I

t was nice to see leaders of both Pakistan and India meeting, despite their differences of opinion on a number of issues. When you meet, you can resolve the misgivings.

Why would KB Kale choose to negate all the positivity of this meeting in his renunciation of a television anchor from Pakistan?

Mr. Mir was not wrong to assert that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had planted the sapling of militancy in the form of trained fighters, predating the first Afghan war.

That sapling has now become a tree. The CIA creates monsters, which often assume Frankensteinian proportions and get out of hand.

The CIA ran the full course of the 1979-88 Afghan war using the Mujahideen as snares to trap the Soviet bear, and now it is waging this current war to clean up those snares; not an easy task to accomplish.

So why blame Hamid Mir?

India cannot afford to confine its talks with Pakistan to the arrest of just one person, particularly when no tangible evidence has been found against him. There is Kashmir to discuss; there is also Siachin, the water problem, visa issues, so on and so forth.

Pakistan would not expect a one-point agenda from India for parleys; that would be ridiculous!

Declaring India a favorable nation for economic cooperation and trade is not an ordinary offer; the wise thing would be to take it with both hands. Don’t let this Hafiz thing come between us, please!
Faraz Liaquat
Islamabad

Kale’s advice to the political leadership of Pakistan to rise to the occasion is a welcome suggestion, which needs to be reciprocated by India’s leadership as well.

Besides, beyond the all-too-familiar yet unnecessary mudslinging and attempts to discredit your neighbor, there is a serious need for introspection.

According to a recent report on human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) by the Indian Army and its paramilitary forces, extrajudicial killings, police abuse including torture, and the failure to implement policies aimed at protecting vulnerable communities seriously marred India’s record in 2011.

The media should highlight the real face of Indian democracy and its acclaimed achievements on which they are trumpeting for their success in the Kashmir through counterinsurgency operations.

Amnesty International, citing the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling on Feb. 4, stated that the Indian Army could not invoke the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) to avoid the prosecution of eight officers charged with the March 2000 killing of five Kashmiri villagers at Pathribal.

The AFSPA gives protection to personnel engaged in armed operations in designated areas from all legal proceedings; as a result, the draconian law has actually shielded the perpetrators of grave human rights violations in the IOK.

Protestors blocked a main highway in the IOK after a young Kashmiri was shot dead by the Indian Army in what military officials described as an “accidental” shooting.

Expose the brutalities of the Indian armed forces deployed in Kashmir for cracking down on civil liberties. On the other hand, people in the IOK are struggling to realize their right to self-determination, in line with United Nations resolutions. Such human rights violations are not visible to my friend who is so eager to help Pakistan. What a pity!
Peter
Jakarta