War hype being created to divert attention from real issues: Zaffar-ul-Haq

Nisar Ahmed Thakur
Islamabad, Dec 27 2008: The chairman of Muslim League-N and secretary General of Mohtamar Alam-e-Islam Raja Zaffar-ul-Haq has said that in order to divert attention from real issues war hype is being created to push the region towards a disastrous confrontation.
"So for as the Mumbai incident is concerned we have strongly condemned the attack as we believe that such incidents have negative impacts on the overall situation of the region and that is why, the urge for peace in the region, has always been our priority", the PML-N central leader said this during an informal chat with Greater Kashmir on Friday.
Talking about the different dimensions of the Mumbai incident he maintained that there was an attempt to sabotage the peace talks so as to put off Americas' growing interests in the region vis-à-vis the settlement of the longstanding dispute of Kashmir. "India was not happy with the latest developments especially with reference to the US president Barak Obama's statements and his decision of appointing former president Mr. Bill Clinton as special envoy on Kashmir", he said adding that Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership hailed this initiative whereas India did not appreciate it at all.

Zaffar-ul-Haq stated that this time India was very much upset as it realized that such a development would bring the issue of Kashmir into lime light at international level again and they would have no excuses but to talk about the this issue. He said that there is a thinking that some people might have created this whole scenario to push the two nations back into hostility and antagonism whereby new issues will come to the fore and nothing tangible could be done to address the serious issues like Kashmir. "This is actually the third dimension of Mumbai episode that is being discussed in the news papers now and then", he added.

About India's hostile intent he said that it was very unfortunate that war hype is being created to shift focus from serious issues saying that India for its political motives and mere political requirements at domestic level, has been pushing the whole region towards confrontation.

Referring to airspace violations and Indian threat of hot pursuit into Pakistani territory he said those who are talking of a limited war are living in the utopian world. "It is easy to set off war but no one can lay down its limits, if there are surgical strikes on Pakistani soil it is beyond the imagination that one can remain silent", he said.

Referring to off the cuff statements by the Pakistani leadership he said that at this crucial stage there was a dire need to have well thought-out, proper consultation and collective decisions to meet the challenges.

Regarding Kashmiris' liberation struggle he said, "This is a matter of life and death of millions of people and could not be just ignored or placed in cold-store". So for as the settlement of the issue is concerned he said that there is a national consensus on the issue and as per the UN resolutions people of Kashmir have every right to choose their future destiny and no country has even the right to challenge the highest body's decisions unilaterally".

He state that the PML-N has very clear stance in this regard and it was the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief who started this peace process with then Indian Premier Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999. "The initiative was highly appreciated and there was optimism that this process would help to bring durable peace in South Asia by resolving all outstanding issue including Kashmir".

"Even today, if any effort is being made to normalize relations between the two countries, it does not mean that we are appeasing any one rather there is a desire for peace that is desperately needed to thrash out all issues particularly the issue of Kashmir", he added.