Pakistan and Afghanistan are not the only centers of violence in the South Asian region. This problem has also affected countries like China, Iran, and India. Separatist groups use heavy weapons despite the fact that all these countries have enormous economic and military power. These militant groups have immense organizational strength to implement their ideological agenda as well.
Jindullah is active in Iran, while there are many active underground groups in Xinjiang, the eastern province of China. Jindullah is working on turning Seestan, in Iranian Balochistan, into a separate country from Iran. Muslim separatists in Xinjiang are dreaming of becoming a Muslim state separate from China. These separatist movements, which are going on in Iran and China, are tacitly supported by Western countries, while the separatist movement in Kashmir against India is supported by Pakistan.
Increased Maoist Activities
Maoist separatists have increased their activities during recent months. Rather, these separatists have emerged as a major threat to the solidarity and security of India. Even the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has issued statements indicating that the activities of the Maoist separatists have reached a dangerous point. Summer Halinker, a renowned journalist of India, has revealed some very shocking facts and figures on this issue in his recent article published in the Hindustan Times. The author says that, according to the facts and figures from 2007 to January.2010, 436 persons were killed by jihadist groups. They include those Pakistanis who died in the 'Samjhota Express', while the Maoist rebels killed 1,524 persons. J K Pillai, the Indian home secretary, addressed a workshop at The Institute of Defense Studies in New Delhi and disclosed that Maoist rebels are working on an organized plan of creating disruption.
According to this plan, they want to exercise so much influence in India by the year 2050 that they will be able to takeover the central government. At present, the annual budget of the Maoist rebels was approximately Rs. 14 billion and they were being provided military training by some former Army officers. The strategy of the Maoist rebels is to gradually spread their influence all over India and, then, take complete control over Indian cities. The Indian home secretary also revealed that Maoist rebels have taken control over tens of thousands of square miles, and India would need to launch a military operation to reclaim that land. This operation might take more than ten years. Current military operations have not inflicted much loss to the Maoist rebels.
The interesting fact is that the Indian Government has not blamed any foreign power so far of aiding and abetting the Maoist rebels against India. But the Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has openly and clearly repeated the allegation that India is involved in the Lahore blasts. India has so far not expressed any concern about the ongoing unrest in Pakistan.
As a matter of fact, the top level Indian leadership taunts Pakistan by saying that it is reaping what it has sown. But the scenario created by the Maoist rebels clearly shows that if India does not tackle the Maoist rebels, New Delhi, which has become an economic, political, and military giant, could be destroyed within a few decades because of civil conflict.
The militancy going on in the tribal areas of Pakistan is no less than the militancy of the Maoist rebels in India. But geographically this militancy is limited to the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Therefore, it could be easily said that Pakistan will soon be able to control the Taliban in the urban areas as well as important business centers by making a bit more effort.
India-Pakistan Conflict
However, it is also a fact that the conflict between India and Pakistan and, particularly, the failure of dialogue between the two countries, further encourages and strengthens these antistate forces, which preach that the solution to all problems between India and Pakistan lies in the use of weapons. If critically analyzed, permanent peace in the region lies in the normalization of relations between India and Pakistan. And relations between the two countries can never be normalized unless both countries resolve all outstanding issues between them. The solution to these issues could only be found if both countries build up mutual trust and confidence. This mutual trust can only be built through an unobstructed and continuous process of dialogue.
There is no dearth of elements in either country which are ever-ready to be exploited by extremist forces. The way Indian citizens were attacked in Afghanistan just a few days ago, followed by terrorist attacks on Pakistani citizens within Pakistan, confirmed that extremist elements, who believe only in violent action and reaction, are present not only in both countries, but are very effective as well.
The foreign secretary-level talks were a golden opportunity to discuss these issues, but they were wasted by India's obduracy. Now the mood of the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi/Islamabad is changing. Relations between Pakistan and the United States have improved. The United States has, for the first time, admitted Pakistani interests in Afghanistan. The US general are openly admitting that Pakistan has legitimate geopolitical interests in Afghanistan and these interests should be respected.
Need of Hour
The best policy for India against this background would be to show some flexibility in improving relations with Pakistan so that Pakistan could, in reciprocity, admit the legitimate interests of India in Afghanistan. Otherwise, both countries will continue to waste their resources in destroying each other.
The conflict between the two countries is nothing more than a deficit bargain. It is high time that Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Iran, and China formed a regional block to fight terrorism so that western forces could be persuaded to leave the region.
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