'Road from Kabul to Delhi passes through Kashmir'
General Zia-ul- Haq remembered
NISAR AHMED THOKAR
Islamabad, Aug 18: Expressing concern over the prevailing political and security situation in Pakistan speakers at a seminar hosted by Zia-ul-Haq foundation here on Saturday said that “inconsistent policies and incompetent ruling class” had pushed the country into the quagmire of uncertainty.
The seminar held in connection with 25th death anniversary of former president Zial-ul-Haq, the seminar entitled as “Pakistan and the Contemporary Challenges” was addressed by the Chairman of Muslim League (Z) Ejaz Haq, former ISI chief General (retired) Hameed Gul, former PaK premier Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, DFP vice president Mehmood Ahmed Saghar, APHC-G convener G M Safi, JI chief Abdul Rasheed Turabi, veteran religious scholar Moulana Sami-ul-Haq and others.
Referring to the present situation in the country, speakers on the occasion said that over the last several years Pakistani ruling elite had not been able to overcome the daunting challenges faced by the country both at internal as well as external level. “The lack of visionary leadership in the country and inconsistency in the national policies caused massive damage to the country during the recent years”, they said.
Comparing General Zia with present lot of military and political leaders who ruled the country they said Zia was the man of integrity who strengthened the two nation theory by making Jinnah’s Pakistan highly invincible.
Regarding General Zia’s role in aiding and abetting Afghan Mujahideen the JI Chief Abdul Rasheed Turabi said that the Zia’s biggest contribution was the renaissance of Jihadi movements. He said that it was the wisdom and foresightedness of General Zia that changed the course of history in the region.
Flaying the Pakistani ruler’s see-sawing policy towards Afghanistan and Kashmir he said that it was unfortunate that Pakistan first acknowledged the Taliban regime and then turned its back on them. Similarly he said that the Pakistani rulers have been witnessing situation in Kashmir like mute spectators. This policy of retreat he said had adversely affected Kashmir movement and Pakistan itself.
Sardar Attique the president of Muslim Conference while highlighting late Zia’s courageous role and his services for Pakistan said that it was astonishing to note that media describes General Zia as a dictator and does not talk about Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who used to call himself as a civilian chief martial law administrator. He said that there was a strange situation in the country where it was being deliberately portrayed in the media that political parties and army were two separate things (entities). “We see from Katmandu to Canada the political parties and the army work in unison and unfortunately it is only Pakistan where situation is quite different”, he said.
Regarding the democracy and democratic institutions in the country he said, “We have great respect for democracy and the parliament but this democracy should not assume the importance of a religion”, he said.
About India Pakistan relations he said, “We are not against Indo-Pak relations but what we want is that this relationship should be on equal terms”. He said that the Pakistani rulers today afraid to mention Kashmir in their speeches.
The DFP vice president Mehmood Ahmed Saghar on the occasion said that the Kashmiris have suffered due to inconsistent policies by Pakistani rulers. Lambasting Pakistani intellectuals he said, “It was unfortunate that some so-called pseudo intellectuals have been terming Kashmir as a burden on Pakistan”.
He said Kashmiris have offered tremendous sacrifices for Pakistan over the past several years. He said that Kashmiri people as well as the political leadership have undergone trials and tribulations over the years. “World talks about Nelson Mandela but they don’t talk about hundreds of Kashmiri Mandelas who have spent more than 29 years in jails in and outside Kashmir”, he maintained. He was of the view that Kashmiris were sick of hollow sloganeering and “It is time for Pakistani leadership to shun their silence and come up with a coherent and convincing policy on the issue of Kashmir”, he added.
Addressing the gathering Hameed Gul one of the close confidantes of former president said that Zia was a thorn in the American’s side for a long time. “They (Americans) were fearful that Zia would enforce Islamic Shaira in the country and that is why he fell victim to international conspiracy”, he said. He maintained that Americans first said that the General Zia’s plane crash was a result of technical failure involving dysfunction of Hydraulic Pumps. Later he said that the plane in which Zia and other generals were traveling was entirely destroyed but the Hydraulic Pumps, which according to American expert’s report were dysfunctional, were recovered in original shape and there was no fault in the pumps. He rejected the news report published in the country leading English Daily yesterday and said that deliberate attempts were being made to blot out America’s role in this entire game by publishing such unfounded reports.
Terming Pakistan as an unfinished revolution he said that it was Zia’s sole mission to give final shape to this unfinished revolution that was kicked off several years ago. “It (Pak) is not just a piece of land on the Earth; it is something very special”, he said.
On Kashmir, the former ISI chief said, the Kashmiri leaders concerns were genuine and it is time that the government should adopt a clear-cut policy on the issue. Gul who has been a strong proponent of Kashmiris resistance movement against India said that the incumbent government should convey India the message that the road from New-Delhi to Kabul goes from Kashmir.
He also lambasted the Pakistani media saying that “We like bold media but not the sold media”.
In his concluding speech Ejaz-ul-Haq reiterated his pledge upheld the mission of his father to make Pakistan a peaceful and prosperous country.
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