
and an impressive manner leaving good image of Pakistan on the august
gathering including presidents of 48 countries and 114 foreign
ministers of different countries of the world.
His first meeting with President Bush, spread over
two sessions of 2 hours each, beside a special dinner hosted by the US
President in honour of his Pakistani counterpart will go a long way in
determining the countours of future Pak-US ties. An spokesman
described the meeting as crucial as it entailed revival of an old
relationship and the beginning of a new era of trust and more lasting
friendship. "Convergence of views on the current military
campaign and a future dispensation in Afghanistan, a US pledge of
increased economic assistance and agreement on diplomacy and dialogue
to resolve the Kashmir issue marked the first meeting between the two
Presidents".
When Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf
addressed the UN General Assembly session on Saturday, he could be
sure that as head of a front-line state in the on-going US-led
campaign against terrorism, he would have a sizable captive audience
worldwide. He made good use of the opportunity to press the major
issue of concern to the people of his country as also the Muslim
nations in general as he strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on
New York and Washington but also urged the international community to
understand the real causes that lead to such extreme acts. He made an
impressive presentation of the strongly held view in this country that
the unresolved political disputes are at the root of the problem of
terrorism. And that, sadly, Muslims happen to be the victims in these
situations, a fact which "tends to give a religious tings to the
otherwise political disputes". The lack of progress in the
resolution of these disputes, he rightly pointed out, had created a
sense of deprivation, helplessness and powerlessness.
These, in this part of the world, are the
well-known causes of the Muslim unrest, which at times results in acts
of violence against countries such as the US, for being perceived as
the backers of those perpetuating political injustices. However, some
in the Western countries including US President George Bush, would
have their people believe that it was some kind of a war between the
good and the evil, and that religious extremists from the Islamic
world wished to destroy the civilised world's freedom' and
'prosperity' out of sheer intolerance. Generally being an inward
looking people, most Americans buy such contorted explanations as they
seek answers to the persistent question 'Why do the Muslims hate us.'
Hence, it is important that whenever an opportunity arises, the people
in the Western countries are shown the other side of the picture as
well which tells them of the unfair and uncivilized policies pursued
by their governments in the aid of aggressor states in the Middle
East, South Asia and other parts of the world, where Muslims have to
face unending occupation of their lands and usurpation of their
political rights.
President Musharraf used the UN forum effectively
to draw the attention of his audiences — which included a large
number of heads of government from all over the world to the gloomy
reality that "the frustration gets even worse when disputes like
Kashmir and Palestine remain unsettled for decades despite UN Security
Council resolutions". The least the so-called civilised countries
can do, but have refused to do, is to simply exert their influence for
the implementation of the UN resolutions concerning the world's two
most volatile disputes, Palestine and Kashmir. The President reflected
the views of the Muslim peoples so well when he observed, "The
question then is whether it is the people asking for their rights in
accordance with UN resolutions who are to be called terrorists or
whether it is the countries refusing to implement UN resolutions, who
are perpetrators of state terrorism. "That indeed is a crucial
question to ponder for the US and all its 'civilized' allies who have
allowed Israel as well as India to continue to flout the UNSC
resolutions that urge the Zionist state to vacate all territories it
occupied during the 1967 war, and require, New Delhi to hold a
plebiscite in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir to determine the
wishes of the Kashmiri people about the future of their land.
There is no doubt that the protracted political
disputes are the major cause of extremism in today's world. Kashmir
and Palestine are the two major issues, which are still unresolved
even after half a century, despite UN Security Council resolutions,
articulating methodology for their settlement. It is imperative that
India and Israel, which are subjugating the people of Kashmir and
Palestine illegally and immorally should be made to end their State
terrorism and to implement the UNSC resolutions to end extremism. Let
there be no illusion that extremism generates extremism. If Kashmiris
and Palestinians will be brutalised, oppressed and repressed
unabatedly, New Delhi and Tel Aviv cannot escape retaliation and the
vicious cycle of violence and terrorism will not end. The sooner India
and Israel realise this reality the better would it be for them as
well as for the world at large. The UN Security Council ought to come
forward and play its due role in resolving these two issues urgently.
The permanent members of the UNSC must ensure implementation of its
resolutions.
President General Musharraf and President George W.
Bush held two-hour long meeting in New York on Saturday night
discussing wide spectrum of issues including Afghan situation with
particular reference to the post-Taliban dispensation and Northern
Alliance's military successes. The impact of Afghan crisis on
Pakistan's economy was also discussed. Both leaders shared the
perception that the post-Taliban set-up should be broad-based and
multie-thnic and that Northern Alliance should not take over Kabul to
avoid recurrence of post-Soviet campaign of death and destruction.
President Bush announced one billion dollars of aid and a pledge of
debt relief for Pakistan.
Despite the fact that Pakistan has a bitter
experience of having been left in the lurch by the United States after
the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, one cannot ignore the
flattery of the world's only superpower. The Bush-Musharraf meeting
was certainly crucial in view of many misgivings and misconceptions
between the two countries. It is, however, a matter of satisfaction
that President Bush has recognized the need of the broad-based and
multi-ethnic set-up for the post-Taliban Afghanistan. People in this
region are convinced that is the only way to ensure unity and
territorial integrity of Afghanistan, which cannot afford any more
infighting among the Afghan warlords. It is also encouraging that the
US President shared Gen Musharraf's viewpoint that the Northern
Alliance should be restrained from taking over Kabul for the safety of
ethnic Pushtoons from genocide at the hands of the Northern Alliance
warlords belonging to Uzbek, Hazara and Tajik tribes. It is necessary
in view of the genocide that was carried out in Kabul in the wake of
the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989.
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