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For Pakistan, terrorism is a state-sponsored business

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  • For Pakistan, terrorism is a state-sponsored business

    Some call it a “blood feud”. They are dead wrong. India and Pakistan are not caught in some existential Punjabiyat love-hate relationship. Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism. No other nation has used terror so ruthlessly as an instrument of state policy as Pakistan has done for decades — principally against India but also against Afghanistan.

    For Rawalpindi terrorism, at its core, is a successful business model. The Pakistani army’s senior officers, retired and serving, own a third of the country’s land through benami entities. At one level, the army operates like a multinational corporation. It has a professional chain of command, discipline and frequent training exercises. At another level, it operates like a mafia, ordering assassinations of journalists and activists.

    The Pakistani army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) subverts, co-opts and kills with ruthless efficiency. It positions India as an enemy to justify the country’s bloated annual defence budget. Pakistan spends 3.6 per cent of its GDP on defence – twice India’s expenditure of 1.7 per cent of GDP. A large portion of the budget is siphoned off by the Pakistani army’s top brass and shared down the ranks in time-honoured style. This system of patronage ensures loyalty.

    A small portion of Pakistan’s inflated $10 billion defence budget is earmarked for its outsourced terror wings: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen and other smaller outfits. Another slice is set aside for Hurriyat leaders in the Kashmir Valley who, after buying land with the money, pass on just enough to recruit young stone pelters.

    The ISI knows the value of messaging. To maintain the fiction of Kashmir being the core issue between India and Pakistan, it recognises that terrorism must be accompanied by effective communication. The ISI has a well-trained cadre of people who use the media to spread lies about how the Indian Army has brutalised ordinary Kashmiris. They appear regularly on Indian TV debates, accompanied by retired Pakistani armed forces officers and relatively unknown Pakistani journalists. Reputed Pakistani editors like Najam Sethi, who are not ISI ventriloquists, are rarely fielded in these debates. They have independent views. The ISI shuns them. So inexplicably do most Indian TV channels.

    Indian channels instead provide oxygen to Pakistani non-entities who are briefed before each debate by their ISI handlers. Instead of inviting Afghan, Baloch and Bangladeshi journalists who can demolish the Pakistani army’s narrative, Indian channels allow themselves to become platforms for the ISI’s anti-Indian propaganda.

    Money means everything to the Generals in Rawalpindi. They, however, go to great lengths to hide this sordid truth. They have ready sepoys in the form of a cabal of Indian journalists. The supply is plentiful, especially in Delhi. Some in the Indian media genuinely believe in the India-Pakistan “blood feud” myth. Others are simply vulnerable to the money on offer. Track-2 meetings are a special attraction for those seeking junkets abroad. These seminars are organised by obscure “peace” organisations but function under the watchful eyes of ISI handlers.

    Pakistan is controlled by its army. Elections are a sideshow. The media is allowed some elbow room to propagate the fiction of press freedom in Pakistan but for all practical purposes it is closely monitored by the army. If a newspaper or TV channel crosses the boundary set by the army, it is clinically punished as Dawn, Pakistan’s most respected newspaper, and Hamid Mir of Geo TV discovered at different times for different reasons during the past year.

    It is important in order for the Pakistani army’s business enterprise to succeed that terrorism against India flourishes and LoC ceasefire violations occur frequently. That keeps tensions at boiling point, the defence budget inflated and the Generals in Rawalpindi in good spirits. For them there is no better business than the business of proxy war. They know a real war with India would be ruinous for Pakistan. That is why they want terror and talks to go together. One keeps the fund pipeline open, the other gives Islamabad a semblance of international respectability by being hyphenated with India. India is Pakistan’s meal ticket and Kashmir the main course.

    The last thing the Pakistani army wants is a final resolution to Kashmir. Take away the “dispute” and the army’s decades-long business model will collapse. Keep the pot boiling but never let it boil over. The more Indian journalists echo Pakistan’s “blood feud” theory, the more Islamabad justifies using the Kashmir Valley as a killing field to settle a “core dispute”.

    Indian politicians have long fallen for the rakish charm of Pakistan’s crooked leaders. Indira Gandhi was blindsided by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto into returning 93,000 Pakistani PoWs after the Bangladesh war. Her father 24 years earlier had made the historical blunder of approaching the United Nations after the 1947-48 war in Kashmir.

    Every successive Indian prime minister has succumbed to Pakistan’s trickery. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr. Manmohan Singh and now Narendra Modi have each tried and failed to appease Pakistan with Insaniyat, Punjabiyat and offers of friendship. Each failed to understand the Pakistani army’s mind: it wants trade and diplomatic engagement with India as part of a package deal that includes state-sponsored terrorism. Without that the Pakistani army’s lucrative business model would fall apart.

    The writer is author of The New Clash of Civilizations: How The Contest Between America, China, India and Islam Will Shape Our Century. Views expressed are personal.
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    Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

  • #2
    What I've argued some years back in this very board, and which is why terrorism from Pakistan will never cease to exist. Iran is on focus now, then maybe it will be time for Pakistan.
    Last edited by Oracle; 01 Jul 18,, 02:59.
    Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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    • #3
      There is no difference between the drinking general and the jihadi general, the jihadi general is inside the drinking general - Prof Nalapat





      He isn't happy with the Kashmir policy but does not go into more details. He slams the coalition with the PDP. But that is exactly what we had with the last NDA when Mufti was alive. Numerous people here said it wouldn't last but not trying to make it work just was not an option.
      Last edited by Double Edge; 02 Jul 18,, 09:55.

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      • #4
        In bid to woo recruits, Hizbul Mujahideen exposes terrorists
        Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

        Comment


        • #5
          According to assessment by the central agencies, Hizbul Mujahideen is aiming to glamourise militancy by posting pictures of gun-wielding Kashmiri recruits, many of them with a good educational and family background, on the social media. "The pull of the social media among the Kashmiri youth is tremendous and Hizbul is using it to add appeal to militancy and boost manpower," said an officer.
          These are the sad facts, get kids to fight pro's. Outgunned, out smarted and out manned. They have no chance

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          • #6
            Why India wants PTI to lose and PML-N to win the elections

            Any idea who this Santosh Arora is?

            Look at some of his pearls of BS.
            Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Oracle View Post
              Why India wants PTI to lose and PML-N to win the elections

              Any idea who this Santosh Arora is?

              Look at some of his pearls of BS.
              Comes across as a liberal from the few posts you've linked. I know people that will resonate with his views
              Last edited by Double Edge; 12 Jul 18,, 16:06.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                Comes across as a liberal from the few posts you've linked. I now people that will resonate with his views
                If this is the definition of being Liberal, then the alt-right do their job very well hounding these people on social media. Such BS articles only pleases the Pak Army & the ISI combo, and the alt-right is correct when it calls out such pearls of goat droppings to migrate to Pakistan.
                Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Oracle View Post
                  If this is the definition of being Liberal, then the alt-right do their job very well hounding these people on social media. Such BS articles only pleases the Pak Army & the ISI combo, and the alt-right is correct when it calls out such pearls of goat droppings to migrate to Pakistan.
                  The key point of contention is they do not accept that nothing will change wrt Pakistan. I was in this camp for long as others struck me as overly cynical. I'm less of that view now given the long record we have of no success. But i still have an eye open for any change.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                    The key point of contention is they do not accept that nothing will change wrt Pakistan. I was in this camp for long as others struck me as overly cynical. I'm less of that view now given the long record we have of no success. But i still have an eye open for any change.
                    I have never heard about Santosh Arora in my life, and I am pretty sure many haven't either. And his articles sounds more like a fake Indian account created by the ISI to keep the abduls under the cloud of mullah, madrassa and the army. At one point of time, I also had hopes from this simmering tension that takes up a lot of innocent Indian lives, money and attention. BUT, after having read, religiously, almost on a daily basis, for years, I know Pakistan will not change its terror supporting agenda. Pakistan is a terrorist entity.

                    American policies are slowly changing, let's see.
                    Last edited by Oracle; 12 Jul 18,, 21:59.
                    Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Oracle View Post
                      I have never heard about Santosh Arora in my life, and I am pretty sure many haven't either. And his articles sounds more like a fake Indian account created by the ISI to keep the abduls under the cloud of mullah, madrassa and the army.
                      Its curious that google does not come up with anything meaningful about this person. A journalist in India would be published some where at least...no social media or email accounts i can find either...

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                        Its curious that google does not come up with anything meaningful about this person. A journalist in India would be published some where at least...no social media or email accounts i can find either...
                        ISI is a well oiled propaganda machine amongst several other monstrous things. Their motive is apparent. Pushtun movement, Baloch resistance, etc - the PA needs mass support. So create a fake alibi and show India as the enemy, through a fake Indians writings.
                        Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Still trying the failed narrative.

                          Kashmir Martyr’s Day – July 13th (Ghulam Nabi Fai) - The writer is the Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness Forum

                          Now his pearls,

                          US 'agent' Ghulam Nabi Fai 'took Pakistan spy money'

                          Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai (Urdu: سید غلام نبی فائی‬‎), is an American citizen of Kashmiri origin, born in Jammu & Kashmir.[3] He is a convicted felon who has served a prison sentence in federal prison. He was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on 19 July 2011, for concealing the transfer of USD 3.5 million from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to fund his lobbying efforts and influence the US government on the Kashmir conflict, in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[2][4]
                          He did not complete the PhD program and so did not receive a degree, yet referred to himself as "Dr. Fai" in official correspondence with the FBI and other law enforcement bodies.[10] He became a US citizen in 1990. He was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami during his college days. During childhood he was friends with Muhammad Yusuf Shah,[1] who grew up to be the Hizbul Mujahideen Mujahideen leader.
                          Before his arrest in July 2011 and subsequent electronically monitored house arrest in Virginia, USA, he was a regular visitor to Pakistan and met regularly and openly with the highest levels of the political, bureaucratic and military establishment, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). In the US, Fai's access extended to various mid-level officials in the State Department, as well as a variety of backbenchers including non-ranking Congressmen and a handful of Senators. Typically, his access was limited to those Congressmen to whose election funds the Kashmir American Council (see above) had donated monies, including Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania) and Dan Burton (R-Indiana). Fai has never had a meeting with any Secretary of State or with a serving US Ambassador or equivalent rank of official.

                          Since forfeiting his Indian citizenship by taking US citizenship in 1990, he has been denied visas to visit India on account of his now-publicly-reported ties to the Pakistani Military, in particular the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He has never had a meeting in any third country with any Indian elected official or any senior diplomat.
                          Fai was charged along with a Pakistani American associate named Zaheer Ahmad for obtaining illegal funding from Pakistan for the KAC.[5] Fai was arrested at his home in Fairfax, Virginia.[11] According to Neil MacBride, the United States Attorney at United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia "Mr. Fai is accused of a decades-long scheme with one purpose – to hide Pakistan's involvement behind his efforts to influence the U.S. government's position on Kashmir, his handlers in Pakistan allegedly funneled millions through the Kashmir Center to contribute to U.S. elected officials, fund high-profile conferences, and pay for other efforts that promoted the Kashmiri cause to decision makers in Washington."[4] According to prosecutors he was directed by ISI and was in touch with them at least 4000 times in the preceding 3 years.[12] The prosecutors also alleged that Kashmiri American Council was run by elements of Pakistani government including ISI and had Fai had received at least $4 million from the Government of Pakistan.[13] If convicted Fai faces up to 5 years in prison.[14] Zaheer Ahmad was not arrested and was thought to be living in Pakistan.[5] On 8 October 2011, it was reported that Ahmad had died in Islamabad at the age of 63 due to a brain haemorrhage.[15]
                          Citations available here.
                          Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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                          • #14
                            For perhaps the first time, the Punjab political family is going up against the Punjabi-dominated army. Will this be beginning of the collapse of Pakistan?



                            His article predicting the Nawaz judicial coup from Nov 2016

                            Looks like Nalapat is in agreement with the thread title if he refers to the Pak judiciary as an auxilliary of the PA

                            I had posted a discussion in London about the same subject with Pak intellectuals. They also agreed about the judicial coup.

                            This is the thing, a Pak outside Pakistan says coup but a Pak inside Pakistan says anti-corruption
                            Last edited by Double Edge; 15 Jul 18,, 01:54.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                              For perhaps the first time, the Punjab political family is going up against the Punjabi-dominated army. Will this be beginning of the collapse of Pakistan?
                              Who owns the guns and the dollars in Pakistan? The PA, so no, unless America thinks Pak should collapse for whatever reasons.

                              Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                              Looks like Nalapat is in agreement with the thread title if he refers to the Pak judiciary as an auxilliary of the PA
                              It always was.

                              Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                              I had posted a discussion in London about the same subject with Pak intellectuals. They also agreed about the judicial coup.
                              These intellectuals are right, but they don't matter. They can't change anything inside Pak, from the outside.

                              Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                              This is the thing, a Pak outside Pakistan says coup but a Pak inside Pakistan says anti-corruption
                              You have to understand that Pak is a deeply fragmented country. Without the PA/ISI, its killing tactics and hobnobbing with islamist terrorists, Pak could collapse any moment. There are many sides.

                              #1. The usual abduls. These are the ever-green supporters of the PA & the ISI, and support it no matter what, as they nourish a deep hatred w.r.t India attacking them and the PA saving their rear. The deep state is responsible for making sure the propaganda against a Hindu India and Pak under constant attack from India holds steady, since it is inbuilt in their school curriculum and sent as shockwaves into their brain right from their childhood.

                              #2. The religious abduls. PA uses them to bring the civilian government on its knees, everytime the civilian government reads something from a somewhat independent script. Also use it against the media. So that you know the PA has banned Dawn in some cities in Pak, and there is a gag order on media as a whole. Tehreek-e-Labaik sit in at Faizabad contesting changes in the Election Bill 2017, and then a PA general going over there and handing out cash (caught on camera) and saying he was with them, and later the National Assembly regretting it as a clerical error. The founder, Khadim Hussain Rizvi was a nobody until the military promoted him, as promoting Hafiz Saeed or someone else on UNs list accused of terrorism would have come to the notice of American & Indian intelligence and caused greater scrutiny. Don't think it escaped the attention of US and Indian intelligence anyway. The PAs usual retort is everybody can protest in a democracy. This list also includes 20 other terrorist groups as identified by the US State Dept, including India facing groups like LeT, HM, JeM etc.

                              #3. The so called intellectual abduls. They are Pak film-stars, famous TV anchors, sport-stars etc. They support the PA, and by extension also the ISI to win favours, and also for their own survival. Shahid Afridi tweeted recently that - Innocents being shot down by oppressive regime to clamp voice of self-determination and independence. This is the PAs way to show the world that eminent Paks also enunciate the terrible situation in Kashmir and regret the oppressive Indian regime. Never did Afridi talk about the situation in PoK, or in Pak as a whole, or even criticise the PA. Afridi also once said that Pakistani and Muslims hearts are bigger than Indian hearts - that was fodder for the usual abduls.

                              #4. The business abduls. They want a stable Pakistan as it is in their interests. The more stable Pak is, the more money they make from a bigger Indian market and elsewhere. Some of them are very critical of China and CPEC, but they shut up, instead of being 6 foot under. Poor Nawaz Sharif was one of them. RIP.

                              #5. The civil society adbuls. They are a minority, very few. These are the future of Pakistan. They hold rallies, protest marches and sit-ins. Sometimes they are harassed, sometimes they go to prison. Sometimes they are kidnapped never to return. It consists of the real intellectuals living inside Pak, fearless in the face of terrorism that the Pakistan Army sponsors on its own civilians. They are young and old, men and women. People that actually care for Pakistan, and understand the cancer (PA) that is eating their country from the inside. I know some of them. More power to you guys.

                              #6. The military abduls. I don't think I need to elaborate on this one.

                              This is what I could think as of now. Feel free to add more abduls in the list if you feel I have missed any.
                              Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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