Every Pakistani whether living abroad or in Pakistan was deeply touched by the tragedy of Mumbai attacks. Attacks like the one in Mumbai occur on a routine basis ever since Pakistan joined the Global War on Terror, however, the attacks in Mumbai were of greater concern to Pakistanis then the attacks of Marriot, carnage at PPP election rallies, the attacks of US drones in FATA and the attacks by suicide bombers on regular intervals in different cities . Reason being that the last time when the such an attack of such proportions was carried out in India, back in 2002, India threatened Pakistan with a full scale military invasion and amassed its troops along the Pakistani border. As of current standing, Pakistan and Pakistanis really cannot afford to have another war right in the middle of an ongoing war of which there seems to be no end.
Just like most Pakistanis, I was very much concerned by what was going to happen next. I was very much aware that India had enough of it and if this was really the handiwork of a Pakistan based group, India would certainly like to do some thing about it. I was also worried that may be its another ISI sponsored fiasco to settle the score for whats going on in FATA and Balochistan (whether thats true of wrong is certainly questionable) . And of course their were conspiracy theories as well (Mossad, Col Purhoit et al blah blah.)
Soon after the blasts, Indian gov and all the Indian media outlets declared that India had enough evidence to prove that the attackers came from Pakistan. The statements from the Indian side, both gov and media, did not clarify what they meant by "Pakistan". Did the evidence indicate that the attacks were sanctioned by the government of Pakistan, the attackers trained by Pakistani army OR did the Indian gov and media meant that the attackers, though, were not sent by the gov of Pakistan, but were Pakistani citizens, trained and equipped by rogue Jihadi groups in Pakistan?
From the history of Indo-Pak relations, I and every Pakistani know that there is quite a good chance that the attackers are Pakistanis. Even if they are Indian Muslims, upset with the treatment meted out to them at the hands of the Indian gov, there must be some sort of Pakistani involvement in arming and training them. By Pakistani I do not necessarily mean Pakistani gov but Pakistan based jihadi outfits.
Now as usual, the Indian gov and the Indian media started pointing fingers towards Pakistan. What was meant by Pakistan was left undefined. Many Pakistanis took it as an accusation towards the state of Pakistan and each and every Pakistani. Both sides quickly descended into a war of words. The war of words was fought both on the gov level, in cyber space and as well as in a personal capacity. I too quickly got involved in fiery debates with some of my Indian friends and got carried away with my nationalistic sentiments.
With the war cry becoming louder from both sides, I started posting stories of how the Indian gov has still not provided any evidence even though one month has passed since the attacks took place. Whipping up the dead horse of Kashmir, right when the relations between India and Pakistan are at their lowest, also became part of the justification. Slowly after one month, the issue was no longer the attacks in Mumbai but how Pakistan had been supporting insurgency in Indian Kashmir and how India had been stubbornly sitting on top of the Kashmir issue.
Finally, one day I realized that keeping in mind the historical data, I should simply say a sorry to my Indian friends and apologize rather then trying to split hairs by bringing up discrepancies found in the various accounts of the Mumbai attacks as narrated by various media outlets. This is exactly what both the governments of Pakistan and India are right now involved in. The Indian gov, trying to do some face saving in front of a nation angry and humiliated at the hands of 20 or few gunmen while the Pakistani gov trying to put up a brave face in front of accusations and threats being hurled from the Indian side. No wonder, time and again, both India and Pakistan, gov and people, end up, back at square one as they were in 1947.
It is very much the responsibility of the Indian gov to provide the evidence it has claimed to have from day one, but mean while the Indian gov prepares the evidence, Pakistani gov should not sit idle and make its own efforts to investigate the attacks. Pakistani gov can rid itself of the stain and stigma of sponsoring terrorists only by making serious and honest efforts to investigate. Though the Pakistani gov is justified in asking for evidence, still it will be better if it doesn't wait for evidence. It should treat this matter with the same urgency as it would have treated a similar incident of terrorism in the UK or the US.
What about the people? Pakistanis and Indians? Well to all Pakistanis, I would say that keeping in mind our history, there is a good enough chance of this being the handiwork of our country men. Whether gov sponsored or independent non state actors. So there is no harm in apologising. If it turns out , much as I would wish, that the perparators were not Pakistanis, we would have lost nothing. However, if it turns out that the terrorists were indeed Pakistanis, we would have lost a lot by then.
To all my Indian friends, I apologize twice.
Once for what ever happened and hope it is not repeated ever again.
Secondly, I also apologize for taking this long to apologize. This apology should have come on the very first day.
Just like most Pakistanis, I was very much concerned by what was going to happen next. I was very much aware that India had enough of it and if this was really the handiwork of a Pakistan based group, India would certainly like to do some thing about it. I was also worried that may be its another ISI sponsored fiasco to settle the score for whats going on in FATA and Balochistan (whether thats true of wrong is certainly questionable) . And of course their were conspiracy theories as well (Mossad, Col Purhoit et al blah blah.)
Soon after the blasts, Indian gov and all the Indian media outlets declared that India had enough evidence to prove that the attackers came from Pakistan. The statements from the Indian side, both gov and media, did not clarify what they meant by "Pakistan". Did the evidence indicate that the attacks were sanctioned by the government of Pakistan, the attackers trained by Pakistani army OR did the Indian gov and media meant that the attackers, though, were not sent by the gov of Pakistan, but were Pakistani citizens, trained and equipped by rogue Jihadi groups in Pakistan?
From the history of Indo-Pak relations, I and every Pakistani know that there is quite a good chance that the attackers are Pakistanis. Even if they are Indian Muslims, upset with the treatment meted out to them at the hands of the Indian gov, there must be some sort of Pakistani involvement in arming and training them. By Pakistani I do not necessarily mean Pakistani gov but Pakistan based jihadi outfits.
Now as usual, the Indian gov and the Indian media started pointing fingers towards Pakistan. What was meant by Pakistan was left undefined. Many Pakistanis took it as an accusation towards the state of Pakistan and each and every Pakistani. Both sides quickly descended into a war of words. The war of words was fought both on the gov level, in cyber space and as well as in a personal capacity. I too quickly got involved in fiery debates with some of my Indian friends and got carried away with my nationalistic sentiments.
With the war cry becoming louder from both sides, I started posting stories of how the Indian gov has still not provided any evidence even though one month has passed since the attacks took place. Whipping up the dead horse of Kashmir, right when the relations between India and Pakistan are at their lowest, also became part of the justification. Slowly after one month, the issue was no longer the attacks in Mumbai but how Pakistan had been supporting insurgency in Indian Kashmir and how India had been stubbornly sitting on top of the Kashmir issue.
Finally, one day I realized that keeping in mind the historical data, I should simply say a sorry to my Indian friends and apologize rather then trying to split hairs by bringing up discrepancies found in the various accounts of the Mumbai attacks as narrated by various media outlets. This is exactly what both the governments of Pakistan and India are right now involved in. The Indian gov, trying to do some face saving in front of a nation angry and humiliated at the hands of 20 or few gunmen while the Pakistani gov trying to put up a brave face in front of accusations and threats being hurled from the Indian side. No wonder, time and again, both India and Pakistan, gov and people, end up, back at square one as they were in 1947.
It is very much the responsibility of the Indian gov to provide the evidence it has claimed to have from day one, but mean while the Indian gov prepares the evidence, Pakistani gov should not sit idle and make its own efforts to investigate the attacks. Pakistani gov can rid itself of the stain and stigma of sponsoring terrorists only by making serious and honest efforts to investigate. Though the Pakistani gov is justified in asking for evidence, still it will be better if it doesn't wait for evidence. It should treat this matter with the same urgency as it would have treated a similar incident of terrorism in the UK or the US.
What about the people? Pakistanis and Indians? Well to all Pakistanis, I would say that keeping in mind our history, there is a good enough chance of this being the handiwork of our country men. Whether gov sponsored or independent non state actors. So there is no harm in apologising. If it turns out , much as I would wish, that the perparators were not Pakistanis, we would have lost nothing. However, if it turns out that the terrorists were indeed Pakistanis, we would have lost a lot by then.
To all my Indian friends, I apologize twice.
Once for what ever happened and hope it is not repeated ever again.
Secondly, I also apologize for taking this long to apologize. This apology should have come on the very first day.
9 comments:
as an indian and a fellow resident of the subcontinent i salute your candidness and open thinking. blog posts like these re-affirm my oft criticized view that Pakistan is not a negative entity and Pakistan and its people are as honorable as India is to me, as a citizen.
May sentiments like yours gain acceptance amongst more and more Indians and Pakistanis.
dear junaid , I am very touched and proud of pakistanis , eversince I sailed with a fellow from lahore some years ago.Regional Discrimination should have no place between frienship.Moreover I personallly think that Taliban had carried out the attack ...and as a pakistani, why shud u apologise !, these type of communal massacre happens every other day in Pakistan, I never read any india offering his condolcenses. Keep up the good work, all the best
Hello,
I have applied for PR under visa 886 (relative sponsor)on July 2008 still means almost after 12 month there is no movement in file.
Please guide how much more time it would take under new priority setup.
Thanks
Rimp
@Rimp
Read the following
Q6. How long will it take to process my visa? What about visa processing service standards?
The department is unable to estimate how long it will take to process visas, including those which have already been lodged. The visa processing standards relate to normal processing conditions and are only a guide for the majority of applications. They do not take into account the new priority processing measures which have been introduced as a result of the extraordinary economic situation Australia currently faces.
http://study-n-australia.blogspot.com/2009/07/changes-to-general-skilled-migration.html
Good Article but majority of Pakistanis were happy when Taj was attached. I have even read that 10 plus Pakistanis were enough for Indian Army. I have dealt with thousands of Pakistanis here in Canada. I have only found two to be trustworthy and hounarble. 99% are liars, cheaters, do not work, receive welfare from the government, criticise the government, create fradulant documents to obtain mortgage, bribe the bank officers, approached myself to approve mortgage with fake documents. These are educated Pakistanis who have migrated to Canada on point systems. I often ask my two Pakistani friends about the other Pakistanis in Pakistan. I personally feel that Pakistani is sipritually a bankrupt nation. What we see in PTV dramas is fake. I used to love Pakistan as I grew up in Amritsar. I learned Urdu by watching Pakistan TV. I always wanted to see Lahore and some Sikh Shrines. Now, I will be the last person to visit Pakistan after interacting with 1000 plus Pakistanis in Canada. Pakistanis in Canada are like Haathi Ke Daant, Khane Ke Aur, Aur Dikhane Ke Aur. I am contended with my friends, one from Lahore and other from Multan. As a matter of fact these two friends do not interact with fellow Pakistanis.
Dear Sir,
you have the right to say what ever you want but you cant blame the hole nation,of-course there are a few bad apples in every crate.I am a resident of UAE (Dubai) from 20 years and you will find people from all nationalities here. I have a lot of friends Indian, Pakistanis and Arabs but let me tell you its a common thing now a days do-sent mater which nationality you hold Indians, Arabs and other nationals are as much liars, cheaters and backstabbers as Pakistanis.I am always hearing it from my friends how they are pulling legs of each other at the office.
Wow, as a Pakistani, this was very different from what I have been reading.. different and sincere and can take some getting used to and finally adopting..
love the comments you got from Hore and Gurminder.
You sicken me. But I don't blame you. You were failed by your parents. Please migrate to some kafir land, where your shaitani rooh will finally be at peace.
This post is about Mumbai attack of Taj/Oberois and CST. The Indian government has provided all the evidence to the Government of Pakistan especially about voice samples of Lakhvi and major Ayub and Pakistan is not ready to provide them and India has provided the samples to Pakistan.Pakistan is now using the civilian courts to drag the issue.It is understandable. But as per Foreign secretary she seees lot of change in Pakistan's attitude.This time when Mumbai attacks happenned, there was no hue and cry. But the American fox is desperate for a war between the two Nuclear monkeys.
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